LEWISTON — Councilors had no problem making room for Casella Solid Waste’s recycling operation and consolidating the city’s presence at the landfill.
They voted unanimously Tuesday to amend the deal they approved last February with the waste hauler, letting the company build an automated recycling facility south of the city’s landfill at the city’s transfer station on River Road.
City Administrator Ed Barrett said the change was logical and would not impact the operation, but might be more efficient.
“It might actually make life easier for the city,” Barrett said.
The city would move its own recycling storage away from Casella’s planned single-stream recycling operation and on to a new building the company would construct near the gatehouse.
The city’s landfill offices would be in that building as well.
It also changes the stormwater pipes on the property, keeping storm runoff generated by Casella separate from that generated by the city’s operations.
“Overall, this is a better arrangement from the city’s point of view, in that it will cluster all of our activities at the same location,” Barrett said. “We can have the gatehouse, the office, storage and drop-off recycling all contiguous to each other.”
The solid waste company is still on schedule to begin construction of the automated recycling facility on River Road next February.
The solid waste company plans to build the 15,000-square-foot automated recycling center south of the city’s landfill at the city’s transfer station on River Road this summer. The facility would replace the city’s current recycling shed.
The center would take recycling collected from communities in Maine, sort it and sell it on the commodities market.
According to the terms of the 20-year lease, the city would keep ownership of the land, the recycling building and all machines Casella installs. The company would pay the city $5,638 per month — $67,656 per year — in addition to an entry fee of $5 per truck. The company would also pay the city a fee on every truck using the facility and would take over $90,000 worth of city recycling responsibilities. City staff estimates the facility will bring in $250,000 in new revenues or savings for the city.
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