MID-MAINE SOLID WASTE ASSOCIATION    
   	The towns of Dexter, Exeter, Ripley, St. Albans, and Corinna are members that form the Mid Maine Solid Waste Association (MMSWA). Additionally, non-member municipalities using our facility include Guilford (since 2004) and Cambridge (since 1999). The Association is governed by a Board of Directors, which represents the interests of each of the participating member communities.     
 The MMSWA facility provides for the disposal of solid waste at its Transfer Station and operates a Recycling Facility on the premises. The site also offers demolition debris disposal, composting, tire disposal, white goods (refrigerators, appliances, etc.), universal waste (televisions, monitors, etc.), and metal disposal.      
During 2018 MMSWA disposed of over 6,200 tons of municipal solid waste (household waste), 1,200 tons of wood waste (however 600 tons was burned on-site), 900 tons of landfill debris, 140 tons of compost, 50 tons of universal waste, 15 tons of food waste, and over 1,000 tons of recyclables including 250 gallons of paint. Because we process these items separately it is important for our residents to keep these items separated when bringing them in for disposal. MMSWA’s recycling rate continues to hover around 40%, shy of the 50% mandated by the state. MMSWA strives to improve this percentage but needs the help of our patrons to accomplish this goal. Every year the cost of disposing household waste increases by 4 to 5%, so the more our residents recycle, the more each town’s disposal fee increase can be minimized.
 Please assist MMSWA in achieving its recycling goals by separating your trash prior to arriving at the facility.  This allows our staff to maintain a clean, organized, and customer-friendly environment while increasing our recycling efforts.  Remember, the more materials recycled, the less our waste disposal costs will increase in the future. 
2018 has been a trying year for the facility. First we have entered into an agreement with Coastal Resources, who will be taking our Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) for the next 15 years. Coastal is a state of the art recycling facility which will take the MSW and process it into recyclables, industrial sugars, and bio-fuels. Their facility will be completed in the spring of 2019 and we should be making deliveries by May. The decision to join with Coastal was not an easy one. Each town was approached and voted to make this transition. MMSWA believes that this change will help our facility achieve our recycling goals and save us money in the future. We have also changed the way we process wood waste. Our clean wood (brush and logs) will continue to be chipped and removed for recycled energy. Our demo wood will be burned on site with the ash shipped to a controlled landfill. Lastly our long time superintendent relinquished his position and has moved on as town manager of Dexter. He will continue to work with MMSWA as a member of the Board of Directors. 
The costs incurred to operate the MMSWA facility in 2018 was in the amount of $1,050,000.00. This figure includes $534,000.00 for household waste disposal and $46,000 for landfill operations. We recovered $162,000 with the sale of recyclable materials and saved $105,000 in disposal costs as a result of recycled goods.   
The fee schedule for 2019 will be the same as 2018. Rules for the use of the transfer station and recycling facility, as well as the schedule of fees and vehicle permits are available at your town office. Please feel free to contact us at MMSWA 924-3650 if you have any questions. Current permits are required in order to use the MMSWA facility. Hours of operation are 8am to 5pm Monday-Thursday and Saturday. We are closed on Fridays and Sundays.     
An important reminder, please make a concerted effort to secure all incoming loads in order to prevent roadside debris.     
 If you have any questions about the DEP's rules pertaining to municipal waste, universal waste, or demolition debris, please feel free to contact MMSWA or visit the Department of Environmental Protection website at  www.maine.gov/dep
 Respectfully Submitted, 
Greg Hathaway
Superintendent, Mid Maine Solid Waste Association