To the residents of Camden, Hope, Lincolnville, and Rockport: Over the next week, your fellow citizens will be voting at the Annual Town Meeting in each community on a number of important topics, but perhaps none will have the long reaching impacts of the question surrounding solid waste disposal. The Mid Coast Solid Waste Corporation (MCSWC) Board of Directors, which consists of two members from each of the four communities, has been investigating this issue for several years and devoted a great deal of energy into preparing a logical, well-supported recommendation for the residents of our region.

Beginning in December, the MCSWC Board of Directors circulated a request for proposal to every licensed solid waste facility in Maine. In February, the Board of Directors, with the assistance of esteemed Maine engineering firm Sevee & Maher, reviewed the four proposals they had received, and set up a public interview process in early March. After an extensive interview process, the Board held a public hearing to gauge the public opinion following the interviews. For those who are interested, video of all of the interviews and the public hearing is available on your town's website, as are the responses from each of the respondents to the RFP process. It was only after all of this lengthy public process, that the Board of Directors overwhelmingly voted to support the option from ecomaine.

Why did the Mid Coast Solid Waste Corporation's Board of Directors support ecomaine? ecomaine is a well-run, integrated solid waste and recycling facility that uses proven technology. It has a sustained, successful track record of operating in a fiscally responsible and environmentally conscious way. It is a quasi-municipal non-profit corporation. By choosing ecomaine, we would be joining a group of 55 municipalities which represents a population of approximately 350,000 people. ecomaine is owned by 20 municipalities and is governed by a 29-member Board of Directors.

The tip fee proposed by ecomaine is competitive and approximately the same as other respondents to the RFP. The fee quoted by ecomaine is known and it is based on actual operating costs and the market. ecomaine offers revenue sharing for recycled materials.

The cost to transport waste out of this area is considerable, but due to the expiration of our agreement with the PERC plan in Orrington, Mid Coast Solid Waste will receive no less than $1.1 million, that they currently hold on our behalf. This money could be used by Mid Coast Solid Waste to cover any additional waste hauling costs over the life of the contract.

Lastly, the contract with ecomaine is simple and straight forward. The four communities are under no obligation to send an established amount of waste to the facility as other respondents required. Therefore, the ecomaine option allows Mid Coast Solid Waste and our residents to work together to find ways to reduce and recycle using methods unavailable to us with other options. Studies suggest 40% of the waste stream consists of organic material which can be diverted from the yellow bags we are accustomed to and toward composting activities which would dramatically reduce the amount of waste we would send to ecomaine. With so many communities in our region who have also agreed to send their waste to ecomaine (Thomaston, Rockland, South Thomaston, Owls Head), we have an opportunity to lead our state into better methods of handling organic wastes.

There are many other reasons why we supported the ecomaine option, but neither a letter to the editor nor a 30 second video on Facebook can tell the whole story. We urge you to please attend your Annual Town Meeting and hear for yourselves from the Select Board members, Selectmen, Town officials, and residents who have spent a great deal of time investigating the options available to Camden, Hope, Lincolnville, and Rockport. In the meantime, please take an opportunity to learn more by visiting your Town's website and watch the interviews of the respondents to the request for proposal and the public hearing.

We believe after hearing all of the facts that like the Mid Coast Solid Waste Board of Directors, you, too, will support ecomaine at your Annual Town Meeting.

Art Durity is chairman of the Mid Coast Solid Waste Corporation Board of Directors