Organics Management – Regional Solid Waste Management Plan Bath, Maine
MCOG hired SCS to prepare a regional solid waste management plan (SWMP) to assist the twelve communities in its region to address its solid waste management issues.
The Midcoast Council of Governments (MCOG) is a public-private, non-profit development corporation that serves the municipalities of Sagadahoc County (10 total) and the towns of Brunswick and Harpswell in Cumberland County. Among other goals, MCOG serves as a mutual forum to identify, study, and bring into focus regional challenges and opportunities. To that end, MCOG hired SCS to prepare a regional solid waste management plan (SWMP) to assist the twelve communities in its region to address its solid waste management issues, including:
Limited disposal capacity within the region.
The current system of solid waste management where each community independently manages its solid waste, resulting in higher costs, less efficiency, and fewer options due to lack of research.
Waste diversion programs that have had some success but which can be improved and result in overall cost savings to residents, businesses, and institutions.
SCS’s scope included:
Compilation of region demographics;
Estimate of solid waste quantities and composition;
Description of existing solid waste facilities and programs;
Compilation of existing contracts;
Evaluation of best practices and regional options.
SCS recommended a number of items, including more regional cooperation for food waste composting, an enhanced pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) program, and single-stream recycling.
