Converting Trash into Renewable Energy for Maine

Maine Waste to Energy provides reliable, safe, and economical waste processing and disposal services for members, associate towns, private haulers, and local citizens. Our advanced facility uses efficient combustion and air pollution control equipment to create clean, renewable energy from an unavoidable byproduct of life. The modern process lessens landfill volumes, minimizes air pollution, and helps offset the use of fossil fuels. It is a necessary and effective part of Maine’s waste hierarchy that we are proud to provide to our communities.

Our History

Prior to the emergence of waste-to-energy facilities, the majority of municipal solid waste produced throughout the country was sent to landfills. The waste-to-energy process was created to reduce the need for landfilling solid waste, reduce the threat of groundwater pollution, and recover valuable energy in the process. Mid-Maine Waste Action Corporation (MMWAC) was created in 1986 as a not-for-profit organization to support waste management for 12 local municipalities. In 1990, MMWAC vastly improved

an existing facility with a 250-ton/day incinerator equipped with a 5-megawatt turbine generator and advanced air pollution control equipment. The updated facility uses the most advanced systems in the country. All air emissions are controlled with an effective combustion system featuring high burnout and destruction of organics, lime slurry scrubbers neutralize acid gases, a carbon injection system removes mercury and organics, and a highly efficient baghouse removes particulates. Despite a complicated and

often misunderstood history for waste-to-energy, our facility operates at the highest standards and as a vital part of Maine’s waste hierarchy. We responsibly process 72,000 tons of waste per year, generating enough steam to create about 17,000 megawatt-hours of clean, renewable electricity annually. That’s enough to power at least 2,000 homes! On November 1st, 2018 we changed our name to Maine Waste to energy (MWE) to more accurately reflect what we do here at MWE.