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Company Expects to Complete Purchase Of Shuttered Hampden Waste Plant By Early Summer

The Hampden waste plant that could be purchased by Delta Thermo Energy by early in the summer.
Fiberight via BDN
The Hampden waste plant that could be purchased by Delta Thermo Energy by early in the summer.

A Pennsylvania company says that it’s close to purchasing a shuttered waste plant in Hampden, but will need more time for the plant to reopen.

The plant abruptly closed last year after its owners ran out of operating funds. It previously took in trash from 115 Maine towns and cities, then worked to recycle it or convert it to other uses.

Now, a company called Delta Thermo Energy hopes to finalize the purchase of the plant in mid-June. CEO Rob Van Naarden says he hopes to restore waste disposal services to all those towns and cities within nine months.

“We can’t turn in and take a couple hundred tons day one. That’s just not practical. But we will start with maybe 20 tons, 50 tons, 100 tons, and ramp it fairly rapidly,” he says.

Van Naarden says the company is close to securing loans for the purchase. He did not share the expected sale price.

Since the plant closed almost a year ago, communities including Bangor, Bar Harbor and Millinocket have had to landfill or burn most of their trash.