Sludge Futures
by Ethan Andrews The shuttered Coastal Resources of Mainae recycling facility in Hampden (Photo: Ethan Andrews) Municipal Review Committee member communities in the midcoast (Source: Municipal Review Committee)
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2 At a January 19 presentation to the Municipal Review Committee, the nonprofit that represents 115 Maine municipalities in matters of trash, Rob Van Naarden, CEO of Delta Thermo Energy, described a scene that sounded as if it were from another era.
“As we speak here today, there are barges that are moving from New York City south, outside the 12-mile limit,” he said. “They put them in international waters. All they do is carry sewage sludge from New York City. It used to go to Louisiana to a landfill down there. But recently, a couple of months ago, they refused to take it. And so they’re looking for other places. We eliminate that need.”
Delta Thermo Energy will be the new owner of Coastal Resources of Maine, the waste-to-biofuel facility in Hampden that has had a dramatic, if short, history since opening in April 2019. The facility closed in May of 2019 and was subsequently placed in receivership. Headquartered in Feasterville-Trevose, Pa., Delta Thermo Energy has a solid track record in waste facilities. The company operates facilities in South Korea, Germany, Japan, Romania, Russia, South Africa and Singapore, as well as piloting programs in the United States.