This is the year when 187 Maine towns and cities that have long sent their trash to the Penobscot Energy Recovery Co. incinerator in Orrington have to decide on their solid waste future.
Do they stick with the long-operating, electricity-producing incinerator, or opt for a first-of-its-kind, yet-to-be-built facility in Hampden that would separate out recyclables from the trash, convert much of the remaining waste to biogas and sell it to Bangor-area industrial consumers?