Lately, we have been hearing a lot about garbage in Maine.  For the last several days, we have all been keeping an eye on the story of the fire at Eagle Point Energy Center in Orrington.

For those who don't know, the plant burns trash in order to generate power.  According to WABI, the still-burning fire is likely to cause air quality issues in parts of Maine on Friday evening.

Of course, garbage is something that we all have to deal with in one way or another.

For some, all we do is take the trash to the dumpster, some of us need to make sure it is out by the curb on trash day, while some of us need to make a special run to our local transfer station on a regular basis.

Regardless of how you 'take out the trash', it all ends up in a landfill.

There are dozens of landfills dotting the state.  Here in the Augusta area, for example, we have Hatch Hill.

Have you ever wondered which Maine landfill is the largest?

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Juniper Ridge Landfill

According to a recent article on the Spectrum News website, the largest landfill in Maine is the Juniper Ridge Landfill.

Juniper Ridge Landfill, which sits partially in both Old Town and Alton, is owned by the state and operated by the Bureau of General Services.  One of the reasons for its immense size is that it accepts a variety of refuse including household trash, construction materials, and incinerator ash.

Just how big is it?

Currently, it encompasses 780 acres!

To put that in perspective, 780 acres = 590 NFL-sized football fields.  To put it another way, that is about 195 Treworgy Orchards cornfield mazes!

The landfill is about to get bigger, too.  The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has given approval to add an additional 61 acres of trash to the landfill.  The hope is that an additional 61 acres will allow the landfill to operate for another 11 years.

Here's something to take your mind off trash...

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