Maine Company Makes Biodiesel Switch

Portland, Maine-based ecomaine has begun fueling its heavy equipment with a biodiesel mix bought through the City of Portland from Frontier Energy of China, Maine. The equipment includes an excavator, bulldozer, front-end loader and three dump trucks, which are in use daily at the landfill/ashfill site, located in Scarborough and South Portland.

Ecomaine is a non-profit, waste disposal organization owned and operated by 21 municipalities in Southern Maine. It handles municipal solid waste for more than 20 percent of Maine’s total population through its three facilities: recycling, waste-to-energy and an ashfill/landfill site.

Linda Boudreau, board chair and South Portland city councilor, says ecomaine will use about 1,000 gallons of biodiesel per month, at a price that may fluctuate from slightly less than regular diesel fuel to slightly more. She adds that using biodiesel does not require any investment in conversion equipment. “We will be tracking equipment performance,” she says. “But we have every expectation that it will all run smoothly. In fact, we expect to introduce biodiesel to the remainder of our heavy equipment that’s located in Portland at our waste-to-energy plant and recycling facility.”