The Boothbay Region Refuse Disposal District is focused on grinding demolition debris into smaller wood chips. The district recently received a complaint from a Canadian firm which accepts wood chips from Maine. For years, the refuse district has sent its grounded demolition debris wood chips to Lewiston before they are transported to Canada.

Operations Manager Steve Lewis reported Sept. 14 during the BRRDD trustees meeting that, until smaller wood chips are produced, then the district had no place to send them. Lewis contacted the city of Bath about sending district wood chips to its landfill, but the cost proved to be “prohibitive,” said Lewis. Another option was hiring a contractor to fix holes in the grinder’s grates. The repairs improved the situation, but not enough to satisfy the Canadian firm.

The district is now concentrating on two other options for reducing the chips’ size. The district is purchasing new hammer tips for the demolition debris grinder. ”We’re hoping it will work. We bought it from Continental Biomass Industries (of New Hampshire) which is where we purchased the grinder. By the week’s end, we should have it,” Lewis said.

Option two is purchasing new screens for the grinder. In October, Reny Construction will remove the old screens in preparation for transport to CBI. During the refurbishing, the grinder will not be operational for a week, according to Lewis. A former CBI mechanic will inspect the grinder seeking a temporary solution to the problem of the oversized chips. “We’re hoping to modifying the screens instead of buying new ones because they cost about $20,000,” Lewis said.

In other action, auditor Fred Brewer reported the district’s finances for the past fiscal year are in “pretty good shape.” The district finished with a $23,719 surplus. The district was over budget for insurance and repairs, but made up for it in other areas, according to Lewis. Also impacting the district’s bottom line is financing the purchase of a $75,000 backhoe. The audit also showed operating revenue down by almost $50,000 due to a dip in sales of recyclable materials.

“We need to build our cash back up a little, but other than that, we’re in pretty good shape,” Lewis said.

The district is also looking for a partner in sponsoring a “Household Hazardous Waste Day.” The district doesn’t accept hazardous materials such as pesticides, paint thinner and gasoline. These items typically remain in the household because disposal costs are prohibitive. Lewis attended a Boothbay Civic Association meeting earlier in the month and solicited the association’s support. “It was a preliminary discussion. I was there to talk about batteries so I brought it (household hazardous waste) up. They wanted more information before deciding,” he said.

The trustees will meet next at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12 in the district’s business office in Boothbay.