Woolwich residents will hear the benefits of extending contracts with ecomaine and Riverside Disposal at an informational hearing 5 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 23. Multi-year contracts for both will be considered at a special town meeting Sept. 5.

Select board member Allison Hepler said the informational meeting in the municipal building hearing room will be hosted by the community’s Solid Waste and Recycling Committee. She said committee chair Jonathan Appleyard recently visited and toured ecomaine’s Portland facility. The nonprofit provides single-sort recycling and waste disposal to dozens of Maine communities.

Several months ago, ecomaine recommended the select board consider entering into a long-term contract because more communities are considering joining. Hepler said a contract of 10 years or more would guarantee Woolwich’s membership. “Ecomaine predicts that in the not-so-distant future, disposal options in the state of Maine will become more limited,” Hepler stated in an email to the newspaper.

“A 10-year contract ... holds the tipping fees for solid waste at the Town’s current price of $58.72/ton plus an annual Consumer Price Index-Urban increase (CPI-U) for the next three years, at which time it would increase to $70.50 plus three years’ worth of accumulated and deferred CPI-U increases,” she wrote. The tipping fee for the remaining years of the contract would continue to rise from the $70.50 tipping fee plus annual CPI-U. A contract of less than 10 years wouldn’t guarantee these prices, she added.

“The prices are substantially lower than what the Town was paying for its solid waste disposal on its previous contract with another vendor,” noted Hepler.

Riverside Disposal and Recycling of Chelsea is in the second year of providing curbside trash and recycling services.

Lissa Bittermann, ecomaine’s business development manager, will attend the informational meeting to explain the benefits of the organization’s recycling rebate program and waste-to-energy operation.

For more information, contactTown Administrator Suzette Cloutier at administrator@woolwich.us or 442-7094, or Jonathan Appleyard at 389-4292.