Construction is underway on Portland’s $36 million ecomaine recycling expansion

Construction is underway at ecomaine’s new recycling facility at 90 Blueberry Road in Portland, moving the $36 million project beyond its May 2026 groundbreaking and into the building phase.

The facility is being built across the street from ecomaine’s existing recycling operation. Ecomaine says the new plant will expand regional sorting capacity while routine recycling operations continue at the current facility.

A larger facility with new sorting equipment

According to ecomaine’s current project description, the work will create a 55,000-square-foot facility by renovating an existing building and adding 11,000 square feet. The project also includes new recycling-sorting equipment, along with office and education space.

The expansion is intended to modernize the materials recovery operation and provide additional capacity for communities that send recycling to ecomaine. Those are planned benefits; the current records do not establish that municipal contracts, processing fees or service levels have already changed.

Capacity is planned to rise by more than 66%

Ecomaine says the new facility will be capable of processing up to 25 tons of recycling per hour, which it describes as more than a 66% increase over current capacity.

If that capacity is achieved, it could eventually affect how much recycling ecomaine can accept from member communities and other municipalities. It could also influence future recycling contracts, processing access, costs and truck activity. The available records do not document those changes as current effects of the construction.

Ecomaine says routine recycling operations will continue uninterrupted at its existing facility during construction.

Financing records show bond and reserve commitments

Ecomaine’s March 19, 2026 board packet says the organization issued $39.445 million in solid-waste resource-recovery-system revenue bonds in December 2025. The packet also says the broader bond authorization covered up to $41.9 million for several capital projects.

As of March 19, the financing record listed $29.814 million in bond proceeds for planning, design, construction modifications, repairs and improvements at the new materials recovery facility at 90 Blueberry Road, including the new sortation system and equipment. It separately listed $744,968 for electrical service to the facility and $800,000 for fire suppression.

The same board record says the estimated construction cost of the new materials recovery facility had increased by approximately $6 million from the original estimate. The board authorized up to $2 million from ecomaine’s long-term capital reserve to cover part of that increase.

Ecomaine’s FY2027 budget presentation says the $41.9 million borrowing covered improvements to the new recycling facility, the landfill and the waste-to-energy facility. The budget also lists planned capital expenditures for the 90 Blueberry Road project, including building improvements, equipment, road work, spare parts and vehicle purchases. Those are financing and budget records, not an independent audit of the project’s final cost.

Completion is expected in 2027

Ecomaine’s current project page says construction is expected to be complete in 2027. Maine Public and the Portland Press Herald reported the May groundbreaking and described the facility as expected to come online in 2027.

That remains a target rather than a completed or guaranteed opening date. The milestones still ahead include finishing construction, installing and commissioning equipment, and confirming when the expanded facility begins operating.

For Portland residents and the municipalities that use ecomaine, the immediate verified change is construction at 90 Blueberry Road. Any future effect on recycling contracts, processing fees, municipal waste costs, recycling access or truck volume remains to be determined.

Sources

• ecomaine project page
• Mainepublic