A waste incinerator in Orrington began accepting trash again Monday after a July 21 fire damaged wires, forcing it to divert trash to an Old Town landfill over the past two-plus weeks.
The fire that caused the damage at Penobscot Energy Recovery Co. was likely caused by a lithium battery that should have been recycled rather than thrown away with other household trash, Plant Manager Henry Lang said.
The fire was just one of many hazards the waste plant encounters on a daily basis from people throwing away things that should be recycled, which can damage the plant and endanger its roughly 60 employees.
“In the business of turning waste into fuel, it’s not uncommon to have fires from time to time,” Lang said. “We don’t have much control over the materials people throw away, and people tend to throw away everything.”
PERC takes in about…