Will this be the year New Hampshire limits trash imports?

State lawmakers are taking another shot at limiting the amount of trash shipped in from other states and buried in New Hampshire landfills.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle largely agree that the idea behind House Bill 1138 makes sense: The bill would allow existing landfills to continue accepting waste from outside the state, but starting in 2030, that amount would be capped at 30% of total waste.

In previous years, concerns that this kind of measure could violate the Interstate Commerce Clause have kept the bill from passing. The commerce clause grants Congress the power to regulate trade between states, preventing state governments from dictating how private entities can do business across state borders.

Democratic state Rep. Nick Germana, the bill’s prime sponsor, said this year’s version is intended to be a bit more “friendly” to the constitutional provision — but he remains cautiously aware that, even if the bill passes, it could still be challenged in court.

“I think it’s a fight worth having,” he said. “It is up to the state to make an argument that the legislation strikes a balance between our preservation of state resources, this case, our land and air and water, and the economic burden that is placed on interstate commerce.”

Germana’s bill also requires landfill operators who received a permit after Jan. 1 of this year to limit out-of-state solid waste to no more than 15% of their total solid waste.

In 2024, 39% of the waste buried in New Hampshire landfills came from out-of-state sources, with Massachusetts contributing the largest share, according to the state’s biennial solid waste report.

Three major landfills receive most of the out-of-state waste discarded in New Hampshire: the Turnkey Landfill, the North Country Environmental Services landfill and the Mount Carberry Secure Landfill in Success.

“For us to continue to be the dumping ground and that doesn’t enrage anyone and that we’re still having these conversations is crazy,” said Rep. Kelley Potenza, a Republican, at a legislative work session. “This tiny little state — 1.4 million people — and the level of trash that we are hauling in is unheard of across the country. No one is doing this across the country.”

Many state representatives have noted that out-of-state trash arriving in New Hampshire landfills often includes hazardous materials such as mattresses, asbestos and other substances. States like Massachusetts have prohibited mattress disposal in their landfills.

“We’re going to be the dumping ground for the worst of the stuff they don’t want to landfill, and that’s the outrage,” Germana said.

Other states must also navigate the Interstate Commerce Clause. Many, including Maine, do so by owning the landfill property while contracting with private companies to operate it.

State Rep. Seth King, a Republican, suggested that New Hampshire could consider adopting that approach rather than risk potentially violating the Interstate Commerce Clause.

“I’m a free market guy. I’ve been one my whole life, and in fantasy land, sounds great, but we’re so beyond the free market here,” he said. “Maybe this should just be a state-run industry.”

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