Senator Brenner, Representative Tucker, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, my name is Sarah Nichols, and I am the Sustainable Maine Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). I appreciate this opportunity to speak to you in strong opposition to LD 39, LD 108, and LD 244. Read More
Support of LD 155, Resolve, Directing the Board of Pesticides Control to Prohibit the Use of Certain Neonicotinoids for Outdoor Residential Use
Senator Dill, Representative O’Neil, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, my name is Sarah Nichols, and I am the Sustainable Maine Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. I appreciate this opportunity to testify in support of LD 155. NRCM is supporting this bill because we believe that Read More
Support of LD 8, An Act To Support Collection and Proper Disposal of Unwanted Drugs
Senator Brenner, Representative Tucker, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, my name is Sarah Nichols, and I am the Sustainable Maine Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). I appreciate this opportunity to speak to you in support of LD 8, which would help Mainers dispose of Read More
Top 5 Take-Aways from Maine’s Latest Waste and Recycling Report
The Sustainable Maine team at the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) is laser-focused on three bills that will make a huge difference in addressing serious problems and troubling trends with our recycling and landfilling system. Maine people want to do the right thing for the environment, but we need better policies in place if Read More
Why You Should Care about Landfills
There’s a hidden climate villain in Maine that you might not know about, and it’s where about 75% of our total waste goes. According to the U.S. EPA, landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States.[1] Pound for pound, methane has about 30 times more atmospheric heat-trapping capability than carbon Read More
Reusable Bags are the New Comeback Kids
Small victories need to be celebrated, particularly when you’re up against the monstrous plastic industry and fossil fuel companies. Store managers can now allow customers to bring in reusable shopping bags, according to the COVID19 Prevention Checklist Industry Guidance provided by the Maine Department for Economic and Community Development. This is a small but meaningful Read More
Participate in Plastic-free July to Help Curb Plastic Pollution
Plastic is polluting our environment, killing birds and sea creatures, and contributing to our climate crisis. But, did you know that reducing plastic is something you can do to support public health, the local economy, and human rights, too? We need to work together to turn off the tidal wave of single-use plastic waste. Plastic-free Read More
Four Ways to Improve Our Worsening Waste and Recycling Crisis
Even eternally optimistic people struggle to remain positive sometimes. I know because I am one of them. And as someone who has thought about recycling and waste policy daily for the past decade, my positivity has never had a greater test than in 2020. Most people understand that reducing waste and recycling is an environmentally Read More
Fossil Fuel Companies and Plastic Industry Exploiting Health Crisis for Profit
There is a lot to worry about these days. The COVID-19 pandemic has made us rightfully worried about the health and economic well-being of ourselves and our loved ones. This new worry comes on top of our existing concerns about our environment and the challenges that future generations will face due to climate change, plastic Read More
