A Bold New Initiative in South Portland

South Portland is serious about sustainability. This year the city hired its first Sustainability Coordinator, and in her first year on the job Julie Rosenbach has set some ambitious goals for the city.

Earlier this year South Portland announced a new goal — zero waste at all city events. This new benchmark is part of the city’s overall goal to increase city-wide recycling to 40 percent by 2020. The city’s Energy & Recycling Committee demonstrated its commitment to this waste-reduction model last year at Willard Fest by helping to ensure the nearly 1,600 participants generated only a single bag of trash.

The first big test for South Portland’s zero waste events goal was the annual July 4^th celebration at Bug Light Park where the city partnered with Garbage to Garden in an effort to properly direct 90 percent of the waste into appropriate compost or recycling streams.