Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, my name is Sarah Lakeman and I am the Sustainable Maine Project Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). I appreciate this opportunity to speak to you in strong support of LD 1532. NRCM has worked alongside Read More
bag ordinances
Conservationists, Grocers, and Retailers Join Forces to Support a Statewide Ban on Single-use Plastic Bags
Proposed bill receives legislative hearing Wednesday, April 24 News release by the Natural Resources Council of Maine, Retail Association of Maine, and the Maine Grocers & Food Producers Association April 23, 2019 (Augusta, ME) – A bill that would address the growing plastic pollution problem by banning the use of single-use plastic shopping bags statewide Read More
Reducing Waste One Cup (of Coffee) at a Time
On April 2, 2019, Tandem Coffee Roasters launched an ambitious initiative to drastically reduce waste at both of their locations in Portland. The company has lowered all drink prices by 25 cents and started charging customers 25 cents if they need a single-use cup for their drink order. The main intention is to get people Read More
April 24, 2019: “Bag It” Movie Screening, Standish
Did you know that single-use plastic bags are the fourth most commonly littered type of single-use plastic? That is why 22 towns in Maine have ordinances to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic bags, and the State of Maine is considering legislation to reduce plastic bags statewide. Plastic bags and other “disposable” single-use plastics are littering Read More
Maine Lawmakers Should Pass Plastic Bag Ban
A product so cheap it can be thrown away is creating expensive problems. Portland Press Herald editorial Most people laughed in 1954 when the editor of a trade journal called Modern Plastics told an industry conference that the future of their business “is in the trash can.” But they weren’t laughing nine years later, when Read More
Maine Could Be Among First in U.S. to Ban Plastic Bags Statewide
With 20 communities already restricting them, and more on the way, the state may take California’s environmental cue. by Gillian Graham, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story The way Rep. Nicole Grohoski sees it, the time has come to do something about plastic shopping bags. The first-term Democrat from Ellsworth is one of three Read More
Ellsworth the Latest Maine Town to Consider Banning Plastic Shopping Bags
By Bill Trotter, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story A proposal to bar city retailers from distributing single-use plastic shopping bags had its first airing Monday night before city councilors. The ban, if adopted, would add Ellsworth to the ranks of more than a dozen municipalities in Maine that have adopted restrictions on the Read More
Bar Harbor Council Votes for Bans on Plastic Bags, Polystyrene Containers
By Bill Trotter, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Municipal bans or restrictions on the retail use of single-use plastic shopping bags are continuing to spread in Maine, primarily along the coast, as two more towns on Mount Desert Island have taken up the issue. The Bar Harbor Town Council enacted two bans Tuesday, Read More
Containers Ban Arriving in New Year
by Brian P. D. Hannon Free Press news story In Bea Dodge’s 28 years working at Wasses, only two customers asked her not to serve their hot dogs and fries under the folding white lid of a Styrofoam container. When the Rockland takeout spot begins a new year of business on January 2, the choice Read More
