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 testify in support of LD 988, which would help Maine’s waste policy better Read More
landfills
NRCM Testimony in Support of LD 401, An Act to Preserve State Landfill Capacity and Promote Recycling
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 support of LD 401. For years, NRCM has been Read More
Bath to Present Plastic Bag Ban
by Nathan Strout Times Record news story After months of work, the Bath Solid Waste Advisory Committee is preparing to present an ordinance banning single-use plastic bags and polystyrene containers, while also putting fees on paper bags. “The Solid Waste Advisory Committee has been meeting since last January or February, so for several months, examining Read More
They Might Be Old, But They’re Still Cold! Learn about Re-Fridge.
Mitch Newlin, a senior at Bates College in Lewiston, has created a novel business, Re-Fridge, based on efforts to prevent a wasteful practice he noticed as an underclassman. After his first year at Bates, Newlin was astonished to see that at the end of each year, college campuses are rife with piles of items students Read More
Food Scrap Recycling Isn’t Just For Southern Maine Anymore. Rural Maine Takes A Bite At The Apple.
By Christopher Burns, staff writer Bangor Daily News news story It’s no secret that Mainers produce a lot of food scraps, most of which end up either in a garbage incinerator or a landfill, where those scraps take up valuable space and become a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. But the day is coming Read More
Controversial Hampden Waste Facility Gets Clearance
The Natural Resources Council says it is ‘dumbfounded’ by the state Department of Environmental Protection’s decision. by Madeline St. Amour, Morning Sentinel Portland Press Herald news story The Department of Environmental Protection has issued the final permits for a first-of-its-kind waste management plant in Hampden that would convert trash from more than 100 central Maine Read More
NRCM Dumbfounded at DEP Approval of MRC/Fiberight Waste Processing Facility
NRCM statement about Fiberight Application “We are extremely disappointed in Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s handling of the Fiberight application” said Sarah Lakeman, Sustainable Maine Project Director for NRCM. “There are powerful grounds for an appeal of these licenses.” NRCM, the Environment and Natural Resource Committee of the Legislature, engineers, attorneys, Maine citizens and others Read More
Legislators Question Viability of Fiberight Waste Proposal
Eight members of a legislative committee are calling on the Department of Environmental Protection to withhold a permit for the controversial waste-to-energy project until concerns over state law and funding are addressed. By Madeline St. Amour, Staff Writer Central Maine newspapers news story A controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in Hampden that would handle Read More
Gleaning Networks Help Grow Awareness of Food Waste Problems and Solutions
You may have noticed a recent uptick in the fairly depressing discussion about wasted food, but also the hopeful number of solutions. Maybe this topic is new to you, or perhaps you’re familiar with it—and maybe you’ve even taken a more proactive step and attended a food waste-focused event here in Maine, including one of Read More
