Bangor Daily News editorial Maine’s bottle redemption program turns 40 this year, marking four decades of rewarding responsible consumers with small, 5- or 15-cent refunds when they redeem the beverage containers they’ve accrued over time. It is one of the most comprehensive and successful of such programs in the country. Maine consumers recycle more beverage Read More
sustainability
South Portland Food Waste Pilot Program Increases Recycling
By Juliette Laaka The Forecaster news story SOUTH PORTLAND — Since its inception last May, a pilot program to collect food waste has increased recycling rates in two participating neighborhoods. About 600 households in the Knightville and Meetinghouse Hill neighborhoods received 6-gallon buckets to use for curbside compost collection. Additional bins were set up at Read More
Adult Ed, Recycling Tours: How to School Yourself in Sustainability
Mainers can take a class in Lewiston about electric cars, check out the ecomaine facility, or get a helping hand from the Natural Resources Council of Maine – just to name a few resources. By Ray Routhier, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Not that long ago, the idea of taking a class to Read More
Opposition to LD 1703, An Act to Create Equity for Wine and Spirit Container Deposits
Senator Saviello, 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. I appreciate this opportunity to testify in opposition to LD 1703. NRCM has had a long history working to Read More
Steamrolling Forward: Multiple Maine Towns Take Steps to Reduce Plastic Pollution
You may not have noticed amid all the hubbub around national issues and politics, but some other pretty important votes took place in Maine on, or near, this past Election Day. Multiple towns took important steps to help create more sustainable communities through the elimination or reduction of plastic pollution. And that is good news! Read More
Taking a Bite Out of Food Waste
Tackling climate change, food insecurity, and economic waste one meal at a time Licia Goodridge knows just how expensive food waste is. Since food is mostly water, which weighs eight pounds per gallon, and hauling contracts are based on weight, she knew her school district was wasting money transporting something to the dump that could Read More
You Make a Difference for Maine’s Environment
Donate Now! At the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), we don’t give up. Our 63-year history shows just how determined we are to ensure clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and protected habitats in our forests, rivers, and along our coastlines. You are an essential partner in this work to protect Maine’s Read More
Food Waste a No Go in Sebago
Sebago Elementary School principal, Kirsten Goff, received an email in August that intrigued her. NRCM’s “Food Guy,” Ryan Parker, had reached out to the principals of Maine’s K-12 schools with some information about reducing food waste in Maine’s public education system. Principal Goff immediately contacted Ted Bridge-Koenigsberg, who teaches science and language arts at the Read More
Maine at the Cutting Edge of Compost Technology
By Abigail Curtis, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what happens to waste once it’s been thrown out or flushed away. But Mark King and the other members of the Maine Compost Team are not like most people. King, an environmental specialist with the Read More
