Maine Guide to Recovering and Composting Organics in Maine: An excellent resource from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection Maine’s Compost School Biocycle: A national composting and organics recycling information hub. US Composting Council: Provides a wealth of resources and facts about composting in the US. MIT Sloan School Report on Residential Curbside Composting Programs: Read More
sustainability
Municipal Composting Programs
Municipal composting programs for food waste are few and far between in Maine, but there are many around the country and beyond. In Maine, most municipalities provide composting of leaf and yard waste, but few offer food scrap composting. Some towns partner exclusively with one of Maine’s compost collection companies to offer a discount for Read More
A Great Sustainability Effort Dawns in the Maine Town the Sun Touches First
Lubec, Maine, is an incredibly picturesque little town at the far eastern edge of Maine. Nestled at the end of Maine’s rugged, bold coastline, Lubec features many opportunities to engage locals and draw visitors. The quaint downtown contains a few dozen shops lining the main street, which leads to the foot of the bridge reaching Read More
Company Offers Guarantee for Maine Towns to Reduce Trash by More than One-third
News Release The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) and WasteZero announced today a joint initiative to help Maine towns dramatically reduce waste through WasteZero Trash Metering®, a Pay-As You-Throw (PAYT) program for household trash. WasteZero, the nation’s largest waste reduction company, will guarantee Maine communities that adopt its program—and that don’t already have a Read More
Peaks Island Students Change Habits Beyond an Island in Maine
Students at Peaks Island Elementary School recently engaged in an endeavor created to align with their new, project-based learning program, RRR-Evolution. The idea is to help the youngsters understand the impacts of their decisions with hands-on (quite literally in this case) examples of how those decisions effect the world around us. Students spent one week Read More
“Think About It!” Freeport Interact Club Starts School-wide Recycling Program
On our final school visit, Gabby Grunkemeyer and I headed to Freeport Middle School’s “Interact Club” meeting to hear about their NRCM grant project designing and implementing a school-wide recycling system. As we entered the school, we were greeted by teacher and club leader Lucy Lloyd and a lively group of middle schoolers eager to Read More
Freeport Approves Ban on Single-use Plastic Bags
The ordinance prohibits disposable plastic shopping bags and includes a 5-cent fee on paper bags. By Peter McGuire, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story FREEPORT — Voters approved a townwide ban on disposable plastic shopping bags Tuesday, joining a number of Maine communities putting restrictions on the items. Residents approved the ban 804-501, about Read More
Portland is “Connected By Nature”
The City of Portland is developing a well-deserved reputation as one of the most sustainable cities in the nation. This reputation hasn’t happened overnight, or without the help of many of the citizens, businesses, and progressive thinkers in and around Maine’s largest city. A few months ago, the Natural Resources Council of Maine released an Read More
South Portland Considers Zoning Changes to Promote, Regulate Solar Arrays
If the City Council approves the amendments, the city will become a model for other Maine communities and join a growing number of U.S. cities that have taken similar steps. By Kelley Bouchard, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story SOUTH PORTLAND — City planning officials have proposed sweeping zoning changes that would both promote Read More
