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#ecomaine — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #ecomaine, aggregated by home.social.

  1. An excellent resource from #EcoMaine!

    #FoodWaste and #Composting

    "Did you know that almost a third of what we throw away is leftover or spoiled food? If Maine is to achieve a 50% recycling rate, we need to recover our food waste, too – it’s worth the weight!

    "ecomaine added food waste recycling to our sustainable waste management solutions in order to help Maine reach its recycling goal. We continue to build food waste recycling capacity in southern Maine, serving as a central collection point for grocery stores, institutions, and participating cities and towns.

    "Collected food waste is transported to #ExeterME’s #AgriEnergy [#AgricycleEnergy] to be de-packaged and anaerobically digested to produce sustainable power, organic farm #fertilizer, and cow bedding for the #Maine family dairy farm #StonyvaleFarm. Any packaging removed from the food waste is delivered back to ecomaine to be burned for energy—keeping all of it out of our #landfills!

    "By making #composting, anaerobic digestion, and food waste recycling so easy, we encourage our communities to dispose of their waste responsibly.

    "For more on compost that’s 'Worth The Weight,' check out our informational pamphlet!

    #BackyardComposting

    "Backyard composting is one of the easiest ways to keep organic material out of the trash. It also has some other great advantages:

    - It doesn’t weigh your trash down as much.
    - It doesn’t get into ecomaine‘s waste-to-energy plant, making our combustion more damp and less efficient.
    - It’s easy – and “grass-cycling” (leaving clippings on the lawn) is better for your grass!
    - It saves Maine’s towns money on collection and hauling.
    - And it saves YOU money on trash bags!

    "There are no trucks or driving involved – no carbon emissions! You just walk it out to your bin, and that’s it.

    "In the end, composting produces rich #soil for flower and vegetable #gardens – without paying for it (again) at the store.

    Drop Off Locations

    "If you’re looking for a compost drop-off location, instead of putting it in your backyard, here are a few… If you know of one that’s not here, let us know! (Some facilities may be for residents only; we advise calling ahead if you’re not sure.)

    [I've found that transfer stations are usually residents only...]

    #BridgtonME Transfer Station
    118 Sandy Creek Rd, Bridgton, ME, USA

    #BrownfieldME Transfer Station
    Pequawket Trail, Brownfield, ME, USA

    #CapeElizabethME Recycling Center
    10 Cooper Dr, Cape Elizabeth, ME, USA

    #EliotME Recycling Center
    468 Dow Highway, Eliot, ME, USA

    #FalmouthME Community Park
    Winn Rd, Falmouth, ME, USA

    #FalmouthME Transfer Station
    100 Woods Rd, Falmouth, ME, USA

    #FalmouthME Village Park
    22 Hat Trick Drive, Falmouth, ME

    #FreeportME Recycling Center
    100 Landfill Road, Freeport, ME, USA

    #NorthYarmouthME Town Hall / #SamRistichNatureTrail, North Yarmouth, ME, USA

    #PortlandME: #BoydStreet #CommunityGarden
    2 Boyd Street, Portland, ME

    Portland: #BrentwoodFarms Community Garden
    Brentwood Street, Portland, ME

    Portland: #Libbytown Community Garden
    175 Douglass Street, Portland, ME

    Portland: #NorthStreetCommunityGarden
    195 North Street, Portland, ME

    Portland: Parkside/King Middle School
    In the back of the school near the Fitzpatrick Stadium parking lot
    92 Deering Avenue, Portland, ME

    Portland: #PaysonPark Community Garden
    Dropoff located on Front Street.
    Front Street, Portland, Maine

    Portland: #ReicheSchool
    Dropoff is on the Clark Street side.
    166 Brackett Street, Portland, ME

    Portland: #Riverton Community Garden
    45 Verrill Street, Portland, Maine

    #SacoME Dept. of Public Works
    15 Phillips Spring Road, Saco, ME

    Saco Parks & Rec
    75 Franklin St, Saco, ME, USA

    #ScarboroughME Public Works Facility
    20 Washington Avenue, Scarborough, ME, USA

    #SouthPortlandME City Hall
    25 Cottage Rd, South Portland, ME, USA

    South Portland Code Enforcement Office
    496 Ocean Street, South Portland, ME

    South Portland Golf Course Maint. Building
    221 Westbrook Street, South Portland, ME, USA

    South Portland High School
    637 Highland Avenue, South Portland, ME, USA

    South Portland Transfer Station
    929 Highland Ave, South Portland, ME, USA

    South Portland: Redback Community Center
    95 Macarthur Circle West, South Portland, ME

    #StandishME Transfer Station
    150 Moody Rd, Standish, ME, USA

    #SurryME: #ChickadeeCompost
    Jill's Lane, Surry, Maine www.chickadeecompost.com

    #VinalhavenME Transfer Station
    178 Round the Island Rd, Vinalhaven, ME, USA

    #YarmouthME Transfer Station
    659 East Main Street, Yarmouth, ME, USA

    Curbside Collection

    And if you’re really not into the backyard thing, there are some companies who will pick it up for you!

    - #WeCompostIt! (Greater Portland)
    - #GarbageToGarden (Greater Portland)
    - #ScrapDogs (Greater #CamdenME-#RockportME)
    - #MrFoxComposting (Southern Maine & #NH)
    - #ProjectEarth (Lincoln County)
    - #ChickadeeCompost (All of #BlueHillME Peninsula, #DeerIsleME, #EllsworthME)
    - #OneEarth Composting (#HampdenME)
    - #AgriCycle Energy (Collection from businesses & organizations for anaerobic digestion – all over!)

    Other Compost Resources:

    Maine Department of Environmental Protection
    207-592-0455

    University of Maine Cooperative Extension
    207-581-3188

    Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine – Food Recovery
    207-581-3195

    Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association [#MOFGA]
    207-568-4142

    #WormMainea
    207-831-3752

    #MainelyWorm Bins

    #UncleJimsWormFarm
    1-800-373-0555

    Source (with links):
    ecomaine.org/food-waste-and-co

    #SolarpunkSunday #Composting #WormBins #ReducingWaste
    #Landfills #Maine #WasteToEnergy

  2. So, I caught a glimpse of #EcoMaine's new recycling facility, which has been completed. The new imaging technology will help separate recyclables even faster and more efficiently! Pretty cool stuff!

    #Ecomaine plans $25 million #recycling center upgrade

    #MainePublic | By Peter McGuire
    Published September 9, 2024

    "One of Maine’s largest recyclers is planning a multi-million dollar upgrade of its Portland plant in anticipation of handling more cardboard and other household waste.

    "Ecomaine, a #CommunityOwned corporation, plans to spend up to $25.2 million on state-of-the-art sorting equipment at a new recycling plant near its Portland headquarters.

    "CEO Kevin Roche said the new automated sorting machines use #ImagingTechnology to separate mixed recycling such as paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and aluminum.

    "The equipment will replace the company's current machines, installed around 2006.

    "Back then, newsprint made up most of the recycling ecomaine handled, according to Roche. With a boom in online shopping and home delivery, however, cardboard has become the top material it handles.

    " 'Paper packing has really taken over the recycling bin, so we need a new design and plus the new system is nearly 20 years old,' Roche said.

    "The market for recyclables has rebounded from a slump after China stopped accepting most U.S. solid waste about seven years ago.

    "American companies retrofitted mills to process used cardboard into more packaging material, boosting domestic demand, Roche said.

    "But local policy is also likely to increase the amount of material ecomaine handles, he added.

    "Maine regulators are finalizing requirements that producers pay for the cost of disposing #packaging waste. The extended producer responsibility program would reimburse towns and cities for their recycling programs.

    "With that policy in place, Roche said that more communities will likely expand programs or revive abandoned recycling rather than 'leave money on the table.'

    " 'So that in concert with public outcry for more recycling and more recovery, those two things are going to go hand in hand and I think, expand recycling programs,' Roche said.

    "The company hopes its expansion will allow it to add more member communities that own and send waste to the Portland facility.

    "Ecomaine plans to borrow $35.5 million through a bond issue for the recycling upgrade and a landfill expansion. Adding more landfill space will give the company seven more years to store ash from its waste-to-energy [#WTE] plant, according to the company.

    "The public corporation is owned by a collection of towns and cities in southern Maine. It serves about 73 communities statewide."

    Source:
    mainepublic.org/climate/2024-0

    #SolarPunkSunday #Recycle #TrashToEnergy #FoodWasteComposting #GarbageToGarden #Maine