#landfills — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #landfills, aggregated by home.social.
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Former Industrial Ground Goes from Dump to Diversity and Hosts 64% of UK’s Black-Necked Grebes
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Former Industrial Ground Goes from Dump to Diversity and Hosts 64% of UK’s Black-Necked Grebes
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#Composting program to provide #Everglades with soil for #CommunityGarden
by Martin Vassolo, March 12, 2025
"Your #FoodScraps could be used to help support the Everglades through a new partnership between the village of #PinecrestFL and the #MiccosukeeTribe.
"Instead of dumping #FoodWaste into crowded #landfills, which produce #methane emissions, the #EvergladesEarthCycleProject will expand Pinecrest's residential composting program and deliver nutrient-rich soil to the #Miccosukee Tribe.
"Driving the news: The project, funded with a $400,000 federal grant and other contributions, calls for installing four new #CompostingBins in Pinecrest and three around #MiamiDade County District 7.
"The initial phase of the program will supply compost to the #SwampyMeadows #CommunityGarden, which grows vegetables just outside the Miccosukee Indian School.
"Another proposal that's been floated is adding new soil to the Everglades' tree islands, though that would need tribal approval, says the Rev. Houston R. Cypress of the #LoveTheEverglades Movement, a partner in the program.
"Cypress told reporters on an airboat ride through the Everglades last week that the tribe teaches 'the essence of being in harmony with nature is giving back to it.'
"'With the Everglades Earth Cycle Project, we're giving back clean and healthy soil; we're giving products that might eventually improve the water quality out here, but we're also giving directly back to local indigenous communities here,' he said.
"Pinecrest already has two free public composting bins, one at the Pinecrest Public Library and another between the Community Center and Pinecrest Gardens."
https://www.axios.com/local/miami/2025/03/12/everglades-composting-pinecrest-miccosukee
#Composting #CommunityGardening #FoodSecurity #ReducingFoodWaste #SolarPunkSunday
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An excellent resource from #EcoMaine!
"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, MEPortland: #BrentwoodFarms Community Garden
Brentwood Street, Portland, MEPortland: #Libbytown Community Garden
175 Douglass Street, Portland, MEPortland: #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, MainePortland: #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, MESaco 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, MESouth Portland Golf Course Maint. Building
221 Westbrook Street, South Portland, ME, USASouth Portland High School
637 Highland Avenue, South Portland, ME, USASouth Portland Transfer Station
929 Highland Ave, South Portland, ME, USASouth 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, USACurbside 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
207-592-0455University of Maine Cooperative Extension
207-581-3188Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine – Food Recovery
207-581-3195Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association [#MOFGA]
207-568-4142#WormMainea
207-831-3752#MainelyWorm Bins
#UncleJimsWormFarm
1-800-373-0555Source (with links):
https://www.ecomaine.org/food-waste-and-composting/#SolarpunkSunday #Composting #WormBins #ReducingWaste
#Landfills #Maine #WasteToEnergy -
So, my neighbor (who is on our town's select board) made the excellent suggestion that places that are more rural should invest in providing low-cost or free composters for folks to compost their own food waste (something that #ecomaine encourages)! Some more urban areas use #GarbageToGarden or #WeCompostIt services [see next post] to deal with food waste, which is sometimes where #Agricycle gets involved! #EcoMaine has been partnering with Agricycle since 2016!
Ecomaine Launches Food Waste Recovery Service
Maine Public | By Patty Wight
Published September 7, 2016"Open up a refrigerator and the chances of finding limp lettuce or soggy squash are pretty high. Here in the U.S., it’s likely that this food will find its way into the garbage — according to the USDA, at least 30 percent of the nation’s food supply is wasted.
"A new program launched Wednesday by ecomaine aims to get that food out of the trash and give it a second life as #compost or energy.
"When confronted with produce past its prime, says ecomaine’s CEO Kevin Roche, there’s really one major roadblock that steers people toward dropping it in the trash versus a compost bucket.
" 'The ‘ick’ factor is what I call it,' he says.
"Rotten food is messy, it smells and it attracts fruit flies. But Roche says ecomaine now has a unique way to manage the ick factor: by sealing that food waste in a clear plastic bag.
" 'You go to the grocery store, and when you buy your oranges or your head of broccoli, and the first thing you usually do is put it in a clear bag. And we feel that could be an avenue for us to contain the ick factor and get a second use out of that plastic bag,' he says.
"Starting Wednesday, ecomaine accepts food waste knotted up in plastic bags. Ecomaine doesn’t collect the bags itself. It consolidates waste picked up by commercial services, such as Garbage to Garden or #WeCompostIt!, at a cost of about $55 a ton.
"On Wednesday morning, a collection truck from #AgriCycleEnergy unloads a giant salad of rotten corn, peppers, tomatoes and other produce at ecomaine’s facility in Portland.
" 'We’re collecting from restaurants, colleges, hospitals, and a variety of other generators of food waste,' says Dan Bell, manager at Agri-Cycle Energy in #ExeterMaine, where all of this produce consolidated at ecomaine will eventually go.
" 'A special machine at Agri-Cycle Energy removes the plastic bags, which are returned to ecomaine to be burned for electricity. The food waste, meanwhile, is blended with an equal amount of cow #manure from a nearby dairy farm, then heated and churned for about 30 days using a process called anaerobic digestion.
" 'We have two large domes, and it’s essentially enclosed, so we’re capturing all of the gases in the process of breaking down food waste,' Bell says.
"The #biogas is used to produce heat and electricity. And the food waste, he says Bell, turns into #fertilizer and animal bedding.
" 'This is material that’s been in the waste stream forever. And it always will be. And it’ll always be something that has to be handled. But pulling it out and removing it and source separating it allows companies like ours and other #digesters across the country to put that material to work for us, versus just sitting in a landfill,' he says.
"Because food generally doesn’t break down in landfills. A couple years ago, Roche says ecomaine dug down into one of its landfills.
" 'We found chicken breasts that were 25 years old, tomatoes, Ruffles potato chips that were 25 years old,' he says.
"Roche says businesses and consumers can prevent food waste through correct planning. But when lost or forgotten food is discovered in the dark recesses of a fridge, that’s where ecomaine’s food waste recovery program comes in.
"Initially, he says, it won’t account for a huge chunk of what ecomaine processes, which amounts to 170,000 tons of trash and 45,000 tons of recycling per year.
" 'Even if we can get upwards of five tons a year, we feel that would be a good start to our program,' Roche says.
"It’s an important step, he says, toward reaching Maine’s statewide recycling goal of 50 percent by 2021."
[I'm wondering how close Maine is to that goal?]
#SolarpunkSunday #Digesters #Composting #ReducingWaste #Landfills #Maine #Recycling #WasteToEnergy #Compost
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So, some communities in #Maine were like, #NIMBY when a #TrashToEnergy plant was proposed. After all, folks had to deal with air quality issues with the old paper mill in Westbrook for many years (it was still belching smelly shit when I worked at a local library). However, #EcoMaine built the plant, and from what I can tell, they are doing it the right way. Our community signed up for participating in their program years ago, and now there are 20 communities participating. ecomaine has even upgraded their facility to be able to retrieve even more usable metal from the resultant ashes. And they are implementing programs based on Maine policy change, which requires businesses that do a lot of shipping (like Amazon) to make their packaging recyclable and to pay for communities to deal with packaging waste (more about that in another post).
Anyhow, here is more information about ecomaine's #WasteToEnergy plant...
ecomaine’s Waste-to-Energy Power Plant
"Our waste-to-energy #(WTE) plant receives trash identified as #unrecyclable and converts it at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit to energy in the form of electricity. The ecomaine WTE plant processes about 175,000 tons of trash a year and, from that process, generates enough steam to create about 100,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually.
"That’s enough electricity to power our WTE and recycling facilities, our company’s electric vehicles, plus about 15,000 homes for a year!
"Converting the trash to energy also benefits the communities we serve by reducing its volume by 90 percent, leaving only inert ash to be stored at the landfill site. (There are also statewide economic benefits from WTE plants; read the results of a Maine study -- linked below).
"By reducing the volume of trash by 90%, controlling #pollution, and generating #electricity, waste-to-energy clearly has many benefits. These and more are outlined in a 2021 study by Dr. Marco Castaldi, The Scientific Truth about Waste to Energy Facilities and Quantifiable Benefits They Provide. (Sneak Peek: did you know that areas in the U.S. with waste-to-energy have higher #recycling rates than those without?) "
Source:
https://www.ecomaine.org/our-facility/waste-to-energy-plant/Maine study:
https://www.ecomaine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/WTE-econ-benefits.pdf
#SolarPunkSunday #Recycling #Reclamation #ReducingWaste #Landfills #Maine -
#MaineDEP says expansion of state’s largest landfill would benefit public
The decision allows the state to apply to add 61 acres to the state-owned #JuniperRidgeLandfill, which takes in 52% of the state's waste.
by Penelope Overton
October 2, 2024"Despite objections from neighbors and environmental groups, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection concluded Wednesday that expanding the state’s largest landfill, Juniper Ridge, would substantially benefit the public.
It’s not an outright approval, but the department’s decision allows the state to apply to add 61 acres to the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill, which takes in 52% of the state’s waste. The state claims this expansion would extend the facility’s operating life by 11 years; without it, it would run out of space by 2028."DEP Commissioner Melanie Loyzim’s decision can be appealed to the Board of Environmental Protection and the Maine courts, and several opponents of the proposed expansion, like the Boston-based #ConservationLawFoundation , say they are prepared to challenge the decision.
"'This decision recklessly gambles with public health and the environment,' said #AlexandraStPierre, the director of communities and toxics in the foundation’s #EnvironmentalJustice Program. 'It dismisses the serious concerns raised by the #PenobscotNation and other nearby residents about the harmful effects this expansion will have on their health and community.'
"She continued: 'We refuse to allow this dangerous expansion to proceed unchecked.'
"The foundation and other opponents say the #OldTown location of the facility unfairly places the burden of the state’s trash needs on the Penobscot Nation. The #leachate that #JuniperRidge produces when it rains is sent to a nearby paper mill sewer plant that discharges into the #PenobscotRiver.
[...]
"The amount of waste heading to Maine landfills has increased 34% between 2018 and 2022, according to DEP. #Sludge that was once spread on #agricultural fields is now landfilled due to forever chemical #contamination [#PFAS]. The amount of municipal solid waste landfilled during that time jumped 47%.
"While some people say Maine is not doing enough to divert waste from the #landfills – for example, a bill that would have required large #FoodWaste generators to #recycle their #scraps at a nearby facility died on the appropriations table – others object to #Casella as the facility operator.
"Casella clashed with some municipal leaders and state lawmakers when it refused to accept the #biosolids created by wastewater treatment plants at Juniper Ridge out of fear that the mushy slop, or sludge, was causing structural instability that could lead to the landfill’s collapse."
Original article:
https://www.pressherald.com/2024/10/02/maine-state-needs-to-expand-its-biggest-landfill/Archived version:
https://archive.md/VXv9m#WaterIsLife #EnvironmentalRacism #JuniperRidgeLandfill #CasellaWasteSystems #MaineNews #Maine #ToxicFire #PFASPollution
#WabanakiAlliance
#DontWasteME #Slingshot #EnvironmentalJustice #PenobscotNation #PFAS #PenobscotRiver #EnvironmentalInjustice #CompostFoodWaste #ReduceWaste -
While on the subject of #landfills and #TrashFires...
Exponential Landfill Expansion Proposal MustTake Into Account #EnvironmentalJustice
Josh Woodbury July 25, 2024
"#CasellaWasteSystems has applied for an expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill that could more than double its size. Under law, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection must determine whether an expansion has 'public benefit.' They also must consider Environmental Justice when looking at the industrial facility’s impact on surrounding communities, including the #PenobscotNation. The #MEDEP will make a decision by August 23rd. Public comments are currently being accepted. [I'll have to look into what the decision was]
"After a hard fought push back from area residents, including members of the Penobscot Nation, the DEP is now required to consider 'Environmental Justice' when making a determination about whether a landfill expansion meets the 'Public Benefit' criteria. The DEP will decide if the criteria is met next month.
"Juniper Ridge landfill is located in West Old Town, and is situated between #PushawStream and #BirchStream that both flow into the #PenobscotRiver. The landfill’s leachate waste is trucked to the now #NineDragonsMill in #OldTownMaine, where it receives treatment [sic] and is released into the Penobscot River, directly below the Penobscot Nation.
"In current solid waste law, the DEP has defined Environmental Justice as, '…the right to be protected from environmental pollution and live in and enjoy a clean and healthful #environment, regardless of ancestry, class, disability, ethnicity, income, national origin or religion.
"Environmental justice includes the equal protection and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of waste management laws, regulations, and licensing decisions.
"The Penobscot Nation has experienced environmental impacts from the Juniper Ridge Landfill including odors, a toxic fire in 2023, and the discharging of minimally treated leachate, which includes #PFAS, into the #PenobscotRiver sustenance fishing waters.
"Juniper Ridge Landfill still accepts out of state waste after Casella lobbied for a postponement of recently passed restrictions."
#SunlightMediaCollective #JuniperRidgeLandfill #Casella #MaineNews #Maine #ToxicSmoke #ToxicFire #WaterIsLife #WabanakiAlliance #KathyPaul #DontWasteME #Slingshot #ConservationLawFoundation
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#Maine Legislature Passes #FoodScrapBan
Will keep thousands of tons of #FoodWaste out of #landfills.
March 6, 2024
"Maine’s legislature has passed a bill that would require many commercial food producers to #donate and #compost food waste rather than send it to a landfill. The bill would reduce #FoodInsecurity, save cities and towns money, and slow #ClimateChange from #methane pollution.
"#ConservationLawFoundation (#CLF) released the following statement in response: "#MethanePollution is over 80 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide in driving the climate crisis,' said Nora Bosworth, #ZeroWaste attorney at CLF. 'The main culprit of this pollution is decomposing food scraps in landfills, and this bill offers a logical solution to this problem. It’s time for Maine to catch up with the rest of New England and embrace a better solution for our food waste.'"
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More of this, please! More #recycling, #LessMining!
More than 600K pounds of #ElectronicWaste (#EWaste) has been diverted from landfills thanks to #Colorado teenagers
Over the past 12 years, #CañonCity High School students have prepped and delivered mostly electronic waste to 3R Technology Solutionsby Sue McMillin
Feb 14, 2024CAÑON CITY — "More than 600,000 pounds of mostly electronic waste has been diverted from landfills over the past 12 years by the students who run #TigerRecycling at Cañon City High School.
To be precise: 623,702 pounds of #laptops, dismantled #desktops, #cellphones, #printers, #televisions, and the assorted detritus of outdated, broken, waterlogged or unwanted gear has been prepped by students and delivered to 3R Technology Solutions, according to 3R CEO Pete Mikulin, who says they track every pound that comes through the doors."Amid the haul were assorted #SmallAppliances — #mixers, #SewingMachines, #toasters — and #batteries and #cords that students disassemble or sort. Tiger Recycling and 3R, its primary vendor, take just about anything that plugs in or runs on batteries except for large appliances such as washers and dryers.
"While all this stuff is getting #reused or #repurposed, the students learn how to take things apart, safely handle potentially #HazardousWaste, identify and sort materials (such as clean or dirty #aluminum, #steel and #plastic), prepare items for shipping, fill out bills of lading, and take in and weigh items from customers.
"This student-run business is unique in a couple of other ways: Tiger Recycling is certified for recycling by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and it earns money.
"'That program, if you look at it as a whole, these kids learn a lot of skills,' Mikulin said. 'They take ownership in it every year. They don’t look at it as just a class, they look at it as a company. It is registered with the state of #Colorado, and it abides by all the state’s laws and rules for recycling.
'They are practicing #sustainability, diverting materials from the #landfills. It’s been pretty cool all these years.'"He calls Tiger Recycling the 'showcase' of school recycling programs and credits program coordinator Ken Cline with bringing it from the brink of collapse into a self-sustaining business.
"Cline has about 20 students per quarter spread over five class periods, and summer school classes. It’s tough to have more than five students at a time dismantling equipment, even though Tiger Recycling moved into its own warehouse space about five years ago, he said.
"They also have three sheds where they can store items awaiting packaging or shipping.
Shelves inside the classroom hold huge bins labeled for every conceivable component of computers and TVs, and a stack of desktop computers is piled against one wall, awaiting disassembly.
"As students arrive on a recent Tuesday afternoon, Cline directs them to tasks and within seconds gloves are on and screwdrivers turning. One student asks for time to work on other classwork and Cline gives him a nod.
"The class is part of the school’s Career Technical Education program, and participants earn general education credits.
"He stays flexible with the students and tries to address their needs. Sometimes that means providing math tutoring; last year he had a class of four repeat students who wanted to delve deeper into electronics so Cline accommodated that.
He also mentors students working on required capstone projects, including a couple who used recycled computer parts to build new computers."The program brings in an average of $5,000 a year, Cline said. The money is handled by the high school, which then gives Tiger Recycling a budget for items such as tools, safety glasses, work gloves and field trips for students, said Cline, who noted that they’ve never spent more on those things than they’ve brought in."
https://coloradosun.com/2024/02/14/electronic-waste-recycling-canon-city-high/
#ReduceReuseRecycle #MoreRecycling #LessMining #RightToRepair #LithiumMining #CopperMining #Reuse #Recycle #SolarPunkSunday
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ICYMI - From 2016
The Burning Truth Behind an #EWasteDump in #Africa
Ending the #toxic smoke rising from an iconic dump in #Ghana will take more than curbing Western waste
by Adam Minter
January 13, 2016"They are some of the most iconic photos in environmental journalism: young African men, often shirtless, standing over small fires fueled by digital detritus imported from richer countries. The toxic smoke swirls around them and over #Agbogbloshie, the roughly 20-acre scrap yard in the heart of #AccraGhana, where these men live and work.
"During the last decade, some of the world’s most respected media organizations have transformed Agbogbloshie into a symbol of what’s believed to be a growing crisis: the export—or dumping—of electronic waste from rich, developed countries into Africa. It’s a concise narrative that resonates strongly in a technology-obsessed world. There’s just one problem: The story is not that simple..."
Read more:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/burning-truth-behind-e-waste-dump-africa-180957597/#ElectronicWaste #SupportLegacyProducts #Consumerism #Capitalism #Crapitalism #CorporateColonialism
#PlannedObsolescence
#Landfills #RightToRepair #EnvironmentalRacism #WaterIsLife #SoilIsLife #RepairReuseRecycle
#Consumerism
#Anticonsumerism #EnvironmentalPollution