The Girl Scouts of Maine unveiled a new Sustainable Maine Patch Program Tuesday aimed at giving Girl Scout members an incentive to increase awareness of a statewide paint recycling program.
With the unveiling of its new Sustainable Maine Patch Program Tuesday, the Girl Scouts of Maine is encouraging its members to do their part in creating a sustainable future by providing an incentive for Girl Scouts to increase awareness of a paint recycling program.
The Sustainable Maine Patch Program allows for Girl Scouts at any level to earn a sustainability patch by taking part in a variety of actions to promote participation in PaintCare, a statewide paint recycling program that was established in 2015.
The new patch program is a result of a partnership between the Girl Scouts of Maine and the Natural Resources Council of Maine, which helped to bring PaintCare — a national nonprofit organization — to Maine last year. The details of the new patch program were announced at a press conference in Portland and via press release on Tuesday.
“We are pleased to partner with the Girl Scouts to help protect Maine’s environment,” Lisa Pohlmann, a former Girl Scout and executive director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, said, according to a press release from the Girl Scouts of Maine. “Through the patch program this year, Maine Girl Scouts can help raise awareness about how to put unused paint to use, while keeping valuable resources out of our landfills.”
The PaintCare program allows people to recycle any old, used paint cans that they’ve acquired at 94 drop-off locations around the state. As part of the new patch program, Girl Scouts can earn a sustainability patch by talking with their parents, guardians or other adults about the program and encouraging them to take their old paint cans to one of the drop-off locations.
During PaintCare’s first year in Maine, the program processed 94,281 gallons of post consumer paint. By preventing paint cans from ending up in landfills, the program helps protect the environment, and saves taxpayer money by eliminating the need for municipally-funded paint can collection, the release said.
Girl Scouts can earn sustainability patches by choosing to partake in a variety of activities that allow them to learn about, and promote awareness of, PaintCare, such as delivering presentations on the programs, creating and distributing flyers, or touring a recycling plant or transfer station.
“Girl Scouts inspires girls to be active and engaged citizens who contribute in meaningful ways to make their communities, and their world, a better place,” Joanne Crepeau, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Maine, said, according to the release. “We are proud to have such an important partnership with [Natural Resources Council of Maine] to give Girl Scouts in Maine another opportunity to develop the strong core values we offer in Girl Scouts.”
