In October of 2018 I joined fellow Bring Your Own Bag Midcoast (BYOB) volunteers at the Abromson Community Education Center in Portland where Goodwill Industries of Northern New England (GWINNE) presented us with the Spirit of Goodwill award. During the award ceremony Rich Cantz, President and CEO of GWINNE, expressed his continued support for our Read More
foam ordinances
MDI Town Latest Maine Municipality to Ban Plastic Shopping Bags
By Bill Trotter, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Southwest Harbor is the latest town in Maine to adopt a ban on the distribution of single-use plastic bags by local retailers. The Mount Desert Island town held a special town meeting on Tuesday, a week after the statewide midterm elections, to consider whether to Read More
Plastic Bag Bans Signal Imminent Shift Away from Convenience Plastics
People everywhere are talking about plastic pollution more than ever. Researchers all over the world are studying the unnerving prevalence of plastic in the environment and documenting its devastating impacts on our ecosystems—and their findings are startling. You may have heard the terrifying estimate that plastic will outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050; or Read More
Portland, South Portland Plan to Fight Against Climate Change
Municipal officials hope to develop plans for each community to reduce carbon footprints and counter the effects of global warming. by Kelley Bouchard, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story In less than 100 years, strolling from shop to shop along Commercial Street in Portland or running with your dog on Willard Beach in South Portland Read More
York’s Young Foam Fighters
While alliteration in blog titles is great, there is something even better, and that is when we learn about the next generation of Mainers recognizing a major problem in our environment, foam containers, and stepping up to solve it right in their own community. That principal is certainly on display in York where an intrepid Read More
York Teens Want Their Town to be the Latest to Ban Polystyrene Containers
By Deborah McDermott The York Weekly news story Four York High School seniors are taking democracy and a concern for the environment to heart, and have launched an online petition drive to ban polystyrene takeout containers from being used by restaurants in York. Margaret Wilkinson, Sophia Eytel, Anya Walsh and Sammi Pooler, all students in Read More
Good News for Belfast, Bad News for Bags!
Belfast just became the tenth Maine town to adopt an ordinance to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags! On August 15, the Belfast City Council passed the ordinance, which bans single-use plastic bags. And, while they were at it, councilors also voted to ban foam food packaging, adding Belfast to the growing list of Read More
Belfast Becomes Latest City to Ban Plastic Bags, Polystyrene
By Nick McCrea, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story BELFAST, Maine — Paper or canvas? Shoppers in Belfast will need to remember to bring their own bags from home, or get used to paper, because plastic is on the way out. Belfast city councilors approved a citywide ban on single-use plastic shopping bags and Read More
Brunswick Bans Bags!
A year, almost to the day, after Brunswick banned single-use foam containers, the Town Council voted overwhelmingly to further protect Maine’s environment by adopting an ordinance banning single-use plastic bags. The new ordinance, which was adopted by the Town Council in March after lengthy discussions and multiple opportunities for public input, will go into effect Read More
