Each month, we highlight news stories and opinion pieces related to NRCM’s work to protect Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife. March 2024 NRCM Sustainable Maine Program Manager Vanessa Berry was featured in an NPR story about Maine’s first-in-the-nation Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging law and other states trying to pass similar legislation. L.L. Bean’s Read More
recycling
Maine EPR for Packaging Law Close to Reality
In 2021, Maine adopted a first-in-the-nation Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging law to reduce taxpayer costs and improve recycling by encouraging producers to create less wasteful packaging. Put simply: It’s unfair that Maine taxpayers and communities are on the hook for the wasteful packaging produced by large companies—much of it single-use plastic—that ends up Read More
LD 2134, Responsibility for Actions to Increase Use of Reusable and Refillable Beverage Containers
Senator Brenner, Representative Gramlich, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, my name is Vanessa Berry, and I am the Sustainable Maine Outreach Coordinator for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). I am here to offer testimony neither for nor against LD 2134. First, I’d like to thank the Read More
LD 295, An Act to Ensure Accurate Recyclability Labeling of Plastic Containers and Plastic Packaging Material
Senator Brenner, Representative Gramlich, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, my name is Vanessa Berry, and I am the Sustainable Maine Outreach Coordinator for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). I am here to testify in support of Representative Gramlich’s amendment to LD 295. Plastic pollution is a Read More
Behind the Scenes: How Maine Modernized the Bottle Bill
Maine’s most effective recycling and litter reduction program just got a major upgrade! Two new laws passed this year make long awaited upgrades to the Bottle Bill that will help keep local redemption centers and make sure Mainers are able to redeem their bottles and cans well into the future. During the summer of 2022 Read More
Modernizing Maine’s Bottle Bill
Step into your local redemption center and what you will see is the heart and soul of Maine’s most effective recycling and litter prevention program. At Patman’s Redemption Center in Windham, hardworking employees are in a constant state of motion, hand-sorting thousands and thousands of bottles and cans brought in by a seemingly endless flow Read More
How to Tackle Maine’s Waste Problem
Two recent events that impact how communities deal with trash in Maine have highlighted the systemic stresses on our local waste management systems. First, a decision by the City of Auburn to stop its recycling program, opting to dispose of recyclable materials instead, is devastating for many community members who have committed themselves to improving Read More
News & Noteworthy — April – June 2023
Every month, we highlight news stories and opinion pieces related to Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife. We update News & Noteworthy weekly with the latest news related to the nature of Maine, including the work of staff at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. June 2023 The National Wildlife Federation honored Greg LeClair this Read More
Legislation to Modernize Maine’s Bottle Bill Passes Unanimously Out of Committee
A bipartisan bill to modernize Maine’s popular beverage container redemption program was passed unanimously by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee yesterday. The vote came on the same day the Bottle Bill celebrated its 45th anniversary as the state’s most effective litter prevention and recycling program. “Maine’s Bottle Bill is a big part of our Read More
