BDN features study on farm food waste in Maine
Aroostook is Maine’s biggest creator of farm food waste, study finds
A recent article in the Bangor Daily News featured a newly released Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) 2024 Food Loss and Waste Generation Study. The DEP worked with Resource Recycling Systems, faculty Susanne Lee and Travis Blackmer from the UMaine’s Senator George J Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, and the Center for EcoTechnology in Massachusetts on the study. Researchers analyzed food waste from residences, farms, grocery stores, schools, hospitals, jails, hotels and more.
Cumberland County produces the most overall waste at close to 78,000 tons a year, the study found. Aroostook, the largest county by area, creates more than 69,000 tons. Surplus food from Aroostook farms and commercial agriculture totals 54,000 tons a year — more than in Maine’s 15 other counties’ agricultural food waste put together.