Publications and Policy Briefs

Solid Waste White Paper – 2015

This 2015 paper draws upon the Materials Management team’s collective expertise in order to 1) provide a brief overview of the history of solid waste in Maine; 2) outline contemporary challenges, and 3) identify opportunities for the future. The goal of this paper was to utilize stakeholder input to identify areas of strength and to create proposals to increase the sustainability of Maine’s materials management system.

Moving Up the Waste Hierarchy in Maine – 2016

Americans throw away huge amounts of trash each year, and despite efforts to recover materials from the waste stream, U.S. recycling rates have stagnated and total waste generation continues to grow. This article builds previous stakeholder engagement process that explored the waste-management challenges Maine faces. The authors review the policies enacted in other states and point out unfulfilled potential to take more significant steps toward Maine’s long-term materials-management goals.

LD 1534 – 2018

LD 1534 “An Act to Address Hunger, Support Farmers, and Reduce Waste” was introduced in an effort to reduce the large amounts of organics in municipal waste streams. This report, compiled by the Materials Management Research Group and submitted at the request of the ENR committee, is intended to contribute to discussions about food waste and insecurity by drawing on stakeholder expertise to: estimate the food waste problem in Maine, outline food waste recovery and redistribution potential, and provide a preliminary, stakeholder-informed assessment of several state-level policies that might help to reduce and recover wasted food.

Review of Chemical and Microbial Food Contamination – 2021

Composting and anaerobic digestion of food waste provide two means to recover and recycle some of the nutrients required to grow food. To ensure the recycled materials are safe and free from contaminants that could amplify within a circular food system, it is important to understand where and how contaminants are introduced into the system. This report aims to explore these issues by (1) screening for contamination of input organic wastes from different sources; (2) exploring different regulatory environments; and (3) surveying key stakeholders to explore risk perceptions associated with various feedstocks and practices. Click to read the article, “A review of chemical and microbial contamination in food: What are the threats to a circular food system?” in Environmental Research.

 Maine Food Loss and Waste Generation Study – 2024

The 2024 Maine Food Loss and Waste Generation Study was a collaborative, statewide effort to assess food loss and waste by sector. Forty percent of the food we produce is never eaten which amounts to 360,000 tons of food loss. Key findings include: 1) 35% of food produced in Maine is never eaten; 2) Maine wastes or loses about 361,000 tons of food annually; 3) Maine households are the largest contributors to wasted food (129,598 tons annually); 4) Grocery stores and food manufacturers are major contributors, wasting a combined total of 78,558 tons annually; 5) Seasonal tourism has a notable impact on food waste generation.

The Economic, Social, and Environmental Benefits of Using Surplus Food in Maine – 2025

Maine’s charitable food system (CFS) stakeholders are already playing a major role in rescuing good, edible, wasted food and redirecting it to food-insecure households to provide environmental, social, and economic benefits. Considering the amount of food waste and loss still occurring in the state and the number of people in need of food, the goal of this project was to identify opportunities to grow sourcing and redistribution in Maine’s CFS. This research explored three key opportunities to expand charitable food system activity: 1) Increase the donation of all good, edible food into CFS. (i.e., food sourcing); 2) Increase capacity for food “absorption” into the CFS; 3) Increase CFS food distribution pathways to get food to all those in need. This project report provides recommendations to further develop each of these opportunities, and next steps for the research.

Other Relevant Publications