Montville and Rockland are among the recipients of the second round of Waste Diversion Grant awards for recycling and organics management projects in Maine. By increasing composting and recycling opportunities around Maine, these projects aim to divert waste from disposal.

All five bids that Maine Department of Environmental Protection received will be funded. These grants are being offered by Maine DEP to aid businesses, institutions and municipalities address solid waste management challenges.

“Reducing the volume of materials we consume by reusing items and recycling products and packaging can significantly reduce our environmental impacts and help to enhance sustainability, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and cut our overall costs,” said Maine DEP, in a news release.

Maine DEP awarded funds of a total $100,028.50 for the following projects across the state:

Town of Montville Transfer Station—Montville [$30,00.00]

Purchase a Recycling Transport Vehicle – The Town of Montville currently shares a recycling agreement with the Unity Area Regional Recycling Center (UARRC). The town is located only 16 miles from the recycling center, yet it has been unable to secure cost-effective transport for their recyclables.  The purchase of a 16-18 foot box truck will allow Montville's citizens and businesses to continue to participate with UARRC and its recycling programs.

City of Rockland—Rockland [$13,701.00]

Improve Overall Operations at Compost Facility — The City of Rockland proposes to use the awarded funds to improve overall operations composting operation by adding a screening plant and better signage to help direct residents to proper drop-off and receiving areas.  This will help reduce confusion, improve efficiency and, ultimately, help increase the overall volume of organics diverted away from landfill.

City of Portland—Portland [$9,000.00]

Increase Food Scrap Collection Efficiencies – The City currently bolsters a strong food scraps recycling program and now wishes to expand the program’s availability to multicultural entities through the implementation of translated signage and advertisements. This equity-centered project is focused on education and outreach to increase the diversion of food scraps by ensuring all residents regardless of language, culture, or location, are aware that they have access to free food scrap drop-off kiosks. 

Town of Ogunquit—Ogunquit [$7,327.50]

Develop a Food Scrap Composting Program — The Town of Ogunquit will use the awarded funds to develop a food scrap collection and composting program at the town transfer station.  The project, as proposed, will scale up over time, starting with willing volunteers who will be guided with the support of the town staff as well as volunteers from the Sustainability Committee and potentially branching out over time to additional individuals and even businesses; this approach will allow for increased diversion over time with significantly reduced risk of failure from taking too much on at once

Auburn School Department/ShareCenter — Auburn [$40,000]

Food Scrap Composting and Recycling Upgrades — The awarded funds will be used to supplement the cost of obtaining a larger space which will in turn allow the center staff to divert more usable goods from corporations, colleges, and other entities from disposal to another entity that can use those goods. This project supports the top of the waste hierarchy by retaining goods for reuse and repurposing, which in turn helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other negative impacts related to the production of new goods from resource extraction to processing and transportation, in addition to saving money.

The Department anticipates seeking grant proposals for the first round of waste diversion projects for 2023 in late January.