Ecomaine urges plastic recycling patience

Ecomaine, a Portland, Maine-based waste and recycling agency and facility operator, says it is making steady progress in helping divert and recycle plastic scrap in the state.

The not-for-profit company says it is willing to provide data and feedback in response to what it says are "recent media stories” calling the value of recycling into question. Ecomaine says the statistics can demonstrate the role of its blue recycling bins as to “the importance of Maine’s recycling programs to landfill diversion.”

“We sometimes see reports that proclaim the ‘death of recycling’ or the ineffectiveness of recovery programs," Ecomaine CEO Kevin Roche says. "And while no program is perfect, we urge Mainers to have confidence that the paper and cardboard and plastic, metal and glass containers Ecomaine receives from its residents and sorts at our recycling facility are baled and recycled into new products.”

In its fiscal year 2022, Ecomaine says it processed, prepared and shipped 943 tons of plastic containers and received more than $735,000 in return from brokers and end markets who purchased those bottles, jugs, cups and tubs “to manufacture new and needed products.”

The agency also says a March 2021 report by United Kingdom-based consultancy Eunomia, which studied state-by-state recycling rates for containers and packaging, showed Maine ranked as the top container recycling state in the nation with an overall rate of 72 percent.

“The fact that an average truckload of Maine’s plastic containers sells for tens of thousands of dollars to manufacturers that create all-new bottles and jugs, composite lumber, textiles and much more helps us know that these are valued commodities that are not landfilled or combusted," Roche adds.

“Last year, Ecomaine’s recycling program brought back more than $5 million in revenue for the organization and its member communities," says Bill Shane, Ecomaine board chair and town manager of Cumberland, Maine. "Recycling these materials is not only the right thing to do from an environmental standpoint, but it also makes great financial sense for Maine.”

“While fiscal year 2022 saw terrific returns on our plastics, the investments we are planning for our recycling facility in the future will only help to ensure Ecomaine and our members continue to increase the amount of plastic materials that do not end up in Maine’s landfills," Ecomaine Director of Communications and Public Affairs Matt Grondin says. "Ecomaine will continue to focus on reduction and reuse through our community outreach efforts, but we will also always be ready to recycle those materials that can be recycled.”

In its 2022 fiscal year, Ecomaine, which serves more than 70 communities, says it diverted nearly 42,000 tons of materials from landfill, including mixed paper, cardboard, metal cans and foil, glass bottles and jars, and rigid plastic containers Nos. 1-7, in addition to its food and organics diversion program.