Recycling and Reuse

The EPA estimates that 75% of the American waste stream is recyclable, but we only recycle about 30% of it. While we should always consider reducing consumption and reusing materials first according to the Waste Hierarchy, recycling materials has a great impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally. Recycling reduces the amount of natural resources we consume, and on average requires less energy to create new products.

Solid waste collected in Portland and South Portland goes to the state-of-the-art ecomaine waste-to-energy plant, an incinerator which burns trash to produce electricity. The waste-to-energy plant not only prevents waste from going to a landfill, but also generates enough steam to create 100,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually. Ecomaine has made recycling its top priority and runs the largest recycling facility in Maine — processing over 40,000 tons of single-sort material each year.

For questions such as how to dispose of items, or what can be recycled, visit ecomaine’s Recyclopedia interactive tool.

City of Portland Recycling Webpage

City of South Portland Recycling Webpage

South Portland manages the Swap Shop, located at the Transfer Station, 929 Highland Ave . The purpose of the Swap Shop is to encourage the reuse of acceptable items thereby reducing the waste stream.

Further encouraging reuse and community sharing, South Portland also manages an all-electric tool lending library. The South Portland Electric Tool Library, or SPETL, allows residents to borrow tools to use at home free of charge by simply using their South Portland Public Library card to sign out the equipment. Residents can rent electric lawn mowers, leaf blowers, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, and edgers for one week per rental.