Portland Progress
waste reduction
2 in progress
6 not started
(updated December 2022)
Expand a pay-as-you-throw system to South Portland.
Status: N/A
Update: This is a South Portland-specific strategy. Click here to visit South Portland’s WR Progress Dashboard.
Transformative potential: Regenerative
Key Milestones: Implement PAYT program in South Portland by 2026.
Mandate recycling for commercial and multifamily buildings.
Status: Not Started
Update: Upcoming, continue improving education and enforcement of existing multi-family recycling (updated December 2022)
Transformative potential: Regenerative
Key Milestones: Require recycling in commercial and multifamily residential buildings by 2026.
Expand programs to divert food waste and increase organics recycling rates to ensure that excess food is better used to nourish people, animals, industries, and soils.
Status: In progress
Update: Launched City’s first public food waste recycling program, a pilot drop-off program with 5 collection sites (2021). Increased program use allowed for the addition of 3 more drop-off sites. Program also received a grant to expand access by translating educational materials and signs and expanding outreach avenues. (updated December 2022)
Transformative potential: Equitable, regenerative, resilient
Key Milestones: Reduce food waste in trash stream 70% by 2040.
Ban select single-use plastics and identify partnerships to reduce plastic waste,
Status: In Progress
Update: Rolled out Phase II of the Straw Ban in April 2021 and created a retailer FAQ page with best practices (updated December 2021)
Transformative potential: Regenerative, resilient
Key Milestones: Eliminate single-use plastics in the cities to the fullest extent practicable by 2026.
Foster a circular and sharing economy.
Status: Not Started
Update: None
Transformative potential: Equitable, regenerative, resilient
Key Milestones: Ongoing efforts to establish new spaces, programs, or initiatives in each city that support resource sharing, reuse, or repair
Reduce construction and demolition waste through targeted re-use initiatives.
Status: Not started
Update: Mid-term strategy
Transformative potential: Regenerative, resilient
Key Milestone: Adopt C&D waste reduction targets and ordinance by 2035.
Work with state and regional partners to encourage “by-product synergy” with industrial waste streams.
Status: Not started
Update: Long-term strategy
Transformative potential: Regenerative, resilient
Key Milestone: Regional materials marketplace launched by 2035
Investigate options for reducing emissions of wastewater treatment with anaerobic digestion.
Status: Not started
Update: Long-term strategy
Transformative potential: Regenerative, resilient
Key Milestone: Engineering feasibility study commissioned by 2032
Adopt a sustainable purchasing policy for municipal procurement.
Status: Not started
Update: Upcoming, will adopt a sustainable purchasing policy for the City (updated December 2021)
Transformative potential: Equitable, regenerative
Key Milestone: Sustainable purchasing policy adopted by 2024
