Portland Progress
waste reduction
3 IN PROGRESS
5 NOT STARTED
(updated December 2024)
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.
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 2024)
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 5 more drop-off sites; the Community Composting Program now has ten locations. 2022 ME-DEP Waste Reduction Grant allowed for expanded outreach, translation of compost site signs and educational materials into six languages other than English, installation of multilingual signs at drop-off sites, informational door hangers distributed in low-participating areas, year-long newspaper advertisements in the West End News and Amjambo Africa, and other initiatives to improve accessibility to and awareness of the program. (updated December 2024)
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 (2021). Working with retailers to reduce single-use plastics.
Key Milestones: Eliminate single-use plastics in the cities to the fullest extent practicable by 2026.
Foster a circular and sharing economy.
Status: In Progress
Update: April 2023 Coffee & Climate conversation focused on the establishment of sharing economies. Supporting local groups working to establish a commercial reuse program. (updated December 2024)
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
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
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
Key Milestone: Engineering feasibility study commissioned by 2032
Adopt a sustainable purchasing policy for municipal procurement.
Status: Not started
Update: None
Key Milestone: Sustainable purchasing policy adopted by 2024
