An educational recycling program is starting up again in some southern Maine communities — in time for Earth Day 2021. ecomaine’s “Which bin does it go in?” program, designed to reduce recycling contamination rates, began in Portland, Scarborough, and South Portland in 2019. Westbrook began partnering with ecomaine for this program last August during the pandemic — and this month, Yarmouth is the newest municipality added to the mix.
Interns with ecomaine help to make this program possible by inspecting some community members’ recycling bins and giving them feedback with a tag. Green means the bin has good recyclables; yellows indicates there are some items that are not recyclable; and red tells the resident there is too much contamination or trash in their bin for items to be recycled, which can be costly to the environment and local economy.
Each tag identifies “dos” and “don’ts” of recycling, and the recycling and trash collection routes interns visit are determined by ecomaine data, indicating where there may be higher levels of contamination. With each visit, interns record their findings to keep track of trends. “I’m passionate about the planet; passionate about recycling,” MacKenzie Mobley is one ecomaine intern taking on this program this spring. She recently graduated from the University of New England and began routes about a month ago, first collecting data and then tagging bins at the beginning of April. She says this initiative represents a positive way to help community members improve their environmental footprints because it doesn’t require a big behavioral change — just education. That’s something she’s trying to do by being involved.