Maine lost ground in its efforts to recycle more of its waste during the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new state report. However, some advocates are hopeful that new waste reforms passed in recent years could eventually help turn things around.
While state law says that Maine should have recycled or composted at least half of its municipal waste by 2021, it missed that target, only recycling about 34% of trash in both 2020 and 2021, according to the new report from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. That’s down from recycling 38% of municipal waste in 2017.
There are no penalties for Maine missing that target. But the results are nevertheless dismaying to environmental groups, who would like to limit how much material is being consumed, then buried in the ground or burned for energy each year. “The numbers really showed that we’re moving in the wrong direction in that we’re both recycling less and we’re making more trash for disposal,” says Sarah Nichols, who oversees waste programs at the Natural Resources Council of Maine.