Ecomaine recognized for solid waste contributions in Maine

Maine’s Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG), which is composed of 26 member municipalities across the state, recognized Portland, Maine-based Ecomaine at its annual summit for its efforts to improve solid waste management in the area through regionalization, environmental and economic sustainability, and public outreach.

Ecomaine is a nonprofit, recycling and waste-to-energy operation that serves a third of the state’s population in more than 70 member communities. 

“GPCOG has a legacy of doing great things together,” GPCOG Board President Jerre Bryant says. “An example of that is the work of Ecomaine. It’s not just that Ecomaine exists to provide the region with safe waste disposal and recycling systems, it’s that it does its work with such a high level of professionalism and efficiency, employing state-of-the-art technology as a model to other agencies in the region.”

“It is an honor to accept this award for Ecomaine—not just on behalf of one organization, or my own town of Harrison, Maine, but for an entire group of towns who have chosen to collaborate and address waste management together,” Ecomaine Board Chair Matthew Frank says.

The award from GPCOG follows more than a year of challenges in the recycling markets, but Ecomaine CEO Kevin Roche said at the summit that Ecomaine is committed to its recycling program and is optimistic for the future of the industry because of the organization’s long-term view and its work to regionalize sustainable waste management.

“Our leadership, including some of the people in this room, take the long view over multiple years—sometimes decades—to see what is best for our communities’ environmental and economic well-being, and [we] will not take the shortcut because of a single year of challenging markets,” Roche said.

In addition to the plaque presented to Frank and Roche at the summit, GPCOG will also plant a tree on Ecomaine’s campus as a natural symbol of the two organization’s mutual strength and growth, the organization says.