Ecomaine targets multifamily recycling collection

Portland, Maine-based regional waste and recycling agency Ecomaine has announced the hiring of Zoe Malia, Sarah Folan and Adam Clair. The trio will focus on creating a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant-funded recycling education and outreach program for multi-family buildings in the Ecomaine service area.

The initiative, funded by the $2 million EPA grant, will focus on improving recycling awareness, access and participation in apartments, condominiums and other multi-unit residences, which Ecomaine calls “key areas for growth” in its recycling efforts.

“This is a critical program for our organization and the communities we serve,” says Jamie Garvin, Ecomain’s director of communications and public affairs. “Having an impressive and highly capable team of ‘Ecomaineiacs’ like Zoe, Sarah and Adam in place sets us up to develop and deliver a program that will make a significant impact.” 

According to Ecomaine, Malia previously served as environmental sustainability manager at Portland-based Allagash Brewing Co., where she led landfill diversion projects and sustainability initiatives.

Folan previously worked as part of a zero waste events team at Portland-based food scraps diversion firm Garbage to Garden while Clair has been hired after serving an internship with Ecomaine.

Ecomaine, which serves some 70 communities in Maine, says multifamily buildings present unique challenges for recycling, including limited space, varied levels of participation and contamination issues.

A report issued this January by The Recycling Partnership (TRP), Washington, finds the multifamily recyclables collection problem exists well beyond Maine and throughout the U.S.

Research presented in the TRP’s “State of Recycling: Present and Future of Residential Recycling in the U.S.” report found that while 85 percent of single-family homes in the U.S. have recycling access, only 37 percent of multifamily homes do, meaning nearly 20 million households (63 percent of all multifamily homes) must leave their residences to have access to recycling.

“By addressing these challenges, we will not only improve recycling rates and reduce contamination but also advance Ecomaine’s mission to reduce waste, promote sustainable practices and keep Maine’s environment clean,” states the waste and recycling authority.

The program as planned will conduct outreach and education tailored to property managers, tenants and owners, says Ecomaine, as well as providing tools resources to improve recycling accessibility and efficiency.

Last November, Ecomaine was among 25 grantees nationwide awarded a combined $33 million for projects to help inform the public about local recycling and composting programs and focus on increasing collection rates and decreasing contamination of recycling streams. The funding is part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.