Maine is trying again to catch up with its regional peers by introducing legislation to prioritize donating and recycling food waste, rather than throwing it away.聽The Legislature鈥檚 Environment and Natural Resources Committee held a public hearing for a bipartisan bill from Sen. Stacy Brenner (D-Cumberland) that could help address Maine鈥檚 mounting trash problem and greenhouse gas emissions by diverting food waste from landfills. Commonly called a food waste ban, Maine attempted similar legislation last session, but it died due to lack of funding.
Thanks to a first-of-its-kind study in 2024, there is concrete data showing that more than 360,000 tons of food is wasted or lost in Maine annually. While much of that could be recovered to feed the one in eight Mainers who face hunger, it instead rots in landfills creating methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.
LD 1065 would prohibit significant generators of food waste, which could include schools, hospitals, food producers and others, from disposing of food waste if they are close to a facility that could compost or otherwise dispose of the waste. Like the proposal last session, the bill outlines a gradual approach to expand the requirement based on someone鈥檚 location and the amount of waste generated.