In late January, the Maine DEP released the most recent Maine Solid Waste Generation and Disposal Capacity Report. This report takes a close look at the practicalities of waste management across the state, collecting point-in-time data in an attempt to answer several important questions all Mainers need to understand, including: how much waste are we generating? Where is it going for disposal? How much longer will those disposal options last? What opportunities exist for more sustainable disposal practices?
To collect and synthesize this amount of data takes time – the report published last month is an analysis of data collected in 2023 and 2024. Each new year of data analyzed provides valuable insights into emerging trends and the general direction Mainers are heading with their waste.
For a deep dive into the findings, you can read the report in full here – or read on for a few of our key takeaways from the DEP’s analysis:
Maine’s Recycling Rate is (Slowly) on the Rise Again…
First, some encouraging news: after a notable dip in 2020, Maine’s recycling rate is beginning to recover, reaching 35.36% in 2023 and 35.99% in 2024. While this is an increase over the last few years, we remain well behind Maine’s goal of a 50% recycling rate, established back in 1989. With an estimated $22 million of recoverable materials lost to landfills annually, there’s no doubt that the potential to meet the goal is there.
So what’s in our way – why aren’t we recycling more? Education is an essential component of that effort; people must understand clearly what they can and can’t recycle. Access is perhaps even more critical, but more challenging to achieve. Establishing and maintaining recycling programs can be cost-prohibitive for smaller municipalities, with hauling expenses especially burdensome in rural areas. That means that in some areas of the state, residents have little or no practical access to recycling. The report notes that with EPR for packaging implementation on the horizon, potential relief from reimbursements could spur more communities to adopt or expand their recycling programs. The DEP also recommends a regionalized approach to recycling – empowering smaller communities to take advantage of economies of scale.
…but Waste Generation per Capita is on the Rise as Well
Maine’s per capita MSW generation (including recycling and other diverted waste) is, unfortunately, outpacing the national average: 5.5 lbs per person per day in 2023, and 5.6 in 2024. The national average stands at 4.9 lbs (though the most recent available data from the EPA is from 2018 – it seems reasonable to assume that statistic has ticked up as well).
The report points to many creative, informal solutions for waste prevention here in Maine and around the country; they note that growth of the secondhand economy can be a powerful engine for local economic and job growth. Here in Maine, we’ve observed local efforts to increase reuse flourish within our communities – from non-profits like Furniture Friends and Maine Needs, to local business like GoGo Refill, to informal community-led clothing swaps, repair fairs, and lending programs.
The report notes that specific rates of waste prevention activities like these may be harder to capture statistically – but they remain vitally important to our overall efforts at a sustainable future for Maine, and they sit at the top of Maine’s waste hierarchy for that reason.
If we continue with a more robust commitment to such efforts, we can expect that work (over time) to manifest in dropping rates of per capita MSW generation.
Waste-to-Energy is a Tool for Landfill Longevity
In 2023 and 2024, ecomaine processed the most MSW of any waste-to-energy (WTE) facility in the state by a significant margin (64% of WTE tons processed in both 2023 and 2024). The waste-to-energy process reduces the volume of waste being landfilled by 90% – a huge advantage in conserving space within the state’s 40 landfills.
ecomaine is one of only two currently operational WTE facilities in the state; the EPEC facility in Orrington is licensed but closed, and is awaiting necessary repairs in order to reopen. Should that facility reopen at its full capacity – at an estimated 300,000 tons of MSW per year – it would more than double current WTE capacity in the state.
Food Could be a Key Factor in Curbing Waste Generation & Boosting Waste Diversion
Organics, including food waste, comprise nearly one-third of residential MSW and nearly a quarter of the industrial/commercial MSW. This material is ripe for both waste reduction and diversion. While education and infrastructure need to be developed, municipalities are incentivized to tackle the challenge, given that food waste tends to be heavy and therefore costly to dispose of. Local, community and statewide efforts to address the issue of food waste are taking shape.
At the institutional level, state food waste legislation passed in 2025 that takes effect in 2030, requiring large generators of food waste to manage their waste in alignment with Maine’s food recovery hierarchy. This act may have limited applications due to geography and the size of organization to which it applies.
Increasing local and residential access to and understanding of food waste reduction strategies could add up to a big impact on the waste stream. The Mitchell Center for Sustainability Studies is working on implementing and improving food waste reduction and diversion programs in schools and communities across the state, and providing educational tools for individuals and institutions to tackle this challenge more effectively.
These are just a few of the key points this substantial study revealed. For a closer look at the data, download the full report here. You can also read up on our ecomaine’s takeaways in Lucy Sullivan’s recent conversation with Maine Public.
And don’t miss ecomaine’s analysis of the DEP’s other recent reports:
- Summary: 2026 Waste Characterization Study
