ecomaine

Has your school set out to raise recycling awareness? Do you want to implement a more robust recycling program or add composting to your waste reduction toolbox? Then ecomaine has a great School Recycling Grant opportunity for you! Also check out the last page for links to ecomaine ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS & STUDENTS.

Maine’s pioneer of single-sort recycling and provider of waste-to-energy solutions is pleased to announce that public or private schools in any of its member communities can apply for School Recycling Grants every fall. If selected, recipients can receive up to $5,000 of $30,000 in available grant funds for the school year.

Proposals should demonstrate a commitment to the solid waste hierarchy and landfill diversion techniques, particularly REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, and COMPOST/DIGESTION.

Past grant proposals have ranged from purchasing in-school recycling bins or education materials, to offsetting compost hauling fees, or assisting schools to participate in tours of ecomaine.

Recipients are chosen by ecomaine’s Outreach and Recycling Committee based on the following criteria:

Project outline and school commitment
Ease of project replication
Likelihood of success and program sustainability
How compelling and worthy the funding is, overall

“This year is obviously proving to be a tough one for all of us — especially schools and students,” said Caleb Hemphill, Chair of ecomaine’s Outreach & Recycling Committee. “It is ecomaine’s hope that this funding can help kickstart or maintain some of the important programming around recycling, compost, and waste reduction that we’ve seen in our schools. I am very pleased to see such thoughtful and creative proposals from our students and educators.”

Grant proposals are accepted each fall from any public or private school in ecomaine’s member communities.

DOWNLOAD GRANT GUIDELINES HERE and their grants pamphlet here.

ecomaine 2020-21 GRANTS

ecomaine awarded $18,700 in grant funding to 10 recipients in the 2020-21 School Recycling Grants. These projects are designed to raise recycling awareness in schools and communities and to help schools implement more efficient recycling programs or add composting to their waste collection.

The recipients are located across the state, and proposed a variety of programs designed to divert waste from landfills as follows:

Appletree School, Cape Elizabeth:
Chemical-free, compostable paper towels made from recycled content to replace reusable towels during COVID-19 pandemic
Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maine, Portland Clubhouse:
To establish a composting program in the Portland Clubhouse
Children’s Nursery School, Portland:
Composting materials
Gorham Cooperative Preschool:
One compost tumbler
Gray-New Gloucester High School, Gray:
Composting materials, curriculum development, and community support
King Middle School, Portland:
Trash cleanup materials
Brigid’s School, Portland:
A Palgram Greenhouse
Waldo County Technical Center, Liberty:
Recycling collection and transportation
Westbrook High School:
Two reusable water bottle filling stations
Kent’s Hill School, Readfield:
To establish a campus-wide recycling bin program with consistent bins and labeling