Sustainability

As part of its efforts to steward Maine’s natural resources and ensure a sustainable future for our state and its economy, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection has created a new Sustainability Division.

Housed in the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management, the Division is charged with the creation and implementation of a comprehensive and coordinated approach to the environmental stewardship and management of the materials and resources we utilize. The Division merges a number of existing cross-media DEP programs including waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting; chemical management including toxic chemical reduction and priority chemical reporting; the Environmental Leader initiative, which gives businesses recognition for implementing voluntarily improvements to reduce the impact their facilities have on the environment; and strategies related to greenhouse gas and climate adaptation concerns.

By identifying and encouraging the adoption of actions and practices that support the environmentally and economically sustainable management of both natural and manufactured resources that are used in our daily lives, DEP’s Sustainability Division will support Maine’s Solid Waste Hierarchy, which prioritizes reducing, reusing and recycling and puts landfilling last.