The Materials Management Task Force was created to bring solid waste management strategies into future climate planning efforts to complement the existing strategies outlined in Maine Won’t Wait, the state’s four-year climate action plan.
While emissions related to materials management are not as straightforward to track as, for example, emissions from combustion engine vehicles, reducing emissions from materials management has been identified as a priority for comprehensive climate planning, as evidenced by the 2009 EPA report, Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices, which noted, “materials management is associated with an estimated 42% of total U.S. GHG emissions.” These emissions are generated through the production, transport, and disposal of goods, but there are significant opportunities to reduce such emissions through source reduction and waste prevention, recycling and composting, and recovering energy from materials not suitable for higher and better uses.
The Task Force will serve as a forum for members to learn about opportunities for increasing efficiency in materials management programs and infrastructure, scaling up and increasing waste diversion and prevention programs, reducing emissions related to materials use and end-of-life management, and new technologies and processes for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from waste.
Following this review process, the Task Force will evaluate and recommend short- and long-term strategies and actions for advancing programs to reduce emissions from waste and materials management.
The Materials Management Task Force is co-chaired by Melanie Loyzim, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection; and Dr. Cindy Isenhour, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Climate Change at the University of Maine.
For meeting details, agendas, minutes, and handouts, please visit our meeting calendar and search for this working group. If you would like more information or have questions, please contact Megan Mansfield-Pryor.
Task Force Membership
Co-chairs
Commissioner Melanie Loyzim
Melanie Loyzim is the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (Maine DEP). She has been with the agency since 2006 and has served in a variety of roles including underground tank inspector, air toxics and emissions inventory program manager, director of Bureau of Air Quality and the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management and most recently as deputy commissioner. Prior to her tenure at Maine DEP, she worked for Colorado's Department of Public Health and Environment in their emissions inventory program and as a rule writer. She also has experience as an Environmental, Health and Safety Consultant, a Site Health and Safety Officer, and 40-hour HAZWOPER trainer.
Dr. Cindy Isenhour
Cindy Isenhour is a Professor at the University of Maine, Orono. She holds joint appointments in the Department of Anthropology and The Climate Change Institute. Along with an interdisciplinary team of students and scientists at the University’s Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, Isenhour has been researching materials management policy for nearly 10 years. Research projects include an exploration of state-level policies designed to reduce food waste, the potential for contamination in food waste recycling systems, the extension of product lifetimes through reuse and repair, and the justice-based implications of circular economy policies. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Foundation, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Members
- Mark Draper, Aroostook Waste Solutions
Hillary Lister, Athens Town Council & Don't Waste ME
Abbie Webb, Casella Waste Systems
Kate Tomkins, Chickadee Compost
Sarah Nichols, Clynk
Kevin Roche, ecomaine
Brett Rogers, Environmental Projects, Inc.
Greg Williams, Exeter Agri-Cycle Energy
Heather Steeves, Goodwill Northern New England
George Parmenter, Hannaford Supermarkets
Dan Wojciechowski, IDEXX Laboratories
Alex Zipparo, Island Institute
Lane Gould, Maine Bureau of General Services
Carla Hopkins, Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Josh Bossin, Maine GearShare
Victor Horton, Maine Resource Recovery Association
Maya Faulstich, Maine Youth for Climate Justice
Mike Carroll, Municipal Review Committee
Vanessa Berry, Natural Resources Council of Maine
Scott Reed, Nine Dragons Paper Holdings Limited (ND Paper)
Melissa Lavoie, Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association (NEWMOA)
Juliana Beecher, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow
Ben Chesler, Roux Institute
Wes Ingwerson, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development
Susanne Lee, UMaine/Sen. George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions
Reed Miller, UMaine/Sen. George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions
Travis Blackmer, UMaine/Sen. George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions
Sydney Harris, Upstream
Jeff McGown, Waste Management (WM) - Alison McKellar, Town of Camden Selectboard
- Josh Paul, Penobscot Nation
- Travis Peaslee, Lewiston Auburn Water Pollution Control Authority
- Teddy Lyman, Maine Department of Education