Waste Reduction Committee

Waste Reduction Committee - May 20 2026 Agenda Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at 5:30 PM To join from a computer or mobile device: https://meet.google.com/nqc-zpax-tgt Page A. Opening 1. Call to Order - Welcome and IntroductionWRC Meeting Agenda 5_20.pdf 2 2. Approval of MinutesWRC Meeting Minutes.docx 4 3. Approval of June Tip- Food Waste 4. Set up for Following Months Tip B. Action Old and New Business 1. Membership Update 2. UMaine FWPP Update 3. Debrief Earth Day Fair 4. Sustainability Update -Pay-As-You-Throw Workshop 5. Zero Waste Event Planning- Recommendations and Edits C. Next Steps 1. Summer Contest D. Open Discussion 1. Public Comments E. Adjournment Page 1 of 5 WRC Meeting Agenda Date: May 20, 2026 Location: Sustainability Department, 829 Sawyer St. South Portland 1. Call to Order 2. House Keeping 5:30-5:45 ●​ Welcome and Introduction ●​ Approval of Meeting Minutes from April ●​ Approval of Tip for June - Evan / Food Waste ●​ Set Next Month Tip 3. Discussion/Updates 5:45-6:30 ●​ UMaine FWPP Update ●​ Debriefing of tabling event - Earth Day Resource Fair ●​ New Topics from the Sustainability Office? 4. Action Items 6:30-7:00 ●​ Zero Waste Event Planning Guide Recommendations - Come ready to discuss! ●​ Summer Contest 5. Public Comments ●​ Next Meeting June 17, 2026 Notes ●​ Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities in 2026 September 11 (tentative)​ ​ Senior Age-Friendly Resource Fair​ ​ Friday, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM​ ​ Location: South Portland Community Center Page 2 of 5 ​ September (tentative)​ ​ Back to School Night​ ​ Location: South Portland Middle School Page 3 of 5 WRC Meeting Minutes Meeting Date: April 15, 2026 Location: Sustainability Department, 829 Sawyer Road, South Portland Attendance: Julie Taft (Sustainability Department Liaison), Evan Beck (Chair), Nick Benfaremo, Linda Libby, Emily Campbell (member of public), James Martin Dorn, Lauren Thomas, Christopher Walton 1. Call to Order a. Quorom established 2. House Keeping a. Welcome to member of the public in attendance (Emily Campbell) b. Motion forwarded/seconded to approve minutes of March WRC Meeting i. Vote: approved c. Motion forwarded/seconded to approve April Recycling Tip (Trash) i. Vote: approved d. Reminder of Earth Day Event on April 25th from 10AM to 2PM i. Christopher and Evan will be tabling (see Item 4.a., below) e. Three committee member terms ending this spring: i. Nick stated that he will not be renewing his term immediately, but will reconsider after returning from travel ii. Linda stated that she will not be renewing her term. iii. Lauren has not yet decided. 3. Discussion (Old Business) a. UMaine Food Waste Pilot Program i. Julie described some local publicity the project received in the Portland Press Herald and NOW periodicals ii. Julie stated that the UMaine team will be meeting on April 22, 2026 and preliminary findings will be available after the meeting iii. Will from UMaine will be at the Earth Day event in Mill Creek Park to promote the pilot program here in South Portland b. Sustainability Department News i. Julie reported that the Department applied for a Maine DEP grant that will be awarded in June of this year to support year-round recycling education efforts in the community 1. There will be opportunities for the WRC to support this effort Page 4 of 5  4. Action Items (New Business) a. Event Table Set-Up Discussion i. Having some type of game (ie. “Which bin does this go in?” was discussed ii. Ultimately, it was agreed that we would have: 1. A “Tricky Trash” barrel, and 2. An “Everything in Here is Recyclable” barrel iii. Be on the lookout for plastic food we can display as “compostable” iv. Evan will collect the items needed for the event from the Sustainability Office on the Thursday prior to the event (April 23rd) b. Zero-Waste Guidelines i. Open discussion about the purpose and scope of an ideal Zero- Waste Guide, as well as best practices for editing the existing material ensued ii. A draft revised document created by Christopher was saved in the shared drive. Suggested edits and comments should be inserted into this document on the shared drive iii. The committee will consider comments and suggested edits at the May monthly meeting 5. Public Comments a. None 6. Meeting Adjourned Next Meeting May 20, 2026 Page 5 of 5