In June, Maine became the final New England state to pass legislation banning the disposal of food waste in landfills or incineration facilities. The original version of LD 1065, An Act Regarding the Reduction and Recycling of Food Waste, was introduced in March 2025 and required generators of more than 2 tons/week on average to stop disposing of food waste via landfill or incineration by July 1, 2027, provided they are within 20 miles of an organics recycling facility with capacity to accept the generator’s food waste. In that original version, the ban expanded to generators of 1 ton/week of food waste within 25 miles of a processing facility on July 1, 2029, and allowed for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to adopt rules reducing the food waste amounts and proximity to organics recyclers to include more generators no earlier than July 1, 2032. The version of LD 1065 that became law in June pushed back the ban’s rollout by three years, with generators of 2 tons/week of food waste within 20 miles of an organics recycling facility not required to divert until July 1, 2030. This means Maine’s largest food waste generators and its few organics recycling facilities have five full years to come into compliance.

Maine’s legislature passed a similar law in 2024, but the bill was not ultimately funded and DEP was not supportive, citing lack of staff to support implementation and enforcement. The 2025 bill’s outcome is different: LD 1065 includes a minimal fiscal note and Maine DEP plans to reclassify existing positions within the Department to support implementation. In fiscal years 2027-2028 and 2028-2029, Other Special Revenue Funds will be allocated to “support the reorganization” of DEP — $11,511 and $17,865, respectively.