FARMINGTON – Maine Recycles Week is celebrated annually from Nov. 8 to 15 to promote recycling and buying recycled. On Monday attention turned to Farmington food waste is being composted at the Sandy River Recycling Association facility. The grand opening of the food project was held as part of the region’s Maine Recycles Week celebration.

The first such licensed project of its kind in Maine, the project composts food waste from the University of Maine at Farmington and Franklin Memorial Hospital to produce compost that can be used on lawns and in gardens.

The ceremony marks the culmination of a year-long project that involved the permitting and construction of the compost pad, as well as coordinating the collection and transportation of the food waste. With food waste from the two sizable institutions, the facility is assured of a dependable and constant supply of raw material that makes the project feasible.

Farmington Town Manager Richard Davis and Rich Doughty, Sandy River Recycling Association board president, unveiled the new project sign at Monday’s ceremony.

The University of Maine at Farmington and its food service contractor, Aramark, the town of Farmington, the Franklin Community Health Network and the Sandy River Recycling Association are all key to the operation.

The State Planning Office and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection helped with technical planning and grants.

“The project demonstrates what can happen when municipal and state government and local businesses collaborate,” said Martha Freeman, director of the State Planning Office. “It is an excellent example of towns working together to solve problems and a responsive initiative to improve how waste is managed.”

For more information, visit the Web site of the Recycling and Waste Management Program at the State Planning Office at www.recyclemaine.com.

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