MAINE, USA — Here in Maine we rely on the ocean quite a bit for food, sport, and to help make the state beautiful.
All of that combined makes it easy to appreciate that the United Nations declared June 8 as World Oceans Day in 2008.
Along with that celebration, Mainers are also celebrating Clean Water Week which started on June 5.
Many businesses, universities, and cities are finding ways to protect our waters.
The Portland Water District's East End Water Treatment plant prevents 25,000 lbs of solids from entering the bay every day.
In celebration of clean water, it will be offering two tours of the facilities next week.
An Ellsworth based company, Desert Harvest, has recently developed its own technology for a compostable bag to be used with a reusable pill bottle.
“Probably by the end of the year, hopefully all of our supplements will be coming in these one hundred percent compostable; even the ink on the packaging is going to be plant based, so you can go put it in your garden and let it compost naturally,” Desert Harvest CEO Heather Florio said.
In partnership with Desert Harvest's supplier, they are committed to taking on big clean-up efforts to benefit and preserve our oceans.
The University of Maine has recently developed a new technology to replace plastic food containers, with the hopes of cutting down plastic waste in the oceans.
“By 2050 there will be more plastic by weight, in oceans, than fish. So this is a huge problem worldwide and most of the sources for that plastic pollution is actually from single-use food serving or container materials,” Mehdi Tajvidi an Associate Professor of Reusable Nanomaterials at the University of Maine, said.
To address the plastics issue, the University of Maine researchers have developed new and safer containers out of recyclable wood composites.
Clean Water Week will be celebrated here in Maine until this Saturday, June 11.