(Credit: Poland Spring)Poland Spring recently announced a collaboration with the University of Maine and its Forest Bioproducts Research Institute to develop bio-based solutions that could serve as alternative packaging for Poland Spring products. The University of Maine says it will explore new possible uses of materials derived from sustainably-harvested Maine wood, an effort that the school says has the potential to advance the circular economy by contributing to the total utilization of this renewable resource.
Poland Spring is initiating this collaboration with the University of Maine to assess biomaterial technologies that could serve as alternatives to petroleum-derived, non-renewable materials. This joint effort evolved after Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) sponsored a two-day bioplastics summit at the University of Maine in May 2019 that brought together stakeholders representing all sectors of Maine's forest economy to discuss and explore these issues.
The Maine Forest Products Council said the expanded use of forest-based biomass in areas such as packaging, infrastructure, equipment, novel materials, and even biofuels is a key development objective for the Maine forest sector.
In addition to exploring alternative packaging, Poland Spring parent company NWNA recently announced it will construct a 10-megawatt AC renewable energy project at its Poland Spring bottling plant in Hollis, Maine. This proposed solar energy installation, currently in the permit application process, will supply enough clean electricity to meet approximately 20-25% of the current energy needs of the facility, the company notes.
Once completed, the proposed solar project would occupy 47 acres of land, making it one of the largest contiguous solar arrays in Maine. The project developer is EnterSolar, of New York. The civil engineers are Sevee & Maher Engineers, of Cumberland, ME.
