The City Council of South Portland, ME has begun construction of a solid waste transfer station, which is part of long term $15.7 million energy efficient project. The project also includes a municipal services facility, which is slated to begin in March and be complete in June, 2017.

The city this week will consider a ban on plastic-foam packaging and a five cent fee on disposable shopping bags. Those are two of the steps being considered by the community, which has a 40-page Municipal Climate Action Plan that includes zero-waste city gatherings, solar panels on municipal buildings and a number of other steps, according to The Press Herald.

Holistically approaching energy efficiency is the goal of a group comprised of nine universities, major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and India, infrastructure firms and policy groups. The consortium is working under a $12 million Sustainability Research Network Award from the National Science Foundation to create cities that are highly functional, livable and green, according to The Colorado State University Source.