After years of deliberations, Maine regulators have authorized a new program intended to make companies pay to get rid of packaging waste.
The regulations approved by the Board of Environmental Protection require producers to reimburse towns and cities for the cost of getting rid of paper, cardboard and other materials.
Environmental groups said the extended producer responsibility program will reduce local government costs and encourage companies to make less wasteful packaging.
Maine was the first state in the U.S. to pass such a producer responsibility law in 2021. That was prompted by a flood of packaging that has overwhelmed municipal solid waste programs, according to Vanessa Berry, sustainable Maine program manager at the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
“This practical solution will boost recycling rates and shift costs away from taxpayers onto the corporations that produce and profit from the huge volume of cardboard and plastic packaging that’s driving up waste management costs for Maine municipalities,” Berry said in a statement.
But industry groups have opposed the change, arguing that Maine’s program is too complicated, contradictory and imposes unknown costs on companies and consumers.
In a letter to Gov. Janet Mills just days before the board convened to vote on the regulation, a coalition of business groups pushed for an implementation delay.
Among their concerns was that Maine’s proposal was at odds with similar programs enacted in Colorado, California and Oregon, groups including the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and American Institute for Packaging and the Environment said.
“While the stated purpose of this law is a positive one that we all support, the implementation of this law is proving to be incredibly challenging and frustrated by significant issues and flaws,” they said.
Critics at board deliberations Thursday raised similar concerns and encouraged a delay to iron out details.
In a statement following the board’s approval of the rule, Maine Chamber President Patrick Woodcock said despite the groups’ significant concerns, it would work to improve the program to provide cost predictability and align it with other states.
But supporters said the regulations have been under development for three years. Maine’s rules are specifically designed for the state and don’t need to align with other jurisdictions in order to succeed, said Sydney Harris from environmental group Upstream.
Similar packaging responsibility programs are in effect across the globe including the European Union and Canada, she added.
“They work everywhere they are implemented, they are going to work here,” she said. “And it is beyond time to move forward with implementation.”
But the board’s chair, Susan Lessard, cautioned that some small communities may not have the capacity to handle program requirements and benefit from reimbursement. And even if making companies pay reduces tax spending, it might make products more expensive, she added.
“Producers won’t add cost to their system without moving that cost along,” Lessard said.
Under the program, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection will contract a stewardship organization to manage the program statewide. Producers are expected to register and report packaging material tonnage by mid-2026. The program is expected to be in full swing by September 2027.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
