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Nicole Grohoski represents Maine Senate District 7 and previously served two terms in the Maine House of Representatives, when she sponsored Maine’s first-in-the-nation extended producer responsibility for packaging law. Rick Bennett represents Maine Senate District 18 and was the lead Senate sponsor of the packaging law when he served as the ranking Senate Republican on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
In 2021, Maine took a pioneering step by becoming the first state in the nation to pass an extended producer responsibility for packaging law. It is designed to hold manufacturers accountable for the packaging waste they create. This principle is simple yet transformative: Those who produce waste should bear the cost of its management.
Historically, the burden of waste disposal has fallen on municipalities and taxpayers. This has led to increased costs, straining local budgets and forcing difficult choices about how to spend limited funds.
While struggling to keep recycling programs alive, Maine towns have essentially been throwing taxpayer money in the trash as they try to deal with the deluge of non-recyclable packaging waste that makes up about 30 percent of our waste stream.
We know extended producer responsibility for packaging will work. It’s a proven solution that dozens of places across the world use to successfully cut down on wasteful packaging and increase recycling rates. In fact, here in Maine we already have successful similar extended producer responsibility programs for other products like electronics, paint and pharmaceuticals.
After the law was passed, the Department of Environmental Protection underwent an extensive process, incorporating input from a wide range of stakeholders, to develop the details for how the program will be administered. Now, as that process nears completion, Maine stands on the brink of reaping the full benefits of this landmark legislation. With just one more hurdle at the Board of Environmental Protection, Maine’s cities and towns are set to realize significant relief from the financial burden of managing waste. Soon, checks from producers of packaging – like Amazon, Walmart and Procter & Gamble — will begin to flow into the state, providing a much-needed reprieve for taxpayers.
Under the extended producer responsibility law, producers will be required to pay fees based on the amount and type of packaging they introduce into the market. These fees will fund improvements in municipal waste management programs. This shift not only alleviates the financial burden on cities and towns, but also incentivizes producers to design their packaging better. Studies in places that have implemented extended producer responsibility for packaging have repeatedly shown that these changes happen with no noticeable impact on consumer prices.
The Legislature’s mandate in adopting extended producer responsibility for packaging was clear. We wanted to provide relief to municipalities while protecting our environment by cutting down on pollution and making recycling more effective.
By redirecting funds from corporate polluters to local waste management programs, towns and cities will be able to allocate resources to other critical needs such as education, infrastructure and public health. This financial support will also enable municipalities to enhance their recycling programs, leading to higher recycling rates and a reduction in the volume of waste sent to landfills.
By encouraging corporations to use more recyclable materials and pursue innovative designs that minimize waste we can also make a real difference for Maine’s environment by curbing the plastic pollution crisis threatening our oceans, waterways and wildlife.
Maine has already been joined by several other states who have adopted extended producer responsibility for packaging, including Oregon, Colorado, California and Minnesota, sending a clear market signal that consumers want better packaging.
Like so many of Maine’s environmental successes, this has been a collaborative effort. Environmental organizations, Maine-based businesses, municipal leaders and legislators from both sides of the aisle worked together to create a law that benefits all Mainers. This bipartisan support is a testament to the law’s broad appeal and its potential to make a lasting positive impact.
The success of this law hinges on robust and clear guidelines that hold producers accountable and provide municipalities with the support they need. It is critical that the Board of Environmental Protection finalize the regulations as soon as possible to ensure that the extended producer responsibility law is implemented effectively so we can deliver relief to municipalities. We encourage Mainers who want to support this new law to submit comments to the board before the Aug. 26 deadline.
