Recycling from taxpayers to packaging manufacturers a new experience in the United States

 For years, debated over the costs of recycling, and the desire to shift its value from taxpayers to packaging manufacturers, Maine Governor Janet Mills recently signed into law legislation to make the state the first in the country to shift recycling costs from taxpayers to packaging manufacturers.

The law, passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives earlier this month, formally implements the Extended Product Responsibility Program, known as EPR for Packaging, according to The Hill.

The program will create a “Packaging Oversight Fund,” which will include payments from packaging producers “based on the quantity, either by weight or volume, of packaging materials sold, offered for sale, or distributed for sale in or in the state by each producer and to reimburse participating municipalities for some of the costs of return recycling and municipal waste management”, according to the text of the law.

The legislation states that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection will establish rules to implement and enforce the program before December 31, 2023, and Nicole Grohosky, the bill's sponsor, said in a statement that the legislation follows similar programs that have been set up in some Canadian provinces and European countries.

“I am proud that Maine is once again a national leader when it comes to environmental protection,” Grohosky said in a statement, Tuesday, after news of the signing of the law. Property tax is on the way.

"It is time for producers of packaging materials to take responsibility for their waste stream in Pine State, as they are doing in more than 40 other countries and territories around the world," she added.

Grohusky said the project sponsoring organization will be overseen by the state Environmental Protection Agency, with producer payments directed toward program operating costs and management fees, as well as “investments in education and infrastructure to reduce future packaging waste in Maine.”

Maine has previously enacted similar legislation aimed at reducing consumer waste, including a law passed nearly 20 years ago that requires manufacturers to pay for electronics recycling.

In addition, the ban on foam food containers passed by the state legislature in 2019 is set to go into effect this year.

However, the law imposes certain exceptions under the program, including for small businesses and nonprofit organizations.