PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 4, 2022
Maine passed the nation’s first extended producer responsibility law for packaging such as plastic bags, cardboard food cartons and paper parcel stuffing. It will not apply to most beverage containers, already covered by the state’s bottle bill, or paint containers, which are covered under a similar program. The new program would make corporations shoulder the cost of disposing of hard-to-recycle packaging by reimbursing municipalities for disposal costs and investing in the state’s recycling infrastructure. Similar programs have been used by numerous European countries and Canadian provinces for years, and all have far higher recycling rates than Maine. The law passed last summer won’t go into effect for another four years, disappointing sustainability advocates who would like to see the process sped up.