Maine hiring contractor to run packaging waste reimbursement program

MAINE PUBLIC • July 20, 2026

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is hiring a contractor to run a new program that makes manufacturers and companies responsible for the cost to get rid of packaging waste. The department issued a request for proposals this month for a "stewardship organization" that will oversee the day-to-day operations of its extended producer responsibility, or EPR, program. The program would shift the costs of disposing packaging waste from municipal taxpayers to packaging producers, said Vanessa Berry, sustainable Maine program director at Natural Resources Council of Maine.