MELD-1541Enacted

An Act To Support And Improve Municipal Recycling Programs And Save Taxpayer Money

Jurisdiction:: Maine
Type:: EPR
Last action:: Jul 12, 2021

Plastic PackagingPaper PackagingGlassMetals

Next steps for producers

No producer action is triggered yet — track this measure

Applies toA person that: (1) has legal ownership of the brand of a product sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in or into Maine contained in or using packaging material; or (2) imports into Maine for sale a product in…

Obligations under this law

·Pay assessments to the stewardship organization based on the weight of packaging material sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in or into Maine
·Report required information to the stewardship organization
·Low-volume producers must comply with applicable program requirements

Program page →

No designated program action is recorded for this measure yet — treat the above as the general obligation and verify against the source text.

Covered Products

·Packaging material used for the containment, protection, delivery, presentation or distribution of a product, including products sold over the Internet, at the time the product leaves a point of sale with or is received by the consumer
·Excludes: packaging intended for long-term storage/protection of a durable product usable for at least 5 years
·Excludes: beverage containers subject to Maine's bottle deposit law (chapter 33)
·Excludes: architectural paint containers collected through an approved paint stewardship program recycling at least 80-90% of collected containers

Producer Obligations

·Pay assessments to the stewardship organization based on the weight of packaging material sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in or into Maine
·Report required information to the stewardship organization
·Low-volume producers must comply with applicable program requirements
·Producers claiming an exemption must provide sufficient information to the department to demonstrate eligibility within 30 days of receiving a departmental request
·Producers may request and receive assistance from the stewardship organization regarding reporting and methods to modify packaging to reduce payment obligations

Exemptions

·Producer with less than $2,000,000 in total gross revenue during the prior calendar year
·Producer that sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in or into Maine less than one ton of packaging material in total during the prior calendar year
·Producer that realized more than 50% of its total gross revenue in the prior calendar year from the sale of goods acquired through insurance salvages, closeouts, bankruptcies and liquidations
·Nonprofit organizations exempt from taxation under IRC Section 501(c)(3)
·Franchisees (obligation falls on franchisor)

Key Deadlines

May 1, 2022other: Department must issue a request for proposals for the operation of the packaging stewardship program by a packaging stewardship organization, covering a 10-year operation period

Producer Definition

A person that: (1) has legal ownership of the brand of a product sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in or into Maine contained in or using packaging material; or (2) imports into Maine for sale a product in packaging material branded by a person meeting criterion (1) who has no physical presence in the United States. Includes low-volume producers (>1 ton but <15 tons of packaging material sold in Maine in prior calendar year) and franchisors of franchises located in Maine (not franchisees). Excludes nonprofit organizations exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3).

Fee Structure

Per Ton: Payments assessed and collected from producers based on the weight (tons) of packaging material sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in or into Maine by each producer. Eco-modulation factors (e.g., toxicity, post-consumer recycled content, recyclability) are referenced in the bill structure but full fee schedule details are in portions of the bill not provided.

Enforcement

Maine Department of Environmental Protection: Not specified in the provided text

Preemption Notes

No explicit preemption provisions identified in the provided text. The bill establishes a state-level EPR program; no language preempting local ordinances or being preempted by federal law was present in the provided excerpt.

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Full bill text

New Search Summary Actions Bill Text and Other Docs Committee Info Title & Section Amendments Sponsors Roll-calls Subjects State of Maine Legislature Sponsors of LD 1541 Bill Info LD 1541 (HP 1146) "An Act To Support and Improve Municipal Recycling Programs and Save Taxpayer Money" Sponsored by Representative Nicole Grohoski Sponsors and Cosponsors Sponsored By: Representative Nicole GROHOSKI of Ellsworth Cosponsored By: Senator Richard BENNETT of Oxford Senator Catherine BREEN of Cumberland Senator Stacy BRENNER of Cumberland Senator Anne CARNEY of Cumberland Representative Jeffery HANLEY of Pittston Representative Christopher KESSLER of South Portland Representative William PLUECKER of Warren Representative Thomas SKOLFIELD of Weld Representative Stanley ZEIGLER of Montville Related Links House Senate Legislature Other Home Calendar Debate Members House Rules E-Mail Webmaster Home Calendar Debate Members Senate Rules E-Mail Webmaster Home Calendar Joint Rules E-Mail Webmaster State of Maine Home Session Information Glossary of Terms

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