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Maine’s Stewardship Program for Packaging was established under 38 M.R.S. § 2146 in 2021. Soon after, the DEP presented an anticipated implementation timeline. The Department’s initial timeline anticipated that municipalities would begin receiving reimbursements in 2027 for eligible expenses incurred in 2026.
That schedule, however, depended on several steps moving forward as planned. Since the initial timeline was presented, implementation has encountered delays. Changes to the statute required a second round of rulemaking, extending the work needed to establish the program’s requirements. The process of selecting a Stewardship Organization (SO), which will play a central role in carrying out the program, also taking longer than anticipated: the initial Request for Proposals received no bids.
As many program implementation dates are relative to the effective date of the contract with the SO, the Department is hesitant to present another timeline until contracting with the SO is complete. Once contracting is complete the SO must conduct producer start-up registration, set up the Stewardship Fund, conduct 12 cost studies, and conduct the first year producer registration and reporting before municipalities can begin receiving reimbursements.
After receiving no bids on the initial RFP, the Department has met with organizations that expressed interest in bidding to receive feedback regarding their decision not to bid on the RFP. The Department has made changes to the RFP incorporating the feedback it received and has submitted the RFP to the Office of State Procurement for their review and posting. The Department will provide a new implementation timeline following the contracting process with an awarded bidder. Because the Stewardship Fund and producer reporting/invoicing mechanisms will not yet be available (as they are provided by the SO and have not yet been created), there will be no reimbursements for municipalities for material recycled in 2025 and 2026.
The Department intends to begin publishing newsletters at least monthly to ensure stakeholders are informed of the latest program implementation information.
Municipalities
Currently, 111 municipalities have notified the Department they intend to participate in the Packaging Program. There is no formal process beyond notifying the Department of a municipality’s intent to participate, and a municipality may do so at any time. To participate a municipality must have a recycling program that collects a minimum of one type of material, report to the Department on recycling tonnages, and agree to participate in a cost study if they are selected by the SO.
A participating municipality will report to the Department on recycling tonnages through the currently existing Municipal Recycling Progress Report form utilizing the new digital Maine Enterprise Licensing System (MELS). This report is already a requirement of all municipalities and has been amended so it can be utilized by participating municipalities for packaging program reporting requirements. This will prevent the submittal of duplicative reports and ease overall reporting requirements for municipalities. Participating municipalities will utilize the recycling progress report to inform the Program on packaging streams (i.e. mixed recyclables, glass, HDPE clear, metal) managed in the previous year by the municipality.
Although municipalities will not be reimbursed for material recycled during 2025 and 2026, the municipal Recycling Progress Report that is due in April 2027 will include a section to report on packaging streams to allow municipalities to practice reporting. In addition to getting familiar with the system, municipalities can prepare for the possibility of being selected for a cost study once the SO is contracted. Municipalities with questions while completing the form are encouraged to contact the Program for assistance. The Department expects to issue guidance later in the year on how to sign up for your MELS account and what to expect of reporting through the system.
Municipalities should be preparing for the possibility of being one of the first twelve municipalities selected for a cost study by identifying labor, equipment, facility, energy, and contractor profit or overhead costs the municipality incurs for recycling or composting (which only applies if their composting includes packaging material). Municipalities will be selected on a random basis by the selected SO, who will reach out to those selected on the schedule developed during contracting. These cost studies will collect the information necessary to begin producer fee determination and municipal reimbursement. Every participating municipality will eventually be selected for a cost study as each year an additional 12 cost studies will be conducted, adding to this information. This information will determine the median per ton cost of recycling or composting each readily recyclable packaging material type.
Producers
Currently, there is no system for registering as a producer or for producer exemptions for Maine’s Packaging Program. A start-up registration mechanism will be a top priority of the SO following the effective date of the contract with the Department. The Department will update all stakeholders via a newsletter once the RFP has been published, when an awarded bidder has been selected, when a contract has been agreed to, and when a start-up registration mechanism is available.
Within 90 days of the SO making a start-up registration mechanism available, producers must register with the SO. The first annual producer registration and reporting is anticipated to be approximately one year following start-up registration.
Start-up registration will require a producer to report an estimate of the tons of packaging material produced during the timeframe specified in the SO’s contract with the Department. This estimate will be for all packaging material not specific to packaging material types. If a producer cannot estimate the total tons of packaging material produced, then the producer may report on the total tons of packaging material used to contain, protect, deliver, present, or distribute for each product that is sold, offered for sale, or distributed for sale nationally. The SO will then estimate the tons of packaging material produced by using Maine’s share of the national population. Following registration, producers will be invoiced for start-up registration fees.
The Department is developing producer guidance to assist with producer compliance. Producer guidance will detail producer identification, packaging material type identification, start-up registration, annual reporting, methods of estimation, and alternative collection programs. It is expected to be released soon and will be available on the program’s webpage. The Department will notify stakeholders through a future newsletter when guidance becomes available.
Thank you for your interest and participation. Please continue to direct questions and comments to MainePackagingEPR@maine.gov.
Newsletter Archive
All newsletters released by the Department to date are available on the Stewardship Program for Packaging website.
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