Maine State Chamber and partners write Gov. Mills outlining concerns with EPR packaging rule, ask for pause in regulatory process

For Immediate Release
Monday, December 2, 2024

Media contact: Jen Webber
​Cell: 207-939-0213

Proposed rule is causing concern among businesses; partners urge predictability, greater alignment with other states

​AUGUSTA, Maine (Monday, December 2, 2024) – The Maine State Chamber of Commerce and five other business associations delivered a letter to Governor Janet T. Mills today outlining concerns over the proposed Chapter 428: Stewardship Program for Packaging rule that is being considered by Maine’s Board of Environmental Protection (BEP). In advance of a BEP meeting this Thursday, December 5, 2024, the letter to Gov. Mills highlights significant challenges with the proposed rule, including the unknown cost to producers, new recycling access goals, and a structure that diverges from the four other states that have enacted Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging laws.
 
Current EPR packaging law rulemaking continues following the Maine Legislature passing L.D. 1541, An Act to Support and Improve Municipal Recycling Programs and Save Taxpayer Money in July 2021. The law established the Stewardship Program for Packaging to reduce the volume of packaging material, increase recyclability, and was intended to save municipalities money by requiring producers to cover the cost of managing packaging material. While the law provided a broad framework for the program, the Maine BEP is now considering adoption of the Chapter 428 proposed rule, drafted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, which provides specific details on how the program will be operated, reporting requirements, payment structures, goals, and compliance enforcement. 
 
“Over the last several months, the Maine State Chamber has heard from members who are currently budgeting for 2026, but the unknown cost of this program is creating significant uncertainty,” said Patrick Woodcock, President and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. “Maine should consider alignment with other states that are implementing the extended producer responsibility programs with clear cost controls and with additional flexibility for producers while maintaining the program’s worthy requirement of reducing waste.”
 
The Maine State Chamber is committed to supporting effective environmental stewardship, and urges policies that are fair, predictable, and conducive to Maine’s economic growth. Among concerns outlined by signers of the letter to Gov. Mills is that the cost to be covered by businesses if recycling performance goals are unmet will significantly increase the cost of the program. In addition to outlining concerns with the proposed rule, the letter urges Gov. Mills to ask for a pause in adoption so adjustments to the rule can be made that provide for greater alignment with other states and strike a balance between environmental goals and economic sustainability.
 
On Friday, November 29, 2024, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection emailed a public meeting and hearing notice that the BEP will meet on Chapter 428 and other issues beginning at 9:00 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, December 5, 2024. BEP will accept in-person public comment at the meeting.
 
Organizations that signed the letter to Gov. Mills are the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, American Institute for Packaging and the Environment (AMERIPEN), Consumer Brands Association, Maine Grocers and Food Producers Association, Hospitality Maine, and the Retail Association of Maine, whose CEO authored an opinion column - Maine must take a balanced approach to packaging law - that was published in the Portland Press Herald today, Monday, December 2, 2024.

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