Maine considers EPR for packaging bill

In March 2020, Maine's legislature held hearings on a new packaging EPR bill, An Act To Support and Increase the Recycling of Packaging (LD 2104); though it did not move forward it was approved to "carry over." Waste Dive closely examined the bill, including its supportive momentum from Maine municipalities, and its similarity to Quebec's EPR program and differences from British Columbia's EPR program. Scott Cassel of PSI is quoted saying, "There's a dynamic tension between the governments wanting control over the system, to ensure that they obtain the results that they're seeking, and the producers on the other hand who want more flexibility and autonomy to make the changes that they think are necessary to achieve those goals." According to Waste Dive, this legislation was the result of an act last year that directed Maine's Dept. of Environmental Protection with "developing a legislative framework for packaging EPR."