Maine’s Joins International Movement of Putting Cost of Recycling On Companies

Maine is taking 'Dirigo' to heart with the latest bill passed that would divert the cost of recycling some wasteful materials back to the company that sent all of the materials to begin with.

Gov. Janet Mills signed this eyebrow-raising bill into law yesterday sending the message to companies that they are are responsible for the waste in our Maine communities, and not only do we not want that waste here but we also don't want to pay to deal with it, either.

The bill will create a program called an extended producer responsibility program for the waste that comes from packaging.

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The Maine Department of Environmental Protection states that around $17 million tax dollars yearly go to recycling or disposing of packaging waste.

This bill will not hurt smaller companies making less than $5 million in gross revenue, since they will be exempt from this program. Think of the bigger dogs like the ones that will take on the cost, like Amazon.

Natural Resources Council of Maine states that big corporations already provide recycling programs for dozens of countries worldwide and in some Canadian provinces, in some places for three decades already.

Other states in the nation have been thinking about similar actions, including New York, California and Hawaii.

Many Maine cities and towns were in support of the bill including Bangor, Waterville, Portland, Ellsworth, South Portland, Lubec, and Lewiston, amongst others, according to the Natural Resources Council of Maine website.