Maine lawmakers advanced an EPR bill to the governor. | Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
Legislation creating an extended producer responsibility program for packaging has cleared both the Maine House of Representatives and Senate. It’s the first such bill in the U.S. to make it that far in the legislative process, and it now goes to the state’s governor for a signature.
Paper and packaging EPR is already firmly established as part of the Canadian and European waste management landscape. |
Coca-Cola, Unilever and Walmart are among the companies that have backed a statement from a global group in support of extended producer responsibility, the latest example of the seismic shift in corporate sentiments around the policy approach.
A substantial EPR bill is moving forward in the Oregon legislature. | Grindstone Media Group / Shutterstock
Bills establishing extended producer responsibility for packaging materials were introduced in a handful of states this year. Several have failed to gain traction, but at least two key proposals remain active.
Officials estimate shifting funding responsibility completely to producers will save municipalities an estimated 156 million Canadian dollars (about $129 million U.S.) per year. | Sunset Blue / Shutterstock
The Ontario government will make producers fully financially responsible for recycling their products, a major expansion of the province’s extended producer responsibility system. The changes will come into effect within the next four years.
A Maine committee vote of “ought to pass” for LD 1541 sets it up for possible votes by the full House and Senate chambers. | RawPixel.com / Shutterstock
A committee in Maine’s legislature advanced a bill that gives government officials direct control over how much money producers would be forced to pay to support the recycling of their packaging.
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The challenges of implementing extended producer responsibility programs were recently detailed by an international panel. | ESB Professional / Shutterstock
During one of the first sessions of SPC Impact 2021, held in April, an international panel sat down to discuss the challenges of implementing extended producer responsibility (EPR).
Lawmakers in Maine are considering two bills that each establish extended producer responsibility programs covering packaging of all material types, but with key differences in program management. | Wangkun Jia / Shutterstock
Two state proposals under consideration in the Northeast get at a central question of extended producer responsibility programs for packaging: Should the government or private industry have more control?
Legislation to be reintroduced will include provisions for a national bottle bill and a ban on certain single-use plastic items. | S-F/Shutterstock
Two members of Congress will revive the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which includes a national container deposit system and other sweeping changes. Representatives from the plastics industry have countered the push.
California Assembly Bill 842 requires that by 2035, all single-use plastic packaging and products distributed in California include 75% post-consumer recycled content. | Kanittha Boon/Shutterstock
California legislators introduced a bill that creates a packaging stewardship organization and adds packaging fees paid by producers. The bill is the latest in a flurry of plastics-related legislative activity in the state.
