Maine’s Recycling Law Could Set Standard for the Nation

Ever since China stopped accepting recyclable materials from other countries, municipalities have been left dealing with the increased costs of recycling. A state law recently passed in Maine that requires the producers of packed goods to pay for their recycling could serve as an example for the rest of the country, CNBC reports.

The Maine law applies to all producers, big and small, from Amazon to local businesses. It requires companies that produce garbage from packaging to pay into a fund that reimburses municipalities for recycling costs.

China was buying most U.S. recyclables until it banned import of several recyclable materials in 2018. The ban resulted in a 50% drop in the revenues received from the sale of recyclables recovered through curbside pickup, and an annual loss of about $400 million in revenue to the local municipalities that do the recycling, according to the Solid Waste Association of North America’s Applied Research Foundation.

Since the ban, the cost of recycling has gone up drastically, causing some municipalities to stop their recycling programs or limit them, at a time when climate awareness and the need for action has increased.

The priority of the law is to shift the cost of recycling from taxpayers to the producers. Doing this will create a revenue stream to create recycling programs for municipalities across Maine. It may also serve as an economic incentive for manufacturers and producers to create less packaging, offer more reusable packing options, and to make sure any packaging that remains is recyclable.

Packaging producers are concerned about the extra administration work required to comply with the law and the research involved to determine which packaging materials to use. They also are concerned the law could shift costs onto the consumers through higher product costs.

The law may not go into full effect until 2027 as the state has not yet set rules for its implementation.