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The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) is seeking information regarding the services the Stewardship Organization (SO) must provide to operate the Stewardship Program for Packaging (program).
A copy of the Request For Information (RFI), the Question & Answer Summary, and all other related documents to this RFI can be found at the following website: http://www.maine.gov/dafs/bbm/procurementservices/vendors/rfis
A virtual informational meeting will be held on May 22nd from 10 am – 11 am ET during which the Department will be available to answer questions about this RFI. Questions should be submitted to the RFI coordinator by May 16th, 2025. To register for this informational meeting, use the following link: Stewardship Organization for Packaging Stewardship Program RFI Informational Meeting
The Department requests information be submitted to [email protected] by May 30th, 2025.
For more information regarding the program, please refer to the program’s website. Thank you for your interest and participation. Please continue to direct questions and comments to [email protected].
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The Department acknowledges and thanks all who continue to participate in the implementation of Maine’s Stewardship Program for Packaging. The input provided on the DRAFT Initial Packaging Material Types List is greatly appreciated.
The following are responses to the questions provided in the chat during the stakeholder meeting held on April 16th.
- Can you provide the names and contact information for the people we can connect with if we want to meet and discuss how our products are categorized?
Please reach out to [email protected] to connect with staff that are available to meet and discuss how packaging material would be currently classified in the DRAFT Initial Packaging Material Types List.
- Can you please clarify what category #5 cups would fall under? And why is all PP deemed not recyclable?
A PP (#5) cup would currently be classified under the proposed “PP (#5) natural forms” or “PP (#5) colored forms”, depending on whether it is pigmented or not. If the PP (#5) cup is pigmented with carbon black, then it would currently be classified under “Other PP (#5) forms”. When referencing the Recycling Establishment Reports, the Department identified two markets in North America for which PP (#5) is a target material which led to the proposal of PP (#5) natural and colored forms to meet the marketability criterion. However, the Recycling Establishment Reports received by the Department do not show PP (#5) being brokered as a result of commingled and source-separated operations. For this reason, PP (#5) was not proposed to meet the throughput criterion which requires that a packaging material type be common enough to warrant sortation. The Department welcomes additional information to further evaluate this proposal.
- Can you please confirm that packaging materials only are subject to fees, and not also products? I note both packaging materials and products are defined in the draft document and would appreciate the clarification.
Producers, generally brand owners, make payments based on the amount and the recyclability of the packaging material, which is material received a consumer that is used to contain, protect, deliver, present or distribute products in or into Maine.
Section 1(I) of the statute and Sections 2(K) and 2(X) of the rule are definitions of packaging material, consumer, and product, respectively. These definitions are important to consider when determining whether material meets the definition of packaging material in the program. The Department recommends emailing [email protected] with specific examples.
- When is the next Board meeting to review the list with all the new feedback?
The Department will initiate the formal rulemaking process for Appendix A, The Packaging Material Types List, in the summer of 2025. Until then, no Board meeting dates will be formally scheduled.
The Department will continue to engage in informal discussions until the formal rulemaking process begins.
- Is the Producer the entity that uses the packaging to sell goods and items? or is the Producer the entity that sells the packaging to the entity that uses the packaging?
Producers, generally brand owners, make payments based on the amount and the recyclability of the packaging material, which is material received a consumer that is used to contain, protect, deliver, present or distribute products in or into Maine. For example, the producer is the entity that puts its product in a box, not the entity that makes the box. Refer to Section 1(O) of the statute for the definition producer, and Section 2(W) of the rule clarifies the definition of producer.
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