Maine

Stewardship Program for Packaging (LD 1541, 2021)

Pre-Launch — SO Selection

PRO

Stewardship Organization (SO) — to be selected via RFP

Agency

Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)

Exemption

Under $2M global OR <1 ton OR >50% closeout/salvage revenue OR <15 tons perishable food packaging

Fees

Start-up fees due ~Sept 2026. No fee schedule has been proposed yet. SO to be selected via RFP.

Penalties

TBD — not yet included in regulations

Who is a “producer”?

Under LD 1541, a “producer” is determined in the following order of responsibility:

1Person with legal ownership of the brand of a product sold in packaging in or into ME
2Sole entity that imports into ME a product in packaging branded by a person with no US physical presence
3Person who adds packaging material to another producer's product for direct consumer distribution

✕De minimis producers (<$2M global OR <1 ton OR >50% salvage/closeout revenue OR <15 tons perishable food)
✕Long-term storage/protection of durable products (5+ year lifespan)
✕Beverage containers under Maine bottle bill
✕Architectural paint containers (80%+ recycling rate)
✕Materials excluded by DEP rule

Date	What's Due	Status
Feb 1, 2026	Maine DEP releases RFP for SO selection	UPCOMING
Apr 1, 2026	DEP contracts with SO	UPCOMING
May 31, 2026	Producers register with SO and report data	UPCOMING
Sep 1, 2026	Producer start-up fees due (180 days after SO contract)	UPCOMING
Oct 1, 2027	SO remits first payments to municipalities	FUTURE

Maine has more generous exemption criteria than other states. A producer is exempt if ANY of the following apply:

✓Less than $2,000,000 in global gross annual revenue
✓Less than 1 ton of packaging material into Maine
✓More than 50% of total gross revenue from insurance salvages, closeouts, bankruptcies, liquidations
✓Perishable food producers with less than 15 tons of total packaging material

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