An Act To Provide Leadership Regarding the Responsible Recycling of Consumer Products ,Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 203.
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1631
Sponsors: WALSH INNES, GOODALL, BERRY, DUCHESNE, EBERLE, HINCK, KENT, MARTIN

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
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124thMAINE LEGISLATURE 
Legislative DoclH)Jent 
No. 1631 
H.P.llS9 
House ofRepresentativ~s, December 23,2009 
An Act To Provide Leadership Regarding the Responsible Recycling 
of Consumer Products 
,Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Clerk of the House onDecember 21,2009. RefelTed to the Committee on 
Natural Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative WALSH INNES of YalTlloulh. 
Cosponsored by Senator GOODALL of Sagadahoc and 
'If/~~ /71. 7!/fLC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BERRY of Bowdoinham, DUCHESNE of Hudson, EBERLE of South 
Portland, HINCK of Portland, KENT of Woolwich, MARTIN of Eagle Lake, WELSH of, 
Rockport. 
Primed on recycled pilpcr 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA c. 18 is enacted to read: 
CHAPTER 18 
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PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP 
§1771. Definitions 
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings. 
1. Brand. "Brand" means a name, symbol, word or mark that identifies a product, 
rather than its components, and attributes the product to the owner of the brand. 
2. Covered entity. "Covered entity" means a type of entity, such as an individual or 
small business, that may utilize a product stewardship program to discard an unwanted 
product. 
3. Final disposition. "Final disposition" means the point beyond which no further 
processing takes place and the materials from a product are either in a form capable of 
direct use as an input in manufacturing new products or are treated for final disposal and 
disposed of. 
4. Orphan product. "Orphan product" means a product covered by this chapter: 
A. That lacks a brand; 
B. For which the producer is no longer in business and has no successor in interest; 
or 
C. That bears a brand for which the department cannot identify an owner. 
5. Producer. "Producer" means a person that: 
A. Has legal ownership of the brand of a product sold in or into the State; 
B. Imports a product branded by a person that meets the requirements of paragraph 
A and has no physical presence in the United States; or 
C. Sells a product in the State at wholesale or retail, does not have legal ownership of 
the brand of the product and elects to fulfill the responsibilities of the producer for 
that product. 
6. Product. "Product" . means an item intended for sale within the State that is 
identified pursuant to section 1772 as appropriate for a product stewardship program. 
7. 
Product category. 
"Product category" means a group of similar products 
designated pursuant to section 1772 for the purpose of assigning product stewardship 
responsibilities and establishing product stewardship programs. 
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8. 
Product stewardship. 
"Product stewardship" means a requirement that a 
producer take responsibility for managing and reducing the entire life-cycle impacts of 
the producer's product, from product design to end-of-Iife management. 
Life-cycle 
impacts include, but are not limited to, energy and materials consumption, air and water 
. 
emissions, the amount of hazardous substances in the product, worker and consumer 
exposure and reuse, recycling and was!e disposal. 
. 
9. 
Product stewardship program. 
"Product stewardship program" means a 
program financed and either managed or provided by producers that addresses the Iife-
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cycle impacts of a product and includes, but is not limited' to,' the collection, 
transportation, reuse and recycling or disposal, or both, of unwanted products, including 
but not limited to a pro rata share of orphan products. 
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10.' Recycling. 
"Recycling" means the transforming or remanufacturing of an 
unwanted product or the unwanted product's components and by-products into usable or 
marketable materials. 
"Recycling" does not include landfill disposal, incineration or 
energy recovery or energy generation by me'ans of com busting unwanted products, 
components and by-products with or without other waste. 
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11. Residuals. "Residuals" means leftover materials from processing or recycling· a 
product or the components, parts or materials contai~ed in a product: 
12. Reuse. "Reuse" means a change in ownership of a product or component in a 
product for use in the same manner and purpose for which it was originally produced. 
13. Stewardship organization. "Stewardship organization" means an organization 
appointed by a producer to act as an agent on behalf of the producer to administer a 
product stewardship program. 
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14. Unwanted product. "Unwanted product" means a product that is no longer 
wanted by its owner or that has been abandoned or discarded or is . .intended to be 
discarded by its owner~ 
§1772. Establishment of designation procedures; product designation; rule making 
1. Procedures. The department shall, through rulemaking, develop procedures for 
identifying products and product categories that are appropriate for a product stewardship 
program. The procedures must include, but are not limited to, provisions for: 
. 
A. Designating products and product categories over time; 
B. Establishing a review process for determining if reduced reporting requirements 
under section 1779, subsection 2 apply; 
C. MonitoringrecQvery rates to measure the effectiveness of the requirements of this 
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chapter and the need for changes to improve the recovery rates; and 
D. Enforcement and pemilty assessments. 
2. Product designation. The department; through rulemaking: 
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A. 
Shall designate products and product categories as subject to the' product 
stewardship program requirements of this chapter. 
In determining whether to 
designate a product or product category,. the department shall consider the following: 
(1) The degree to which the product or product category poses an adverse impact 
to the erivironmentandpublic health and safety; 
(2) The potential for resource recovery and material conservation; 
(3) The potential for energy conservation; 
(4) The cI imate change impacts and benefits of the product or product category; 
(5) Opportunities to reduce waste and toxicity; 
(6) Opportunities to increase recycled content and recycling; 
(7) 
The costs of waste management to local governments, ratepayers and 
taxpayers in the absence of product stewardshipprbgrams; 
(8) Opportunities for existi 19 and new businesses and infrastructure to manage 
the products; 
(9) Opportunities to develop new industries to utilize the recovered materials; 
(10) Public demand for product stewardship; and 
(11) Success in collecting and processing similar products in programs in other 
states and countries; 
B .. Shall identify covered entities for each designated product and 'product category; 
c. Shall determine whether to designate a product's packaging as a product; 
D. 
Shall determine whether recycling performance goals or a disposal ban for a 
product or product category is appropriate to encourage recycling; 
E. Shall establish an implementation date for the product stewardship program for 
each designated product or product category. The implementation date may not be 
less than 12 months after the date the department designates the product or product 
category; 
F. Shall establish if necessary management requirements and labeling requirements 
for particular products or product categories. Management requirements inclu'de, but 
are not limited to, special handling requirements for products containing hazardous 
substances, including processing, recycling and disposal requirements. 
Labeling 
requirements may include, but are not limited to, requirements for a producer to label 
a product regarding its brand, toxicity or carbon footprint; and 
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.. 0. May establish a disposal ban for a designated product or product category. 
§1773. Product stewardship program 
. 1. Program requirement. A producer of a product or product category designated 
by the department pursuant to section 1772 that is or has been sold in or into the State 
shall participate in a product stewardship program for that product or product category. 
The producer shall: 
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A. 
Operate, either individually .or collectively with other producers, a product 
stewardship program approved by the department; or 
B. 
Enter into an agreement with a stewardship organization to operate,' on the 
producer's behalf, a product stewardship program approved by the department. 
2. No fee. A product stewardship program may not charge a covered entity a fee at 
the time an unwanted product is delivered or collected for recycling or disposal. 
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3. 
Costs. 
The producers in a product stewardship program shall pay the 
administrative and opel'ational costs associated with the program, including the costs of 
collectiOll, transportation and recycling or disposal, or both, of the products covered by 
the program. 
4. Program operation. A producer required to establish a product stewardship 
program or a stewardship organization that has entered into an agreement to operate a 
product stewardship program on a producer's behalf shall operate the product stewardship 
program in accordance with a product stewardship plan pursuant to section 1776 
appr'oved by the depal1ment and all applicable laws and rules. 
5. 
Education and outreach. 
A product stewardship program must provide 
education and. outreach to promote the use of the program' to . ensure that collection 
options are understood by covered entities. Education and outreach must be provided to 
,covered entities, collectors, retailers and other interested paI1ies. 'At a minimum, outreach 
must include a toll-free telephone number and a publicly accessible website where 
collection options are listed. 
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6. Annual 3rd-party audit. A product stewardship program must obtain an annual 
3rd-party audit of each handling, processing and disposal facility used by the product 
stewardship program for any product containing hazardous substances' or any of a 
product's components, parts, by-products or materials containing hazardous substances. 
The annual audits must be conducted in accordance With the requirements of section 
1776, subsection l; paragraph C, subparagraph (2). 
§1774. Reuse or recycling requirement 
1. Required reuse or recycling. Except as provided in subsection 2, all products 
that are collected by a product stewardship program must be reused or recycled. 
2. Exceptions. Products or product categories detennined by the department not to 
be reusable or recyclable are exempt from 
t1~e reuse or recycling. requirement' in 
subsection I. 
A. A product that cannot be reused or recycled must be disposed of or managed in 
permitted facilities appropriate for the product, including the disposal or management 
of all hazardous products, components and materials in permitted hazardous waste 
facilities appropriate for the product, component or material. 
B, Residuals that cannot be reused or recycled must be disposed of or managed in 
permitted facilities appropriate . for the residllals, including the disposal or 
. management of all hazardous residuals in permitted hazardous waste facilities 
appropriate for the residuals. 
If the department determines that options for reusing or recycling a product have 
cha~ged, the department may require producers to amend their product stewardship 
programs to include reuse and recycling for that product or product category. 
§1775. Sale of products 
.. As of the implementation date established by the depaJ1ment under section 1772, 
subsection 2, paragraph E for the product stewardship progfam for a product or product 
. category, a producer, wholesaler, retailer or other person may not sell or offer for sale that 
product or a product in that product category to a person in the State unless the producer 
is participating in the product stewardship program. A person who sells or offers for sale 
in the State Ii product shall, prior to selling that product in the State, consult the lists of 
compliant arid noncompliant producers established pursuant to section 1780. A person is 
considered to have complied with this seCtion if, on the date the product was.ordered 
from the producer or its agent, the producer was listed as having an approved product 
stewardship program for that product. 
§1776.· Product stewardship plan 
1. Plan requirements. A producer or group of producers that operates or wishes to 
operate a product stewardship program, or a stewardship organization that operates or 
wishes to operatc a product stewardship program on behalf of a producer or group of 
producers, shall submit a plan to the department that includes the following: 
A. Identification and contact information for: 
(1) The person SUbmitting the plan; 
(2) The producers participating in the product stewardship program; and 
(3) 
If a stewardship organization intends to operate a product stewardship 
program on behalf of producers, the stewardship organization, including a 
description of the stewardship organization, its management and administration 
and the tasks to be performed by the organization; 
B. A description of the collection system, including information relating to:. 
(1) The location of collection sites or other collection services used by the 
product st~wardshipprogram; 
(2) How unwanted products from all types of covered entities will be collected in 
all counties in the State and in all cities with populations of more than 10,000; 
and 
(3) How the collection system is convenient and adequate to serve the needs of 
covered entities in both urban and rural areas; 
C. A description of any transportation, handling, processing or disposal system used 
by the product stewardship program, including: 
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(I) The location and permit status of and record of any penalties, violations or 
regulatory orders received in the previous 5 years by the handling, processing or 
disposal facilities used by the product stewardship program; 
(2) A 3rd-party audit of each handling, processing or disposal facility used by 
the product stewardship program for any product containing hazardous 
substances or any of·a product's components, parts, by-products or materials 
containing hazardous substances. 
The audit must include. d·ocumentation of 
compliance with all relevant local, state, national and international laws and with 
the management requirements adopted for the product by the department under 
section 1772, subsecti"on 2, paragraph F; 
(3) 
The policies and procedures to be followed by persons transporting, 
handling, processing or disposing of unwanted products collected pursuant to the 
product stewardship program and how compliance with relevant local, state, 
c national and international laws and with the management requirements adopted 
for the product or product category by the department will be ensured; 
(4) How the products will be reused or recycled, including a description of the 
processing methods that will be used at each processing facility; 
(5) 
If the department determines through rulemaking that a product is not 
reusable or recyclable, a waste reduction strategy for how the product will be 
disposed of or managed in permitted·· facilities appropriate to the" product, 
including disposal or management of hazardous produCts, components, parts, by~ 
products and materials in permitted hazardous waste facilities appropriate for the 
products, components, parts, by-products and materials; 
(6) How all residuals that cannot be reused or recycled will be disposed of or 
managed in permitted facilities appropriate for the residuals, including disposal 
of· or· management of all hazardous residuals in permitted hazardous waste 
facilities appropriate for the residuals~ 
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(7) How hazardous wastes and hazardous substances will be tracked and handled 
through final disposition and how safety and security will be maintained; and 
(8) Best management practices used by processors and their vendors to ensure 
that hazardous substances and wastes are not released into the environment ~nd 
do not adversely impact human health; 
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D. 
Information relating to education and outreach, including how the product 
stewardship program will comply with the education and outreach requirement in this 
chapter; and 
E. Information relating to consultation with stakeholders, including but not limited to 
covered entities, enVironmental groups and retailers. The information must include, 
but is not limited to: 
(1) A description of the process used to consult with stakeholders regarding the 
contents of the product stewardship plan; and 
(2) A summary of stakeholders' comments and" concerns and how those concerns 
were addressed. 
2. Plan submission; plan approval. A product stewardship plan must be submitted 
to the department in accordance with rules adopted by the department. The department 
shall determine· whether the plan complies. with this chapter and rules adopted to 
implement this chapter. The department shall approve the phin when all requirements 
have been met. If the plan is approved, the department shall send a letter of approval to 
the submitter. . If the plan is rejected, the department shall provide the submitter with a 
letter describing the reasons for rejecting the'plan. 
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§1777. Changes to product stewardship plan 
1. Prior approval for changes. Except as provided in subsection 2, a change to a 
product stewardship plan under section 1776 must be approved in writing' by the 
department prior to implementation ofthe change. 
2. Exceptions. The following changes to a product stewardship plan under section 
1776 may be implemented without prior approval by the department. 
A .. An.addition or change to collection locations for unwanted products may be made 
without the department's prior written approval. The person operating the. product 
stewardship program m'ust inform the department of the addition or change within 15 
days of the addition or change. 
B. 
An additional producer may participate in an approved product stewardship 
program withOlU the department's prior written approval. The person operating the 
product stewardship program must inform the depatiment of such an addition within 
days of the addition. 
§1778. 
Amendment, suspension or cancellation of product stewardship plan 
approval 
1. 
Department's authority to amend, suspend or cancel. 
If the' depaliment 
determines that a product stewardship program is not being operated in accordance with 
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the requirements of this chapter and rules' adopted to implement this . chapter, the 
department may: 
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A.' Amend 'the approval of the product stewardship plan by c1arifying- its terms or 
conditions. to ensure full implementation of the plan; or 
B. Suspend or cancel the approval of the product stewardship plan. 
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2. Opportunity to respond. At least 30.days prior to amending, sllspending or 
canceling an approval of a product stewardship plan, the department shall inform the 
person operating the product stewardship program of the action and provide an 
opportunity to respond. The department may extend the time permitted for a response. 
3. 
Department action without opportunity to respond. 
Notwithstanding 
subsection 2, if the department determines it is necessary in order to protect the public 
from imminent danger, the department 'may immediately amend, suspend or cancel an 
approval of a product stewardship plan without giving the person operating the product 
stewardship program an opportunity to respond, but, within 15 days after the date on 
which the department amends, suspends or cancels an approval, the department must give 
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that person an 0ppOIiunity to respond through proceedings consistent with Title 5, chapter 
375. 
§1779. Annual reporting 
For the purposes of this section, "reporting period" means the period beginning 
JanuaIY 1 st and ending December 31 sf of the same calendar year. 
1. Information required. On or before June 30th of each year, a person operating a 
product stewardship program shall prepare and submit to the department a report 
describing the activities of the product stewardship program during the previous reporting 
period, including: 
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A. Identification and contact information for: 
(1) The person submitting the product stewardship plan; and 
(2) The producers paliicipating in the product stewardship program; 
B. Performance goals and recovery rates, including: 
(I) Thearriou~t of unwanted products collected from covered entities through 
collection services in each county, including documentation verifying collection 
and verifying reuse, recycling or disposal of that material; and 
(2) How the product stewardship program attained the performance goals and 
recovery rates established in the product' stewardship plan or set by the 
department and, if the program did not attain those performance goals and 
recovery rates, what actions it will take during the current reporting period to do 
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C. The collection system, including the collection services provided in each county 
and in all cities with populations of more than 10,000 and the location of each 
collection service; 
D. The handling, transportation, processing and disposal system used, including:. 
(1) A list of handling, processing and disposal facilities used and the location of 
each facility, the weight of unwanted products processed by each processor or 
disposed of at each disposal facility and a description of the processes used to 
recycle the unwanted products by each processor; 
(2) A list of subcontractors through final disposition who processed or recycled 
unwanted products, components,' materials or by-products that contained 
hazardous substances and the location of each subcontractor facility; 
(3) Documentation and summary results of annual 3rd-party audits conducted 
pursuant to section 1773, subsection 6 on each handling, processing and disposal 
facility used; 
(4) If a product is exempt from the reuse or recycling requirement pursuant to 
secfion 1774, subsection 2, how the product has been disposed of or managed in 
permitted facilities appropriate to the product, including disposal or management 
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of all hazardous products, components and materials in permitted hazardous 
waste facilities appropriate for the product, component or material; 
(5) The fate of residuals not recycled or reused; 
(6) 
Penalties, violations or regulatory orders received during the repOl1ing 
period, if any, by each handling, processing or disposal facility that is used; and 
(7) Whether policies and procedures for transporting, processing, handling and 
disposing of unwanted products as established in the product stewardship plan 
under section 1776 were followed during the reporting period and a description 
of noncompliance with those policies and procedures, if any; 
E. 
The education and outreach provided pursuant to section 1773, subsection 5 
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during the reporting period; 
F. Steps taken to manage and 'reduce the life-cycle impacts of the products, from 
product design toend-of-Iifemanagement, including how the formulation, packaging 
and distribution of products have been improved to reduce waste, reduce toxicity, 
reduce carbon footprint, reduce other environmental impacts, increase recycled 
content, increase product longevity and make products more easily recyclable; and 
G. Any other information that the department may reasonably require. 
2. Reduced reporting requirements. "A person operating a product stewardship 
program that meets the following conditions is required to report to the depaJ1ment only 
the information listed in subsection 1, paragraphs A, B, C and G: 
A. All products collected by the product stewardship program use no hazardous 
substances in the production process and contain no hazardous substances; 
B. 
The product stewardship program over the repOl1ing period attained a 90% 
recovery rate of all unwanted products for which the producers are responsible under 
the program and a recycl ing rate of 80% of the materials contained in those recovered 
products; and 
C. All products collected by the product stewardship program are carbon-neutral in 
" production and use. 
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§1780. Website listing of producers 
"The department shall" list on the depaJ1ment's publicly accessible website all 
producers who are participating in an approved product stewardship program and all 
producers who have been identified as noncompliant. 
§1781." Enforcement; penalties 
1. Failure to participate in a product stewardship program; failure to comply 
with written warnings and notifications. The folfowing provisions apply if a prodlicer 
fails to participate in a product stewardship program. 
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A. The department shall send a written warning and a copy of the requirements of 
this chapter to 11 producer who is not participating in an approved product stewardship 
program and whose product is being sold in or into the State "after the implementation 
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date established by the department under section 1772, subsection 2, paragraph E for 
the product stewardsIiip program for the product. 
B. The department shall send written notification of a producer's failure to participate 
in an approved product stewardship program to a wholesaler, retailer or other person 
known to be selling that producer's product in or into the State. 
C. 
Beginning 60 days after receipt of a written warning under paragraph A, a 
producer who is not participating in an approved product stewardship program and 
whose product is sold in or into the State commits a civil violation for which a fine of 
not more than $10,000 per day may be adjudged. 
D. 
Beginning 60 days after receipt of written notification under paragraph B, a 
wholesaler, retailer or other _person who sells a product from a producer who is not 
participating in im approved product stewardship program commits a civil violation 
for which a fine of not more than $10,000 per day may be adjudged. 
2. Failure to submit product stewardship plan, revisions or annual report. The 
department shall send a written warning' to a producer who operates a product 
stewardship program or a person who operates a product stewardship program on a 
producer's behalf who fails to submit a product stewardship plan under section 1776, plan 
revision under section 1777 or annual report under section 1779.' The written warning 
must include compliance requirements and notification that 'the compliance requirements 
must be met within 60 days. If the compliance requirements are not met within 60 days, 
the producer or other person who operates a product stewardship program on the 
producer's behalf commits a civil violation for which a fine of not more than $10,000 per 
day may be adjudged. 
§1782. Administrative costs and fees 
The 'department may establish fees to fully recover expenses incurred by the 
department to administer this chapter. Fees may be charged to producers and, if fees are 
charged, the fees must be paid annually no later than July 1 st of each calendar year. Fees 
collected by the department pursuant to this section must be deposited in the Maine 
Environmental Protection Fund established in section 351. 
§1783. Rules 
Rules adopted pursuant to this chapter are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
§1784. No limitation of municipal authority 
Nothing in this chapter changes or limits municipal authority to regulate collection of 
solid waste, including curbside collection of residential recyclable materials. 
§1785. Anticompetitive conduct 
A producer or stewardship organization, including a producer's or stewardship 
organization's officers, members, employees and agents that' organize product 
stewardship programs required under this chapter, is authorized to engage in 
anticompetitive conduct to the extent necessary to plan and implement a product 
stewardship program and is immune from liability under state laws relating to antitrust 
enforcement, restraint of trade, unfair trade .practices and other regulation of trade or 
commerce for this purpose. 
§1786. Liberal construction 
This chapter, being necessary to protect public health, safety and welfare and the 
environment, must be liberally construed. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes a product stewardship law under the Department of 
Environmental Protection. 
The bill requires the department to establish procedures for identifying products that· 
are appropriate for a product stewardship program and todesignate specific products an.d 
product categories that are subject to the product stewardship program requirements. The 
bill also sets forth factors that must be considered by the department in making this 
determination, including, but not limited to, the. degree to which the product poses an 
adverse impact to the environment and public health, opportunities for the development 
of business and opportunities for energy conservation and reduction of waste and toxicity. 
Under the bill, producers of the designated products must ·participate in product 
stewardship programs established and paid for by the producers of the products. If a 
producer of a designated product does not participate in an approved product stewardship 
program, that producer's product may not be sold in or into the State as of an 
implementation date to be established by the department. 
The bill requires producers of designated products to submit to the department for 
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approval product stewardship plans and proposed change.s to established plans. The bill 
also auth()rizes the department to amend, suspend or cancel its approval ofa product 
stewardship plan and requires product stewardship programs to submit annual reports. 
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