An Act To Promote a Circular Economy through Increased Post-consumer Recycled Plastic Content in Plastic Beverage Containers
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1467
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: DOUDERA, MAXMIN, BELL, TUCKER, ZEIGLER, BENNETT, BRENNER
Amends: 38 MRSA §1612

Legislative Document
No. 1467
H.P. 1083
House of Representatives, April 12, 2021
An Act To Promote a Circular Economy through Increased Post-
consumer Recycled Plastic Content in Plastic Beverage Containers
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 8, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Environment and Natural Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant 
to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative DOUDERA of Camden.
Cosponsored by Senator MAXMIN of Lincoln and
Representatives: BELL of Yarmouth, TUCKER of Brunswick, ZEIGLER of Montville, 
Senators: BENNETT of Oxford, BRENNER of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §1612 is enacted to read:
§1612.  Plastic beverage containers
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Beverage" has the same meaning as in section 3102, subsection 1.
B.  "Beverage container" has the same meaning as in section 3102, subsection 2.
C.  "Beverage manufacturing industry association" means an association that represents 
the interests of companies that manufacture beverages.
D.  "Manufacturer" means a person, partnership, association, corporation or other entity 
that, through its own action or through contract or control of another entity, is primarily 
responsible for the production of a beverage held in a plastic beverage container for 
sale or distribution in the State.
E.  "Nonrefillable" has the same meaning as in section 3102, subsection 14.
F.  "Plastic" means a synthetic material made from fossil fuel or organic-based 
polymers, such as polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene and polycarbonate, that 
can be molded or blown into specific shapes.
G.  "Plastic beverage container" means a nonrefillable beverage container that is 
composed wholly or in large part of plastic.  "Plastic beverage container" does not 
include a beverage cap that may be screwed onto or otherwise affixed to a nonrefillable 
beverage container.
H.  "Post-consumer recycled plastic" means plastic produced from the recovery, 
separation, collection and reprocessing of plastic that was originally sold for 
consumption and that would otherwise be disposed of or processed as waste.  "Post-
consumer recycled plastic" does not include post-industrial plastic or pre-consumer 
plastic.
I.  "Proprietary information" has the same meaning as in section 1771, subsection 6-A.
2.  Post-consumer recycled plastic requirement.  Except as provided in subsection 
7, beginning January 1, 2026 and ending December 31, 2030, a manufacturer may not sell, 
offer for sale or distribute for sale in the State a plastic beverage container unless the total 
number of plastic beverage containers sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in the 
State by that manufacturer contain, on average and in the aggregate, at least 25% post-
consumer recycled plastic.
Except as provided in subsection 7, beginning January 1, 2031, a manufacturer may not 
sell, offer for sale or distribute for sale in the State a plastic beverage container unless the 
total number of plastic beverage containers sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in 
the State by that manufacturer contain, on average and in the aggregate, at least 30% post-
consumer recycled plastic.
3.  Determination of compliance with post-consumer recycled plastic 
requirement; advisory committee.  For the purposes of determining a manufacturer's 
compliance with the post-consumer recycled requirement in subsection 2, a manufacturer 
may rely on Maine-specific data regarding plastic beverage container sales and material 
use, if available, or may alternatively rely on the same type of data applicable to a region 
or territory in the United States that includes Maine.
A.  If a manufacturer elects to rely on data regarding plastic beverage container sales 
and material use derived from data applicable to a region or territory in the United 
States that includes Maine, the manufacturer shall:
(1)  Prorate that regional or territorial data to determine Maine-specific figures 
based on market share or population in a manner that ensures that the percentage 
of post-consumer recycled plastic calculated for plastic beverage containers sold 
in Maine is the same percentage as calculated for that larger region or territory; and
(2)  Document the methodology used to determine those Maine-specific figures 
calculated under subparagraph (1) in the report required under subsection 4.
B.  The department may form an advisory committee composed of stakeholders to 
determine the ability of manufacturers to measure and report the Maine-specific 
information required under this subsection and to develop any recommendations for 
improving the data determination and reporting process.  The department may, as 
necessary, contract with a qualified 3rd-party entity to assist the advisory committee in 
developing recommendations under this paragraph.  Any costs to the department 
associated with this paragraph may be offset through fees collected under subsection 4 
and administrative penalties paid under subsection 5.
4.  Manufacturer reporting; registration fee.  On or before April 1, 2024, and 
annually thereafter, a manufacturer that has in the prior calendar year sold, offered for sale 
or distributed for sale in the State a plastic beverage container shall submit a report to the 
department identifying, by resin type where applicable, the amount by weight in pounds of 
post-consumer recycled plastic, the amount by weight in pounds of plastic that is not post-
consumer recycled plastic and the percentage of post-consumer recycled plastic in the total 
weight of all plastic beverage containers the manufacturer sold, offered for sale or 
distributed for sale in the State in that prior calendar year.
A.  If the manufacturer has determined the data required to be reported under this 
subsection using regional or territorial data, the manufacturer shall describe in the 
report the methodology used to determine the Maine-specific figures.
B.  At the time that a manufacturer submits a report required under this subsection, the 
manufacturer shall pay to the department an annual registration fee.  The department 
shall set the amount of the fee under this paragraph, which may not exceed $250, and 
which must be designed to offset the costs to the department of administering and 
overseeing this section.
C.  The department may conduct audits or take other necessary actions to verify the 
accuracy of manufacturer data reported under this subsection.
D.  Proprietary information submitted to the department in a report required under this 
subsection or submitted to the department as part of an audit or other action taken by 
the department under paragraph C that is identified by the submittor as proprietary 
information is confidential and must be handled by the department in the same manner 
as confidential information is handled under section 1310-B.
E.  The department shall make available on its publicly accessible website all reports 
submitted under this subsection, except that the department shall redact or remove from 
such reports any proprietary information identified pursuant to paragraph D.
F.  In the case of a manufacturer that has contracted with a distributor, as defined in 
section 3102, subsection 8, to sell or distribute in the State the beverages it produces, 
the distributor may at the direction of the manufacturer submit the report required under 
this subsection on the manufacturer's behalf.
5.  Penalties.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, the department may assess 
against a manufacturer that fails to comply with the requirements of subsection 2 an 
administrative penalty as described in this subsection.
A.  The department may assess against a manufacturer that fails to comply with the 
requirements of subsection 2 an administrative penalty calculated as follows.
(1)  The department shall add the total amount by weight in pounds of post-
consumer recycled plastic and the total amount by weight in pounds of plastic that 
is not post-consumer recycled plastic used by the manufacturer in all plastic 
beverage containers it sold, offered for sale or distributed for sale in the State 
during the prior calendar year.  Unless otherwise determined by the department, 
the figure calculated under this subparagraph must be calculated using the 
information reported by the manufacturer pursuant to subsection 4.
(2)  The department shall multiply the figure calculated under subparagraph (1) by 
the minimum post-consumer recycled plastic percentage required under subsection 
during the prior calendar year.
(3)  The department shall subtract from the figure calculated under subparagraph 
(2) the total amount by weight in pounds of post-consumer recycled plastic used 
by the manufacturer in all plastic beverage containers it sold, offered for sale or 
distributed for sale in the State during the prior calendar year.
(4)  The department shall multiply the figure calculated under subparagraph (3) by 
20¢.  If the figure calculated under this subparagraph is less than or equal to zero, 
the department may not assess an administrative penalty under this subsection.
B.  The penalties that may be assessed by the department under this subsection are 
recoverable in an adjudicatory proceeding.
C.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any penalties received by the 
department pursuant to this subsection must be used by the department to offset its 
costs related to the administration and enforcement of this section, except that if such 
costs are fully offset, the department may deposit any additional penalties received in 
the Maine Solid Waste Management Fund established in section 2201.
6.  Waiver.  At the request of a manufacturer and in accordance with the provisions of 
this subsection, the department may grant a reduction in or waiver from an administrative 
penalty that would otherwise be assessed against the manufacturer pursuant to subsection 
5.
A.  In determining whether to grant a reduction or waiver under this subsection, the 
department shall consider, at a minimum, anomalous market conditions; disruption in, 
or lack of, supply of post-consumer recycled plastic; and the efforts of the manufacturer 
to acquire post-consumer recycled plastic.
B.  As a condition of granting a reduction or waiver under this subsection, the 
department may require the manufacturer to submit a corrective action plan describing 
why the manufacturer has failed to comply with or expects to fail to comply with the 
requirements of subsection 2 and the actions the manufacturer intends to implement to 
ensure its compliance with those requirements during the current calendar year.
(1)  The department may approve the corrective action plan as submitted, approve 
the plan with required changes or reject the plan.
(2)  The department may require the manufacturer to demonstrate implementation 
of an approved corrective action plan before the department reduces or waives an 
otherwise applicable administrative penalty.
(3)  If the department rejects a corrective action plan it required a manufacturer to 
submit under this paragraph or if the department determines that the manufacturer 
has failed to implement an approved corrective action plan, the department shall 
require the manufacturer to pay the full amount of the administrative penalty for 
which the manufacturer requested a reduction or waiver.
C.  Any costs accrued by the department in reviewing a manufacturer's request for an 
administrative penalty reduction or waiver under this subsection, including the costs of 
any 3rd-party contracting services required by the department, must be paid to the 
department by the requesting manufacturer.
7.  Review of post-consumer recycled plastic requirements.  Beginning January 1, 
2026, and not more than annually thereafter, the department may on its own initiative or at 
the petition of a beverage manufacturing industry association, initiate a review of the 
applicable post-consumer recycled plastic requirement under subsection 2 to determine 
whether that requirement should be reduced due to market conditions for post-consumer 
recycled plastic, including the demand for such plastic for food-grade application, and a 
review of recycling rates, progress made by manufacturers in complying with the post-
consumer recycled plastic requirement under subsection 2 and any other factors reviewed 
by the department.
A.  After conducting the review authorized by this subsection, the department may 
adopt rules reducing the applicable post-consumer recycled plastic content requirement 
under subsection 2.
B.  The department may adopt rules establishing the process by which a beverage 
manufacturing industry association may petition the department to conduct a review 
under this subsection.
8.  Department reporting.  Beginning February 15, 2025, and annually thereafter, the 
department shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over environment and natural resources matters regarding the requirements of 
this section and including any recommendations for changes to those requirements.  The 
report must describe, in the aggregate, the data submitted to the department by 
manufacturers under subsection 4.
A.  Beginning February 15, 2028, and annually thereafter, the report under this 
subsection must include information regarding manufacturer compliance with the 
requirements of subsection 2, including, at a minimum, information on the number of 
noncompliant manufacturers, the number of penalty reduction or waiver requests 
received and granted or rejected by the department under subsection 6, the total funds 
generated from payment of the registration fee under subsection 4 and the payment of 
administrative penalties under subsection 5 and a description of how any such funds 
received were expended by the department.  The report shall include any 
recommendations by the department regarding whether the requirements of this section 
should be amended to better ensure manufacturer compliance.
B.  The report under this subsection may be included in the report required pursuant to 
section 1772, subsection 1.  After reviewing the report under this subsection, the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over environment and natural 
resources matters may report out legislation relating to the report.
9.  Administration and enforcement; rules.  The department shall administer and 
enforce this section and may adopt rules to implement this section.  Rules adopted pursuant 
to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2-A.  The department may, as necessary, contract with qualified 3rd-party entities to assist 
in the implementation of this section and the development of any rules to be adopted 
pursuant to this subsection.
10.  Preemption.  Beginning April 1, 2024, the State intends to occupy the whole field 
of regulation of the amount of post-consumer recycled plastic contained in plastic beverage 
containers.  A local government may not adopt an ordinance regulating the amount of post-
consumer recycled plastic contained in plastic beverage containers and, beginning April 1, 
2024, any ordinance or regulation that violates this subsection is void and has no force or 
effect.
SUMMARY
This bill provides that, beginning January 1, 2026, a manufacturer of beverages in 
plastic beverage containers may not sell, offer for sale or distribute for sale in the State a 
plastic beverage container unless the total number of plastic beverage containers sold, 
offered for sale or distributed for sale in the State by that manufacturer contains, on average 
and in the aggregate, at least 25% post-consumer recycled plastic.  That post-consumer 
recycled plastic requirement increases to 30% post-consumer recycled plastic beginning 
January 1, 2031.  The bill also requires the Department of Environmental Protection to 
administer and enforce these provisions and authorizes the department to assess 
administrative penalties against a noncompliant manufacturer based on the weight, in 
pounds, of plastic beverage containers sold by that manufacturer that are not in compliance.