An Act to Promote the Recycling and Reuse of Construction
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1633
Sponsors: WHITE
Amends: 38 MRSA §1303-C, 38 MRSA §1310-B, 38 MRSA §1310-N, 38 MRSA §2132, 38 MRSA §2203-A

Legislative Document
No. 1633
H.P. 1087
House of Representatives, April 15, 2025
An Act to Promote the Recycling and Reuse of Construction 
Materials
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 11, 2025.  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 WHITE of Ellsworth.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BISHOP of Bucksport, FREDERICKS of Sanford, 
MCINTYRE of Lowell, MINGO of Calais, RUDNICKI of Fairfield, SIMMONS of 
Waldoboro.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §1303-C, sub-§8-A is enacted to read:
8-A.  Construction materials reclamation facility.  "Construction materials 
reclamation facility" means a facility that exclusively accepts construction and demolition 
debris and sorts, refurbishes and sells construction materials reclaimed from the debris for 
reuse in construction.
Sec. 2.  38 MRSA §1310-B-2 is enacted to read:
§1310-B-2.  Construction materials reclamation facilities
1.  Certification.  The department shall establish by rule a streamlined process for the 
certification of construction materials reclamation facilities.  The rules must, at a minimum, 
be designed to:
A.  Encourage the development and certification of such facilities;
B.  Ensure that such facilities meet appropriate safety, environmental and quality 
standards;
C.  Establish material quality standards for use in construction of reclaimed 
construction materials;
D.  Establish a program for the certification and training of individuals operating such 
facilities; and
E.  Provide for transparency in the sourcing of construction and demolition debris and 
the resale of reclaimed materials from such facilities.
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, a construction materials 
reclamation facility that receives a certification from the department in accordance with 
rules adopted pursuant to this section is not required to obtain a solid waste facility license 
under section 1310-N.  Rules adopted by the department pursuant to this subsection are 
routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
2.  Construction Materials Reclamation Fund.  The Construction Materials 
Reclamation Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is a nonlapsing fund established 
within the department to provide grants, loans or other funding to any public or private 
entity to support the development and certification of construction materials reclamation 
facilities, training programs for individuals operating and employed at those facilities and 
public outreach and education initiatives regarding those facilities.  The fund may accept 
revenue from grants, bequests, gifts or contributions from any source, public or private.
3.  Education and outreach; community partnerships.  In implementing and 
administering this section, the department shall implement an education and outreach 
program to businesses, contractors and the public regarding the environmental and 
economic benefits of construction materials reclamation facilities and shall partner with 
community organizations and other entities in the development of training on and best 
practices for the reclamation and reuse of construction materials by those facilities.  The 
department may support its activities under this subsection using funds from the fund.
4.  Contractor list.  The department shall develop and maintain on its publicly 
accessible website a list of and contact information for environmentally responsible general 
contractors in the State that the department has determined, based on information submitted 
by a general contractor or otherwise available to the department, have diverted to certified 
construction materials reclamation facilities in the prior calendar year at least 50% of the 
construction and demolition debris generated by the contractor.
5.  Report.  By January 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the department shall submit 
to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over environment and 
natural resources matters a report outlining its implementation and administration of this 
section.  The report must include, but is not limited to, information regarding the 
development and certification of construction materials reclamation facilities, funding 
received by and issued from the fund and the economic and workforce-related effects in 
the State of construction materials reclamation facilities and associated activities.  After 
reviewing the report, the committee may report out related legislation.
Sec. 3.  38 MRSA §1310-N, first ¶, as repealed and replaced by PL 1993, c. 680, 
Pt. A, §37 and amended by PL 2011, c. 682, §38, is amended to read:
No Except for a construction materials reclamation facility certified by the department 
pursuant to section 1310-B-2, subsection 1, a person may not locate, establish, construct, 
expand the disposal capacity of or operate any solid waste facility unless approved by the 
department under the provisions of this chapter.  When the proposed facility is located 
within the jurisdiction of the Maine Land Use Planning Commission, in addition to any 
other requirement, the department shall require compliance with existing standards of the 
commission.
Sec. 4.  38 MRSA §2132, sub-§1-C is enacted to read:
1-C.  State construction and demolition debris diversion goal.  It is the goal of the 
State, by January 1, 2036, to reduce by 25% the total tonnage of construction and 
demolition debris annually disposed of at solid waste landfills in the State.  The baseline 
for calculating this reduction is the 2024 solid waste generation and disposal capacity data 
gathered by the department.
Sec. 5.  38 MRSA §2132, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2015, c. 461, §5, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Goal revision.  The department shall recommend revisions, if appropriate, to the 
state recycling goal and, waste disposal reduction goal and construction and demolition 
debris diversion goal established in this section.  The department shall submit its 
recommendations and any implementing legislation to the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over natural resource matters, which may report out 
legislation to implement or otherwise relating to those recommendations.
Sec. 6.  38 MRSA §2203-A, sub-§2-B is enacted to read:
2-B.  Construction Materials Reclamation Fund fee.  Beginning January 1, 2026, in 
addition to the per ton fees required in subsection 1 and subsection 2-A, commercial, 
municipal, state-owned and regional association landfills shall collect and pay to the 
department a $10 per ton fee for the disposal of construction and demolition debris and 
residue from the processing of construction and demolition debris and, notwithstanding 
section 2202, this fee must be deposited in the Construction Materials Reclamation Fund 
established by section 1310-B-2, subsection 2.
Sec. 7. Bureau of Revenue Services; reclaimed construction materials tax 
credit and deduction.  The Department of Administrative and Financial Services, 
Bureau of Revenue Services shall develop proposals for implementation of: 
1.  A refundable tax credit to be made available to a housing developer that purchases 
for use in the construction of affordable housing in the State reclaimed construction 
materials from a construction materials reclamation facility certified pursuant to the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 1310-B-2, subsection 1.  The credit must be equal to 
100% of the documented cost of the reclaimed construction materials purchased by the 
developer from a certified construction materials reclamation facility and a person applying 
for the credit must, at a minimum, be required to document the purchase of those materials 
through submitted receipts or invoices and to establish that the materials were purchased 
for use in the construction of affordable housing in the State; and
2.  A charitable deduction from individual income tax for individuals or businesses 
who donate construction materials to a construction materials reclamation facility that the 
facility certifies can be resold by the facility for use in construction.  
By January 1, 2026, the bureau shall submit a report setting forth the tax credit and 
deduction proposals required under this section, including necessary implementing 
legislation along with any related recommendations, to the Joint Standing Committee on 
Taxation.  After reviewing the report, the committee may report out related legislation to 
the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature. 
As used in this section, "affordable housing" has the same meaning as in Title 30-A, 
section 5002, subsection 2.
Sec. 8.  Appropriations and allocations.  The following appropriations and 
allocations are made.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF
Construction Materials Reclamation Fund  N508
Initiative: Provides one-time funding to support activities relating to construction materials 
reclamation facilities under the Construction Materials Reclamation Fund established in 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 1310-B-2, subsection 2.
GENERAL FUND
2025-26
2026-27
All Other
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
__________
__________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
SUMMARY
This bill directs the Department of Environmental Protection to establish by rule a 
streamlined process for the certification of construction materials reclamation facilities.  
Under the bill, a construction materials reclamation facility is defined as a facility that 
exclusively accepts construction and demolition debris and sorts, refurbishes and sells 
construction materials reclaimed from the debris for reuse in construction.  A construction 
materials reclamation facility that receives a certification from the department is not 
required to obtain a solid waste facility license.
The bill also establishes the nonlapsing Construction Materials Reclamation Fund 
within the department to provide grants, loans or other funding to any public or private 
entity to support the development and certification of construction materials reclamation 
facilities, training programs for individuals operating and employed at those facilities and 
public outreach and education initiatives regarding those facilities.  Beginning January 1, 
2026, this fund will receive a new $10 per ton fee imposed on the landfill disposal of 
construction and demolition debris and residue from the processing of the debris.  The bill 
also capitalizes this fund with General Fund appropriations of $1 million in fiscal years 
2025-26 and 2026-27.
The bill establishes a new state goal that, by January 1, 2036, the total tonnage of 
construction and demolition debris annually disposed of at solid waste landfills in the State 
will be reduced by 25%.  The baseline for calculating this reduction is the 2024 solid waste 
generation and disposal capacity data gathered by the Department of Environmental 
Protection.
The bill also directs the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau 
of Revenue Services to develop a proposal for implementation of a refundable tax credit 
for housing developers that purchase for use in the construction of affordable housing in 
the State reclaimed construction materials from a certified construction materials 
reclamation facility.  The credit must be equal to 100% of the documented cost of the 
reclaimed construction materials purchased by the developer from a construction materials 
reclamation facility.  The bureau is also required to develop a proposal for implementation 
of a charitable deduction from individual income tax for individuals or businesses who 
donate construction materials to a certified construction materials reclamation facility.  The 
bureau must submit by January 1, 2026 a report setting forth the tax credit and deduction 
proposals, including necessary implementing legislation along with any related 
recommendations, to the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation.  After reviewing the 
report, the committee may report out related legislation to the Second Regular Session of 
the 132nd Legislature.