Product packaging, including plastic, cardboard, glass, and metal, makes up 30-40% of the materials managed by municipal waste management programs and costs municipalities about $17 million a year to manage. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging would make manufacturers — not Maine taxpayers — responsible for the cost of recycling those materials, making recycling more effective, sustainable, and equitable. Join us as State Rep. Nicole Grohoski of Ellsworth and Sarah Nichols, the Sustainable Maine Director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, discuss the challenges facing Maine's municipal recycling programs, EPR's record of success around the world, and how you can help advance recycling reform in Maine.
Saving Maine's municipal recycling programs is a priority of Maine's Environmental Priorities Coalition! Learn more about the EPC's 2021 agenda here, and stay tuned for upcoming Lunch & Learns on other priority bills.