I am writing to commend the Kennebunkport Board of Selectmen for signing a letter of support for the extended producer responsibility for packaging law. This law is part of Maine’s Resolve: To Support Municipal Recycling Programs (L.D. 1431). And I urge Maine’s other towns and cities to do the same.

Recycling is one of the key ways that we can keep materials out of the landfills and conserve our natural resources. It is estimated that 30 percent to 40 percent of recycling weight comes from packaging materials (paper, plastic, cardboard, etc.). Currently, producers have little incentive to minimize wasteful packaging. Taxpayers unfairly bear 100 percent of the cost of handling packaging disposal and recycling that is increasingly becoming more expensive. We need to require producers to share in the responsibility of maintaining our recycling programs, including designing packaging that can be easily recycled.

Unanimously approved by the full Legislature, L.D 1431 was signed by Gov. Mills in May. This resolution launched an effort to reform recycling policy in Maine by directing the Department of Environmental Protection to draft legislation creating a new product stewardship program for packaging by Dec. 16. Furthermore, the Maine Municipal Association, ecomaine and the Natural Resources Council of Maine testified in favor of L.D. 1431.

For more information on this topic, and to find a copy of the resolution for your community to sign, go to recyclingreform.org. With your help we can address recycling reform in Maine.

Tom McClain

Kennebunkport