I want to thank the bipartisan majority of the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee for voting in support of L.D. 1541 to implement an extended producer responsibility for packaging program to help save recycling in Maine.

Mainers want to do the right thing by recycling, but if big corporations and brands are creating packaging, much of it plastic that can’t be recycled effectively, then they must share in the cost of managing this waste. It’s unfair to expect Maine taxpayers to pay for corporations’ and brands’ poor decisions. This is also a big reason why Maine’s recycling rate is decreasing instead of increasing, which is alarming news for our environment.

That’s why we need transformative change like that called for by L.D. 1541. Based on the experience of other regions across the world where similar programs have been implemented, we know that recycling rates have gone up when extended producer responsibility laws are enacted. We also know these programs work here in Maine, where we have adopted similar solutions to deal with paint, batteries and other difficult-to-dispose-of products.

Unfortunately, rather than acting to protect Maine’s environment, the big corporations responsible for this problem are trying to kill this bill. For the health of our environment and oceans, Maine people and businesses must continue to speak out in support of L.D. 1541 to help Maine’s cities and towns save their struggling recycling programs. Maine cannot miss this opportunity to build on its past legacy of leadership in reducing waste and tackling plastic pollution.

Diane Fitzgerald
Hiram

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