In 2021, Maine adopted a first-in-the-nation Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging law to reduce taxpayer costs and improve recycling by encouraging producers to create less wasteful packaging. Put simply: It’s unfair that Maine taxpayers and communities are on the hook for the wasteful packaging produced by large companies—much of it single-use plastic—that ends up Read More
EPR for packaging
LD 1171, Raise Funding to Support Waste Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, and Composting
Testimony Neither for Nor Against LD 1171, An Act to Raise Funding to Support Waste Reduction, Reuse, Recycling and Composting in Maine Senator Brenner, Representative Gramlich, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, my name is Sarah Nichols, and I am the Sustainable Maine Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine Read More
News & Noteworthy — January – March 2023
Each month, we highlight news stories and opinion pieces related to Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife. We update News & Noteworthy with the latest news related to the nature of Maine, including the work of staff at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. March 2023 We told you some months ago about a proposal Read More
News & Noteworthy — July – September 2022
Read highlights from September 2022 news stories and opinion pieces related to the environment, including Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife, in this News & Noteworthy from the Natural Resources Council of Maine. September 2022 We didn’t want to wait to share the fantastic news stories about yesterday’s Clean Water Champions event in Lewiston, so Read More
Let’s Look at Plastic in Daylight, and Leave the Smoke and Mirrors to Hollywood
Corporations that spew out plastic packaging want us to pay no attention to the man behind the (plastic) curtain. The consumer brands that thrust the barrage of plastic pollution on the world seem determined to confuse and mislead people into believing plastic packaging is good for the environment even though the facts are undeniably to Read More
Poll Affirms Mainers Overwhelmingly Support Policies to Reduce Waste, Act on Climate
NRCM news release May 6, 2022 (Augusta, ME) – The vast majority of Mainers support policies to curb pollution by reducing waste and acting on climate according to a new poll of Maine voters conducted in Spring 2022. The poll confirms that actions taken by the Maine Legislature over the past few years to encourage Read More
News & Noteworthy — January – March 2022
Read some highlights from news stories and opinion pieces related to the environment, including Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife: March 2022 Let’s start with some great news about a few of the bills that NRCM has been involved with this legislative session: Tuesday, Governor Mills signed into law LD 736, a bill to expand Read More
Legislative Session Delivers Big Victories for Maine’s Environment
NRCM news release July 21, 2021 (Augusta, ME) — The Maine Legislature delivered significant progress this year on a broad range of environmental issues that will benefit Mainers across the state, including new laws that will conserve thousands of acres of land, invest in upgrades for State Parks, weatherize thousands of homes owned by low-income Read More
New Maine Law Will Shift Recycling Costs to Producers of Packaging Waste
EPR for Packaging Will Save Taxpayer Money and Improve Recycling News release Maine has joined more than 40 jurisdictions around the world to require companies that create packaging waste help pay for the costs of recycling. It becomes the first state in the nation to pass an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging law (LD 1541) Read More
