WASHINGTON (May 10, 2021) – The Maine State Legislature’s joint committee on Energy and the Environment is considering a Product Stewardship bill, LD 1471, introduced by Sen. James Dill (D). The bill would establish a system of shared responsibility for collection, recovery, recycling, end market development, and consumer education across the state. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) supports the legislation and issued the following statement, which may be attributed to Joshua Baca, ACC’s vice president of plastics:
“Maine’s proposed legislation seeks to create a system to effectively bring industry and municipalities together to share responsibility for recycling many commonly used types of packaging materials.
“The proposed legislation also recognizes advanced recycling infrastructure as an important piece of waste management. Growing advanced recycling is essential for keeping plastic packaging out of the environment. Since July 2017, companies have announced investments of more than $5.5 billion in projects to improve the nation’s recycling infrastructure, 83% of which will support advanced recycling technologies. When combined with our investments in traditional recycling infrastructure, public education, and partnerships with local government, waste management companies, brands, and material suppliers, we are confident we can improve recovery rates for all materials, including plastics.
“ACC and our members remain deeply committed to creating a more circular economy for plastics. That is why we established goals to reuse, recycle and recover all plastic packaging in the United States by 2040 and make all plastic packaging recyclable or recoverable by 2030. Achieving these goals will require a multitude of stakeholders working together to support policies and programs to increase the supply of and demand for recycled materials.”
Read testimony in full.
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