Skip to content
Home / Blog / Sustainability

Product Stewardship

Maine has long championed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), or “product stewardship,” laws because they have proven effective at saving taxpayers money, reducing waste, and protecting our environment. Traditional recycling programs are run and funded by municipal governments. EPR programs shift the costs of managing difficult and dangerous items to the corporations and manufacturers who make and sell products in Maine.

About NRCM Allagash Wilderness Waterway Birding with Jeff and Allison Clean & Free-flowing Waters Clean Energy Cleaner Transportation Cleaning Up the Androscoggin River Climate Climate Change CMP Transmission Line Proposal: A Bad Deal for Maine Creature Feature Critter Chatter East-West Highway and Energy Corridor Edwards Dam and Kennebec Restoration Energy Efficiency Explore Maine Map Federal Climate & Energy Issues Federal Issues Food Waste Forests & Wildlife Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Land for Maine's Future & Conservation Land for Maine's Future Places Metal Mining Pollution Modern Electric Grid Nature of Maine Blog North Woods Protection & LUPC NRCM Staff Picks Penobscot River Restoration Project Plastic Pollution Plum Creek's Massive Moosehead Proposal Product Stewardship Protecting Maine's Wildlife Public Lands Public Reserved Land & Ecological Reserves Public Reserved Lands Recycling in Maine Restoring Alewives in Maine Rivers Reuse & Repair Sustainability Tar Sands Oil Testimony The Truth About Clean Energy Trails & Public Access Waters
recycle material collection bins lined up
December 5, 2024 | NRCM

Mainers Support EPR for Packaging

We always love getting a chance to share good news. Today, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection finalized the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging…
paper and cardboard packaging
March 11, 2024 | Vanessa-Berry, Sustainable Maine Director

Maine EPR for Packaging Law Close to Reality

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…
Recycle bottle cap sitting on rockweed
June 21, 2023 | Vanessa-Berry, Sustainable Maine Director

How to Tackle Maine’s Waste Problem 

Two recent events that impact how communities deal with trash in Maine have highlighted the systemic stresses on our local waste management systems.   First, a…
Stack of laptops
August 1, 2022 | NRCM

Tackling Electronic Waste in Maine

Every day, our team of 16 employees works to keep unwanted electronics out of Maine’s landfills. Our work is important because while electronic waste (computers,…