Section 096-428-3 - AssessmentA.Program Goals. The Packaging Stewardship Organization (SO) must use the program goals to assess program performance and adjust investments and producer payments, as applicable. The SO must measure progress towards these goals annually, however these goals are not used to measure compliance.(1) Recycling access. This goal measures the percent of Maine residents with access to municipal recycling of readily recyclable packaging material. The percent should be no less than 70%, as measured by the second needs assessment, no less than 90%, as measured by the third needs assessments, and no less than 100% by the fourth needs assessment.(2) Participation. This goal measures the percent of cities, towns, townships, villages, and plantations, in each group of similar municipalities, as specified in Section 15, that are participating in the program. The percent should be no less than 60% from 2030 to 2034, no less than 75% from 2035 to 2039, and 100% from 2040 onward. If a participation goal is unmet, the SO must contact cities, towns, townships, villages, and plantations that are not participating to determine their reasons for not participating and must include a summary of the findings of this outreach in the following year's annual report unless it did so for one of the past three annual reports. If the SO's outreach suggests that participation may be increased by raising awareness of the financial and environmental benefits of program participation, the SO must propose or facilitate the proposal of investments in education about the program.(3) Collection. This goal measures the percent of readily recyclable packaging material in the disposal stream. It is measured once every 10 years as the weight of readily recyclable packaging material in one ton of the disposal stream (as identified during disposal audits) multiplied by the total tons disposed in the State (as most recently reported by the Department in accordance with 38 M.R.S. §2124-A) divided by the tons of readily recyclable packaging material produced, according to the most recent producer reporting. The percent should be no more than 40% from 2030 to 2034, no more than 30% from 2035 to 2039, and no more than 20% from 2040 onward.(4) Reduction. This goal measures the total weight of packaging material reported by producers, collectively, per capita, relative to the fifth reporting year. The total weight should be reduced by no less than 40% from 2040 to 2049 and no less than 60% from 2050 onward. If a reduction goal is unmet, the SO must include, in its annual report, an evaluation of the way in which existing reductions have been made, the percent of producers contributing to that reduction, suggestions as to where reuse and refill systems could be established or expanded, and its recommendations to accelerate reduction, unless it has already done so in one of the past three annual reports. The SO must also propose, or facilitate the proposal of, investments in reuse and refill systems.(5) Reuse. This goal measures the percent by weight of total packaging material reported by producers that is managed for reuse by participating municipalities or through alternative collection programs. The percent should be no less than 15% from 2030 to 2039, no less than 30% from 2040 to 2049, and no less than 50% from 2050 onward. If a reuse goal is unmet, the SO must include, in its annual report, an evaluation of the way in which existing reuse is occurring, the percent of producers producing reusable packaging material types, the return rates of existing reuse systems, suggestions as to where reuse systems could be established or expanded, and its recommendations to accelerate reuse, unless it did so for one of the past three annual reports. The SO must also propose, or facilitate the proposal of, investments in reuse.(6) Readily recyclable, reusable, or compostable. This goal measures the percent of packaging material that is readily recyclable, reusable, or compostable. The percent should be no less than 50% from 2030 to 2039, no less than 75% from 2040 to 2049, and 100% from 2050 onward. If a goal is unmet, the per ton cost applied to packaging material that is not readily recyclable must increase in accordance with Section 10(A)(2)(b). The SO must identify the 10 most common packaging material types that are not readily recyclable, according to the most recent producer reporting, evaluate any options for making them readily recyclable, and include a summary of this information in the following year's annual report, unless it did so for one of the past three annual reports. The SO must also propose, or facilitate the proposal of, investments to enable recycling of the five most common packaging material types that are not readily recyclable in the State if recycling options are available elsewhere.(7) Base material-specific recycling rate. This goal measures the percent of packaging material expected to be managed by participating municipalities that is managed for recycling, by base material. The percent should be no less than 60% from 2030 to 2034, no less than 65% from 2035 to 2039, no less than 70% from 2040 to 2044, and no less than 75% from 2045 onward. If a base material-specific recycling rate goal is unmet, the SO must evaluate which packaging material types within that base material have the lowest recycling rates and provide a summary of this evaluation and any suggestions for improved outcomes in the following year's annual report, unless it did so for one of the past three annual reports. The amount of packaging material expected to be managed by participating municipalities is the statewide total tons of packaging material reported by producers divided by the State's population and multiplied by the sum of the municipal populations of participating municipalities.
(8) Overall recycling rate. This goal measures the percent of packaging material expected to be managed by participating municipalities that is managed for recycling. This percent should be no less than 60% from 2030 to 2034, no less than 65% from 2035 to 2039, no less than 70% from 2040 to 2044, and no less than 75% from 2045 onward. If an overall recycling rate goal is unmet, the SO must evaluate the variation in recycling rates across packaging material types and participating municipalities and provide a summary of this evaluation and any suggestions for improved outcomes in the following year's annual report, unless it did so for one of the past three annual reports.(9) Post-consumer recycled material. This goal measures the percent of the total weight of packaging material eligible for a post-consumer recycled material incentive fee that is post-consumer recycled material, by base material, according to the most recent producer reporting. This percent should be no less than 10% from 2030 to 2039, no less than 20% from 2040 to 2049, and no less than 30% from 2050 onward. If a post-consumer recycled material goal is unmet, producer fees must increase in accordance with Section 10(A)(3)(a). In addition, the SO must include, in the annual report, an evaluation of the availability of post-consumer recycled material, its price relative to new material, its suitability for use, and the SO's recommendations on how to mitigate factors limiting its use, unless the SO did so for one of the past three annual reports.(10) Litter. This goal measures the percent of litter that is packaging material, as measured in items. The percent should be less than 80% of cumulative litter collected as determined by litter audits from the effective date of this rule to 2029, less than 50% of cumulative litter collected during litter audits from 2030 to 2039, and less than 30% of cumulative litter collected during litter audits from 2040 to 2049. From 2050 onward, the percent of litter that is packaging material in each litter audit conducted should be less than 15%. If a litter goal is unmet, the SO must identify the five packaging material types that are most littered, evaluate the feasibility of a deposit system for those packaging material types, evaluate any location patterns with respect to littering of packaging material, and include this information and any suggested mitigation methods in the following year's annual report, unless it did so for one of the past three annual reports.B.Annual SO Reporting. The SO must produce an annual report and make it publicly accessible on its website by January 30th of each calendar year. The Department will also make this annual report publicly accessible on its website and will accept written comments on its content for a period of 30 days. After the 30-day comment period is over, the Department will make these comments available on its website and evaluate whether there is a need for changes to the program. In addition to the information required by 38 M.R.S. § 2146(5) and other sections of this Chapter, the SO must include the following information in its annual report.
(1) Information on investments(a) The total amount of funding available for investment; and(b) The savings plan created and maintained in accordance with Section 18(D).(2) Producer benchmarking (a) A list of the brands registered by each producer and the percent of each producer's packaging material that is readily recyclable, is reusable, meets post-consumer recycled material goals, is able to be certified as containing no intentionally added toxics, and is absent any label or marking wrongly indicating the use of a material management pathway that is not available throughout the State, as reported during the prior calendar year in accordance with Section 9(B); and(b) A summary of progress toward reuse and refill, including a list of producers providing reuse and refill options in the State, a list of the brands registered by those producers, and a list of packaging material types for which reuse and refill options are available elsewhere.(3) Municipal benchmarking (a) For each participating municipality, the tons recycled per capita, tons composted per capita, and tons reused per capita;(b) For each participating municipality with a current complete cost study, its cost per ton for managing each packaging material type;(c) Statistical analyses showing interquartile range of the tons of packaging material recycled per capita by participating municipalities and the tons of packaging material reused per capita by participating municipalities; and(d) Suggested best practices gleaned from analysis of data collected through the program, including practices associated with above average per capita recycling and reuse and practices that result in lower management costs while maintaining above average per capita recycling and reuse.(4) An evaluation of program performance, including a status update with respect to program goals, any suggested adjustments to program goals, and data to support any suggested adjustments.(5) Statewide packaging recycling rate, calculated by summing the tons of packaging material types recycled statewide and dividing by the tons of packaging material produced, as reported by producers. The tons of a packaging material type recycled statewide is obtained by multiplying the percent of each packaging material type in one ton of a commodity by the tons of that commodity shipped for recycling as reported by recycling establishments, during their annual reporting, in accordance with 38 M.R.S. §2145, and provided in aggregate to the SO by the Department.(6) An updated list of toxics, provided in an appendix.(7) Justification for any increase in program operating costs.C.Statewide Recycling Needs Assessment. The SO must conduct a statewide recycling needs assessment every 10 years, within 18 months of entering into a contract with the Department. In addition to the requirements outlined in statute, the recycling needs assessment must include the following: (1) A list of municipalities that do not provide for the collection and recycling of all readily recyclable packaging material and an analysis of the amount of packaging material available for management in those municipalities.(2) For each municipality or regional group thereof that does not provide for the collection and recycling of all readily recyclable packaging material, the assessment must identify the infrastructure necessary to:(a) Collect single-stream recycling;(b) Collect dual-stream recycling; and(c) Collect readily recyclable packaging material separately by base material.(3) If requested by the Department, an assessment comparable to that described in Sections 3(C)(1) and 3(C)(2) for additional packaging materials that are not readily recyclable.(4) Identification of regional and systemic investment needs to efficiently manage packaging material and an estimated range of the cost of those investment needs. The SO must provide information on investment scenarios for collecting readily recyclable packaging material through single-stream recycling, dual-stream recycling, and separately by base material.(5) A study evaluating the throughput, infrastructure options, potential locations of and estimated capital and operating costs for a regional collection or processing center for any group of cities, towns, townships, villages, or plantations that expressed interest in cooperative management of packaging streams.(6) A summary of the ways recycling infrastructure is used to manage reusable packaging material in other jurisdictions and examples of investment proposals that would allow reusable packaging material to be managed through recycling systems in the State.D.Disposal Audits. The SO must conduct disposal audits to determine the relative weight and volume of packaging material in the disposal stream, by packaging material type. The SO's contract with the Department must outline, or provide a mechanism for determining, the manner of categorizing material for which the packaging material type cannot be identified. (1) The SO must conduct this auditing at least once every 10 years.(2) The SO must randomly select three participating municipalities to audit. The SO must audit each municipality once between September 1st and May 31st and again once between June 1st and August 31st but not during any week immediately following a Maine State or Federal holiday.(3) For each audit, the SO must collect and analyze samples until results estimate the relative weight of packaging material, by packaging material type, with 90% confidence, ± 5%, for the 15 most prevalent packaging material types.(4) The SO must average all samples obtained to determine the relative weight and volume of packaging material in the disposal stream, by packaging material type.E.Litter Audits. The SO must conduct litter audits to identify the percent of litter that is comprised of packaging material, the percent of litter belonging to each packaging material type, and the percent of packaging material that can be attributed to a brand. The SO's contract with the Department must outline, or provide a mechanism for determining, the manner of categorizing material for which the packaging material type or brand cannot be identified. (1) The SO must conduct two litter audits every year.(2) During annual reporting, participating municipalities may report on litter collection events, including amount collected, anecdotal information regarding common litter locations and items, and whether the municipality plans to conduct a littler collection event in the upcoming year. The SO may randomly select two municipalities that will be conducting litter collection events at which to conduct litter audits and may provide a stipend to the municipality for the litter collection event in accordance with the SO's plan. If not using a municipal litter collection event, the SO must choose a litter audit location in accordance with the audit methodology included in its plan.(3) The SO must collect and categorize all litter, to the extent possible:(a) Into non-packaging material and packaging material;(b) For litter that is packaging material, by packaging material type; and(c) For litter that is packaging material, by brand.(4) The SO must measure the percent of litter grouped by packaging material type and the percent of litter grouped by brand in weight and number of items.(5) The Department will evaluate cumulative results to identify areas of the State in which litter accumulation is greatest.06-096 C.M.R. ch. 428, § 3