Maine DEP Publishes a Fixed Annual Compliance Calendar, Plus a $500 Per Ton Flat Fee for Low-Volume Producers

Maine DEP's EPR program page now carries a fixed annual schedule: producer reporting May 31, producer invoicing July 1, producer payment September 1, and municipal reimbursement October 1. DEP places the program at step four of nine, contracting a Stewardship Organization, and states that producers register within 90 days of the SO making a registration mechanism available. DEP anticipates registration and invoicing beginning at the end of 2026, with municipal reimbursements possibly starting at the end of 2027. Two further details worth noting: Chapter 428 was amended in March 2026 to add Appendix A, The Packaging Material Types List; and low-volume producers may use a simplified reporting process and pay a flat fee of $500 per ton of packaging material rather than reporting material by material. Maine remains pre-operational, so these are dates to plan against rather than obligations that have started. Source: Maine DEP.

Update, October 7, 2026: the Stewardship Organization RFP closed August 18, 2026 with no proposals (Maine DEP, August 20, 2026). On September 11, 2026 DEP said it is revising the RFP, and its program page says it is reassessing the anticipated schedule and will post a revised one, so do not plan on the end-of-2026 registration and invoicing expectation above. The annual calendar in Chapter 428 is unchanged. See the August 23, 2026 entry, No One Bid to Run Maine Packaging EPR Program.