Maine packaging EPR: do you owe anything, and when?
Not yet. Maine's packaging law is enacted, but it has no stewardship organization: nobody bid on Maine DEP's request for proposals, which closed August 18, 2026, and on September 11, 2026 DEP said it will revise it, without giving a date. Every producer obligation (registering, reporting, paying) is counted from the date DEP signs a contract with that organization, so nothing is due in 2026, and whether anything is due in 2027 depends on the revised RFP. When it does start, you're exempt if your total gross revenue in the prior calendar year was under $2 million, or if you put less than 1 ton of packaging into Maine.
Who counts as the producer
Packaging that holds the product: the manufacturer selling under its own brand (or unbranded), then a licensee, then the brand owner, then the US importer, then the first distributor into Maine.
Shipping packaging: "a person that packages the item for delivery". If a 3PL packs your orders, it may be the producer for the boxes and fill. See who reports shipping packaging.
A 2025 amendment added a franchisor rule and lets another party take on the obligation by signed agreement.
501(c)(3) nonprofits are excluded. 501(c)(4)s are not.
The exemption tests
Meeting any one of these exempts you:
Revenue: less than $2,000,000 in total gross revenue in the prior calendar year. The statute doesn't say whether that means worldwide or Maine revenue; the plain reading is all revenue.
Tonnage: products sold into Maine in the prior calendar year used less than 1 ton of packaging in total.
Salvage sellers: more than half of prior-year gross revenue came from insurance salvage, closeouts, bankruptcies or liquidations.
Two partial breaks:
The first 15 tons of packaging for perishable food are exempt each year (frozen food is excluded, except wild blueberries). You must give DEP supporting information within 30 days if asked.
Producers between 1 and 15 tons are not exempt, but they get simplified reporting and a flat fee of no more than $500 per ton, capped at $7,500 a year.
Packaging for products meant to last 5 years or more, bottle-bill beverage containers and architectural paint containers are exempt as material. Unlike some other states, Maine has no carve-out for FDA-regulated or pesticide packaging.
The temporary $5 million window: sources disagree
The statute raises the revenue threshold to $5,000,000 for a set period: from one year after the stewardship contract takes effect until three years after it. DEP's own web page and FAQ describe it the other way round: $2 million for the first three years, then $5 million from year four. We follow the statute, but treat this as unresolved. If your revenue is between $2 million and $5 million, check with Maine DEP before relying on either version.
Exempt? Nothing to file
Neither the statute nor DEP's rule (Chapter 428) asks exempt producers to file anything, apart from the perishable-food support on request. The stewardship organization's contract could add steps once one is chosen.
Is there a PRO?
No. Maine calls it a stewardship organization, and none has been selected. The Circular Action Alliance (CAA), which runs the programs in the other six EPR states, did not bid on Maine's RFP. Registering with CAA for other states does not cover Maine.
Key dates
There are no calendar dates yet. Each step is counted from the stewardship contract:
Within 90 days of the stewardship organization opening registration: producers must register with it.
Within 180 days of the contract: a start-up fee is due.
One year after the contract takes effect: producers that aren't compliant can't sell into Maine.
Once the program runs: an annual report to the stewardship organization by May 31 for the prior calendar year, an invoice by July 1, and payment by September 1.
Nothing is due in 2026. Whether anything falls due in 2027 depends on when DEP reissues the RFP and signs a contract.
Penalties
The packaging law sets no penalty amounts of its own. DEP's general civil penalty is $100 to $10,000 per day. DEP must also publish lists of compliant and non-compliant producers. No enforcement is possible yet.
Still uncertain
When DEP will reissue the RFP, and whether anyone will bid.
The $2 million and $5 million timing conflict between the statute and DEP's FAQ.
Whether the revenue test means worldwide or Maine revenue.
Start-up details, which depend on the stewardship contract.
What to do next
Compare your total gross revenue for the prior calendar year to $2,000,000.
If you're over it, estimate the packaging on products you sold into Maine last year. Under 1 ton is exempt; 1 to 15 tons gets the flat-fee option.