A law signed by Gov. Janet Mills on July 27 will set up a government panel under the state Department of Environmental Regulation to collect per-package fees from beverage bottlers and other consumer goods marketers. These yet-to-be-determined fees will be distributed to Maine municipalities to allay the cost of landfilling, recycling and other disposal methods. The fees will be structured so that the harder a package is to recycle, the higher the cost. It’s been estimated that Maine pays $6 million a year to dispose of packaging.
