What is the Maine LD 1541 deadline?

Maine DEP is finalizing program rules, with first producer reporting and payments expected in 2026. Maine was the first US state to enact a packaging EPR law (2021).

Who administers Maine's packaging EPR program?

Unlike CA, CO, and OR, Maine's program is run by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. There is no PRO. Producers report and pay Maine DEP directly.

What materials does Maine LD 1541 cover?

All consumer packaging sold into Maine: plastic (rigid/flexible/film), paper and paperboard, corrugated, glass, and metal containers.

What is Maine's de minimis threshold?

Producers with less than approximately $2M in annual gross revenue, or who place less than 1 ton of packaging on the Maine market per year, are generally exempt.

Where do I register as a Maine producer?

Producer registration and reporting is through Maine DEP directly. Guidance is published at maine.gov/dep/waste/recycle/epr.html.

Maine LD 1541

Maine LD 1541: the first packaging EPR in the country

Maine runs its program through DEP, not a PRO. Estimate your 2026 fees in 60 seconds, no signup.

Estimate my ME liability See fee schedule

Covers CA SB 54, CO HB 22-1355, ME LD 1541, and OR SB 582

Rates pulled from PRO guidance, refreshed quarterly

No signup. Results in under a minute.

Built for $10M to $100M brands on Shopify

What is Maine LD 1541?

LD 1541, "An Act To Support and Improve Municipal Recycling Programs and Save Taxpayer Money," was signed in July 2021. It made Maine the first US state to enact a packaging EPR program. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (Maine DEP) administers it directly. Of the four active packaging-EPR states, Maine is the only one that runs its program in-house instead of handing it to a private PRO.

Because the program is state-run, producers report tonnage and pay fees straight to Maine DEP. There is no Circular Action Alliance registration in Maine. Maine DEP published final program rules in 2023 and is targeting first producer payments in 2026 based on 2025 packaging data.

LD 1541 covers every consumer packaging type sold into Maine: rigid and flexible plastic, films, paper, paperboard, corrugated, glass, and metal containers. Per-ton rates reflect Maine's actual cost to manage each material stream. They come in lower than California or Oregon because Maine has less-dense recycling infrastructure and lower processing costs.

Maine's de minimis threshold is low. Roughly $2M in annual gross revenue on covered Maine sales, with a separate carve-out for producers placing less than 1 metric ton of packaging on the Maine market per year. Small DTC brands should still run the numbers, because 1 ton adds up faster than it sounds once glass or corrugated shippers are in the mix.

Who must comply

If your brand sells packaged consumer goods into Maine and clears the state's de minimis threshold, you are a covered producer under LD 1541. Maine applies to producers with more than $2M in annual gross revenue from covered products sold into Maine. Out-of-state DTC sellers are included. A physical tax nexus is not required.

Administered by Maine Department of Environmental Protection (state-run).

Covered materials and example rates

Rates below are modeled from PRO public guidance (2026-01-01). Actual rates are set annually and subject to change.

Material	Rate (USD / metric ton)
Rigid plastic	$380
Flexible plastic and film	$560
PET bottles	$260
HDPE bottles	$260
Corrugated fiber	$110
Paperboard and cartons	$140
Glass	$65
Aluminum	$45
Steel	$50
Multi-material / laminates	$520
Compostable packaging	$240

Deadline

LD 1541 timeline: Producer payments to Maine DEP start in 2026. Report packaging tonnage before then.

How we estimate your fee

1
Extract your packaging

We read your Shopify storefront (or product URLs you provide) and identify every SKU with its likely packaging components: bottles, caps, cartons, mailers, labels, and inserts.
2
Apply Maine rates

For each material family, we multiply estimated tonnage sold into Maine by the LD 1541 per-metric-ton fee published by Maine Department of Environmental Protection (state-run).
3
Return a ±20% band

You get an annual fee range (low / mid / high) with a per-material breakdown you can hand to your ops or compliance team.

Example calculation

A $15M DTC coffee brand shipping 250k kraft-mailer + compostable-pouch orders to Maine

Estimated fee: $2,400 – $3,600 / year

Estimates shown with a ±20% confidence band. Not audit-grade; for informational use.

Read the full text of LD 1541 on the official Maine Department of Environmental Protection (Maine DEP) site: https://www.maine.gov/dep/waste/recycle/epr.html

Maine LD 1541: frequently asked questions

What is the Maine LD 1541 deadline?

Maine DEP is finalizing program rules, with first producer reporting and payments expected in 2026. Maine was the first US state to enact a packaging EPR law (2021).
Who administers Maine's packaging EPR program?

Unlike CA, CO, and OR, Maine's program is run by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. There is no PRO. Producers report and pay Maine DEP directly.
What materials does Maine LD 1541 cover?

All consumer packaging sold into Maine: plastic (rigid/flexible/film), paper and paperboard, corrugated, glass, and metal containers.
What is Maine's de minimis threshold?

Producers with less than approximately $2M in annual gross revenue, or who place less than 1 ton of packaging on the Maine market per year, are generally exempt.
Where do I register as a Maine producer?

Producer registration and reporting is through Maine DEP directly. Guidance is published at maine.gov/dep/waste/recycle/epr.html.
What is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging?

EPR shifts the cost of managing post-consumer packaging waste from cities and taxpayers to the brands that sold the packaging in the first place. In an EPR state, the "producer" (usually the brand owner or importer) pays a per-ton fee on every packaging material it ships into the state. That money pays for recycling collection, sorting infrastructure, and consumer education.
Does my brand have to comply?

If you sell packaged consumer goods into California, Colorado, Maine, or Oregon and your revenue clears the state de minimis threshold (roughly $1M to $5M depending on the state), you are a covered producer. This includes out-of-state DTC brands. Physical nexus is not required; the fee follows the packaging, not the seller.
How is the EPR fee calculated?

Each state publishes a per-metric-ton fee for every packaging material family: rigid plastic, flexible plastic, glass, aluminum, fiber, and so on. Your fee is (tons of that material shipped into the state) × (state rate), added up across every material and every state. Our calculator reads your product pages to estimate the tonnage and applies the current rate tables.
What is a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) and do I need to register?

A PRO is a nonprofit appointed by the state to collect fees and run the program. California, Colorado, and Oregon all use Circular Action Alliance (CAA). Maine is different: its program is run by Maine DEP directly, with no PRO. If you are a covered producer in CA, CO, or OR, you register with CAA and submit packaging data each year.
When are the compliance deadlines?

California: producer reporting started in 2025 under SB 54. Colorado: registration was due October 1, 2024, with fees on 2025 packaging data. Oregon: compliance fees began July 1, 2025. Maine: first producer payments are due in 2026. Confirm current dates with the relevant authority before filing.
How is EPR different from a carbon tax or sales tax?

EPR is not a tax on emissions or retail sales. It is a material-specific fee assessed on the weight of packaging you put on the market in a given state, paid once a year to either the state's PRO (CA, CO, OR) or to the state agency itself (ME). The revenue goes to recycling infrastructure, not the general fund.