Sen. Tepler bill establishing a battery stewardship program in Maine signed into law by Governor

AUGUSTA — On Friday, April 3, the Governor signed into law a bill introduced by Sen. Denise Tepler, D-Topsham, that was unanimously supported by the Maine Legislature. The bill, LD 474, “An Act to Establish a Stewardship Program for Primary and Rechargeable Batteries,” establishes extended producer responsibility in Maine for producers of certain batteries and products containing those batteries.

“I’m very glad to see the Governor sign this legislation into law after it received unanimous support from the ENR Committee and the entire Maine Legislature,” said Sen. Tepler. “The battery stewardship program that this bill establishes will be a great step in the right direction to protect Maine’s environment. It will reduce the number of fires at facilities that handle lithium-ion batteries and will provide several cost-saving benefits to our waste management facilities. Additionally, this will shift the burden of cost away from Maine taxpayers and on to the producers of these batteries. This should also end the confusion Mainers experience about properly disposing of household batteries.”

LD 474 will establish an extended producer responsibility model that requires the producers of certain batteries and the producers of products containing those batteries to submit a plan to collect, safely store and dispose of the batteries to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. 180 days after approval of the plan by the department, producers must participate in the approved program. Companies can do this individually, as a collective, or through the establishment of a stewardship program to manage the process. The new law aims to reduce total landfill volume, prevent fires that have been caused at waste facilities by improper disposal and decrease costs and confusion for Maine people.

Sen. Tepler represents District 24, which includes all of Sagadahoc County, and Dresden in Lincoln County.

The law will go into effect 90 days after adjournment of the Legislature.

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