Maryland House Bill 0307 (2022) - (Failed)

Covered materials and products include any part of a package or container, material used for containment, protection, handling, delivery, and presentation. This includes primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging intended for the consumer market, and service packaging designed and intended to be filled at the point of sale (i.e. carry out bags, take-out food service packaging).

Beverage containers are included as covered products.

Producer is defined as person that uses packaging materials under own their own brand and sells, offers, or distributes covered materials or products in the state.

Producer also includes a person that is a licensee under which a packaging material is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state.

Producer also includes a person that imports a covered material or product as an owner or licensee of a trademark or brand, and sells or distributes in the state.

The definition of Producer does not include those that generated less than $1,000 in gross revenue; sold, offered for sale, or distributed for sale less than 1 ton of packaging materials; or conducted all packaging material sales in the state at a single point of retail sale that was not supplied or operated as part of a franchise.

The definition of Producer does not include local governments

The definition of Producer does not include non-profit charitable organizations

Producers must comply either as an individual or as part of a PRO.

Producers must comply either as an individual or as part of a PRO.

The producers or PRO are responsible for all financial costs of the program. The producers or PRO must reimburse local governments for operational costs including collecting, transporting, and processing covered materials.

The program must provide reimbursements to local governments for operational costs including collecting, transporting, and processing covered materials.

The program must address education and outreach.

The program must cover costs associated with the administration, review, oversight, and enforcement of the plan.

The program must address how to prevent litter of packaging materials.

The program must address the methods for either direct investments or reimbursements for improving infrastructure.

The fee structure must be established in the plan. The fees may be variable based or eco-modulated.

Higher fees for packaging materials with low recycled content and a discounted fee for packaging materials with high recycled content determined by the department.

Higher fees for packaging materials with low recyclability and a discounted fee for packaging materials with high recyclability determined by the department.

Based on the needs assessment the department and the PRO will establish performance goals for each packaging material type using a baseline year. This includes establishing recycling rate goals for each packaging material type at 5, 10, and 15 year intervals.

Within 5 years of the first plan approval, established performance goals relevant to each packaging material must be met. This includes post consumer recycled content, recyclability and recycling rate, reuse, packaging reduction, compost and compost access, contamination rate reduction, and any other goal that demonstrates positive environmental improvement.

Each producer will be required to reduce all packaging material waste to the maximum extent and by no less than 25% for each packaging material type within 5 years of the plan approval.

Funding used for improving reuse, composting, and recycling shall include investments in existing and future infrastructure and market development.

Producers must submit a stewardship plan, either individually or as part of a stewardship organization, on or before April 2024.

No sales of covered materials or products in the state will be permitted without an approved plan on file on or after October 1, 2024.

A stewardship organization will have six months to implement a plan after it has been approved.

The department shall review the PRO plan and within 120 days of receipt will approve, approve with conditions, or reject the plan.

A producer or PRO that with any violations will be subject to civil penalties starting at $5,000 for the first violation, $10,000 for the second and $20,000 for a third violation.

The PRO must describe how stakeholder comments were considered in the development of the plan and the advisory committee shall provide advice on the PRO plan.

An Advisory Council shall consist of 21 interested stakeholders appointed by the secretary. This includes representatives from local governments responsible for recycling programs, recyclable material collectors, recycling processors, compost processors, PRO representatives, nonprofit organizations with waste related missions, environmental advocacy groups, environmental justice organizations, and members of the public.

Producers participating in a PRO are immune from antitrust regulation liability for activities concerning recycling, reuse, and disposal of covered products and materials.