Recycling Establishment Report

Recycling establishments in Maine are required to report annually to the Department on their activities marketing, brokering, or purchasing reportable recyclable materials (38 M.R.S. § 2145 and 38 M.R.S. §§ 2101-A). The next annual recycling establishment report is due March 1, 2027, and will include calendar year 2026 recycling data. 

The Department will be implementing a new online licensing and reporting system, known as Maine Enterprise Licensing System (MELS). This online resource will be used to submit the next Recycling Establishment Report, due March 1st of 2027. We plan on creating and emailing two user guides, which will also be available on this webpage. The first guide will show recycling establishments how to set up their accounts and link their recycling establishments to their user profile within MELS. An email with the first user guide will be sent sometime in November of 2026. The second user guide will be sent in January of 2027 and will provide detailed instructions on how to complete the report.

This will be the preferred method of reporting for the foreseeable future. If you have any questions about MELS, please see the supporting resources at the MELS Hub also you may contact Courtney Hafner Courtney Hafner and or Megan Mansfield-Pryor Megan Mansfield-Pryor for additional assistance. We understand this will be a change for many of us, and we thank you in advance for your patience and understanding during this transition period.

Question: Who must complete the recycling establishment report?
Answer: For the purpose of this reporting requirement, a “recycling establishment” is any establishment located in Maine that is engaged in marketing, brokering, or purchasing recyclable materials generated in Maine and that directs recyclable material out of state. To avoid receipt of duplicate data, certain recycling establishments are not required to submit this report.  These include the following:
  • Facilities that meet the statutory definition of a recycling establishment but submit the required recycling information to the Department annually through a Solid Waste Processing Facility or Beneficial Use of Solid Waste report.
  • Any recycling establishment that directs all of its reportable recyclable materials to another recycling establishment located within Maine. 
If a recycling establishment did not direct any reportable recyclable materials out of state, the Department would appreciate being informed of that through submission of the form with only the establishment’s contact information filled in (this not required but is appreciated for record keeping).
Question: What are reportable recyclable materials?
Answer: "Reportable recyclable materials" include any of the following categories of recyclable materials that are separated from household, commercial or institutional waste: glass; cardboard, paper and paper products; plastic and plastic products; cartons, laminated materials and other packaging; nonferrous and ferrous metals, including white goods; textiles; and mixed streams of recyclable materials that include any of the above.
Question: What information needs to be included in the report?
Answer: The report must include all of the following information:
  • Business or organization name, mailing address, physical address, e-mail address, contact person and telephone number
  • Total tons of reportable recyclable materials, by generator, received by the recycling establishment during the year
  • Total tons of reportable recyclable materials, by destination, shipped by the recycling establishment during the year

The report may provide an aggregate quantity for multiple locations operated by a recycling establishment as long as the report specifically identifies each location used in determining the aggregate quantity.
Question: Is the data in the recycling establishment report confidential?
Answer: Information submitted to the department in the recycling report may be designated as confidential in accordance with the provisions of section 1310-B. When submitting the recycling report, the submittor should specify that the report contents are confidential in order for the provisions of 1310-B to apply.
Question: What is the recycling data used for?
Answer: The Department aggregates data from recycling establishment reports as well as reports from other facilities including landfills, processing facilities, and waste incinerators to calculate an overall statewide recycling rate. This allows the Department to assess progress toward achieving a statewide recycling rate of 50%.

Contact

Please contact Courtney Hafner (207) 207-314-3357 for assistance with recycling establishment reports.