Companies in Maine will now have to pay to help fix the broken recycling system
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Companies in the state will now pay fees for the packaging they create. If materials in a package are easier to recycle, companies pay less.
When China stopped importing some recyclables in 2018 because countries like the U.S. were sending a deluge of low-value, contaminated plastic and other waste, American cities started to struggle to keep recycling programs open. Because recycling became more expensive, some communities stopped accepting certain materials. Others, like Kennebunkport, Maine, decided to temporarily shut down all curbside recycling.