Maine to ban ‘forever chemicals’ in food packaging

Environmental regulators in Maine are taking steps to ban “forever chemicals” in food packaging, becoming one of a handful of states to make the move.

The “forever chemicals,” nicknamed for their extremely slow decomposition rate, are used as water and oil-repellent linings in food packaging such as pizza boxes and microwave popcorn bags, as well as nonstick cookware.

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Also known as PFAS, the chemicals show up in nearly half of U.S. drinking water from groundwater contamination and have been connected to a plethora of illnesses and conditions, including disruption of reproductive systems, low birth weights, kidney disease, and cancer.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection released draft rules for regulating nine types of PFAS chemicals in food packaging, such as picnic plates, fast food wrappers, and take-out containers. The regulations would only apply to manufacturers with over $1 billion in sales, in order to affect major players in the market and not bludgeon smaller companies, according to DEP commissioner Melanie Loyzim.

Maine passed a law in 2021 that lays out a plan to phase out all PFAS in products sold in the state by 2030.

“We’ve got it still coming into our waste stream and it’s coming from things like PFAS in food packaging and PFAS in products,” Loyzim said, according to Maine Public. “So if we want to try to get it out of our waste stream and not have it continue to go into our environment, we have to do source reduction. And this is going to be an important part of that strategy.”

Packaging manufacturers are expected to comment on Maine’s proposed rules, and some critics anticipate package shortages. However, science director at the Seattle-based Toxic-Free Future, Erika Schreder, told Maine Public she had not heard of any such shortages.

“What we have heard is that the major manufacturers of food packaging in the United States have all now moved away from PFAS,” she said.

Maine has been following Washington state’s lead in PFAS regulation, becoming the second state in the country to attempt to regulate the existence of chemicals in single-use food packaging in 2019.

Washington, meanwhile, conducted a review of safer, fiscally sensible alternatives for the linings before regulations would take effect. The Evergreen State started regulating some containers earlier this year.

Maine’s proposed regulations still need to be approved by the state’s Board of Environmental Protection and legislature.

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The Pine Tree State became the first state to require testing for the chemicals in sludge, which has shown high levels in farmland where sludge was used as fertilizer. Increased levels also appeared in nearby bodies of water, and Maine has required drinking water testing for PFAS since the end of 2022.

While Maine works on regulations, the federal government is also looking at regulations. Earlier this year, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced proposed federal regulations for the chemicals, and there is a proposal in the Senate, backed by a bipartisan group including Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Gary Peters (D-MI).