Code of Maine Rules
06 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
096 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - GENERAL
Chapter 426 - RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE RETURNABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINER LAW
Section 096-426-19 - Audits

A. Initiators, Distributors, and third party Contracted Agents may conduct audits to determine accuracy of container counts for bags tendered as full bags by Dealers and Redemption Centers.

B. The audits must follow accepted Weights & Measures laws and procedures. Audits must follow the procedure in the U.S. Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) handbook 133, Checking the Net Contents of Packaged Goods (2015), Chapter 1, Section 1.3.1. Audit Tests. If after the audit there is suspicion that the lot tested is not in compliance, a full "Category A" sampling plan, following test procedures found in NIST Handbook 133, Chapter 4, test procedures for packages labeled by count, must be conducted before an enforcement action can be taken. Due to excessive variation for individual containers caused by residual liquids and foreign material, the weight method of checking packages labeled by count is not acceptable and a physical count must be used.

C. An enforcement action may only be taken on bags for which an accurate, consistent, and verifiable full bag count has been established. Weights & Measures standards package quantity declarations of count require an accurate physical count. Industry may negotiate and reach agreements with parties involved in these transactions that establish a number agreed to by all parties that is acceptable as a full bag count. These counts will only be deemed verified when sorting criteria does not introduce large uncertainties into the process, such as commingling of different sized containers into the same bags. Bag sorts that allow variations in count may not be audited or checked for purposes of taking action on the final count for payment by the initiator, Distributor, or third party Contracted Agent.