What Is Packaging EPR?

Extended Producer Responsibility isn't a new regulatory concept. It's governed paint, electronics, mattresses, and batteries in the U.S. for years. What's new is the addition of a much bigger category to that list: consumer packaging. And unlike those earlier product mandates, packaging touches nearly every company that manufactures, distributes, or sells a physical product.

The shift is structural, not incremental. States are shifting the financial and operational burden of packaging waste off local governments and onto the companies that put that packaging into the market in the first place, making producers responsible for their packaging's full lifecycle, from production through post-consumer collection, sorting, recycling, and disposal.

Seven states have already enacted comprehensive packaging EPR laws, with more working through their own versions. If your company sells, ships, or fills anything that comes in a box, bag, bottle, or carton, this is no longer a future compliance question. It's an active one, with real deadlines, real fees, and real penalties already attached, and one that only compounds the more states you operate across. This guide walks through what it is, which states have it, what it requires, and what you need to be watching next.

What Does Packaging EPR Actually Mean?

Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR, rests on a simple idea: companies that make and/or sell packaging should help pay for what happens to it after a customer throws it away.

For decades, local governments and taxpayers have footed the bill for the sorting, collection, and recycling of packaging waste. EPR shifts a meaningful chunk of that cost onto producers instead, meaning the manufacturers, brand owners, importers, and distributors who put packaging into the market in the first place. If you sell packaged goods into a state with an EPR law, you may owe registration, reporting, and fee obligations tied directly to your own packaging.

Who Do These Laws Actually Affect?

In short, if your business sells physical products that use packaging, you are likely part of the conversation. These laws apply to manufacturers, brand owners, importers, and distributors who put packaging into the market. While there are often carve-outs for small producers (based on revenue and/or packaging volume), the default assumption for any company moving products into a state with EPR legislation is that they have some level of responsibility.

Not sure if your business is subject to packaging EPR laws? You can run through our short quiz called, “Does EPR Apply to My Business?” to get an idea of your status, or get in touch with our team for a deeper look at your specific compliance landscape.

Which States Currently Have Packaging EPR Laws?

Seven states have enacted comprehensive packaging EPR laws:

• California
• Colorado
• Maine
• Maryland
• Minnesota
• Oregon
• Washington

Maine was first, signing its law in 2021, followed quickly by Oregon that same year. Colorado and California followed in 2022. Minnesota joined in 2024, and Maryland and Washington both passed laws in 2025. Two new states in one year is a signal worth paying attention to: this list is not slowing down.

Which States Are Likely Next?

Several states are actively debating or reintroducing legislation on packaging EPR. While the momentum behind the initiative is clear, legislative paths vary significantly:

• Active Consideration: Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island have reintroduced bills that are currently under debate or awaiting further study.
• Stalled Efforts: Efforts in states like New York, Virginia, and Connecticut have stalled in committee in recent sessions, highlighting that passing these measures requires navigating intense industry opposition and concerns over compliance costs.
• Emerging Interest: Beyond these, bills have been introduced in states including Illinois, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Hawaii, though many are in early stages of assessment.

The trend indicates continued state-level expansion, but "probability of passage" is difficult to predict. If your company sells nationally, treat any state with an active bill as a potential compliance environment to monitor.

What's the Difference Between a Passed Law and an Implemented One?

One of the most common misconceptions about EPR is that passing a law and implementing a program happen at the same time. In reality, they operate on separate timelines.

Once a state enacts EPR legislation, the work of building the program begins. That typically includes conducting a needs assessment or an in-depth evaluation of the state's existing recycling infrastructure to determine what investments and activities the program will require, selecting or approving a producer responsibility organization (PRO), developing regulations, and opening producer registration. Depending on the state, some of these activities may begin before the legislation is enacted, while others occur afterward. There is no universal implementation sequence.

As a result, the statement "Colorado has an EPR law" does not necessarily mean "Colorado producers are paying fees." A state's implementation status is often more important than the existence of the law itself, because program obligations, registration requirements, and fee structures are introduced at different stages of the rollout process.

How Do These Laws Actually Work?

Every state builds its program a little differently, but most share the same basic structure.

Producer responsibility organizations (PROs). Most states don't run their EPR programs directly. Instead, they authorize a PRO, a nonprofit that manages producer obligations on the state's behalf: collecting reports, calculating fees, and funding the state's collection and recycling infrastructure. The Circular Action Alliance (CAA) is currently the approved or default PRO in six of the seven enacted states. Maine is still working through the process of selecting its own program administrator, which they refer to as a Stewardship Organization (SO).

Who qualifies as a producer? Most states use a similar tiered approach to figure out who's on the hook:

• Primary responsibility falls on the brand owner or manufacturer.
• If there isn't one, it falls to the licensee, importer, or distributor.
• If none of those can be identified, some states fall back to the retailer or whoever made the first sale into the state.

Each state also carves out exemptions for small producers based on revenue and/or packaging volume, so not every company that technically fits the definition will owe fees.

What do packaging EPR laws cover? Approaches vary across states. Maine and Colorado cast a wide net, with regulations that cover most consumer packaging materials, plus various paper products. Maryland, Washington, and Minnesota cover packaging and paper in general, with some exceptions for specific printed materials. Oregon splits coverage into three categories: packaging, printing and writing paper, and food service ware. California is narrower by design. They are specifically focused on single-use packaging and single-use plastic food service ware. Two companies selling similar products can have very different obligations depending only on which states they sell into.

Which States Have Started Collecting Fees?

Two states have moved into active fee collection:

• Oregon invoiced its first producer fees on July 1, 2025.
• Colorado posted its 2026 fee schedule, with the first invoice issued January 1, 2026.

The rest are still working toward that point. Fee collection for California, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington is expected to begin in later years as their programs mature.

What Happens if You Don't Comply?

Non-compliance isn't just a paperwork problem. Miss a deadline in an active state, and you risk fines. Oregon, for example, can impose penalties of up to $25,000 per day for noncompliance. And, in some cases, you may also lose the ability to sell products (with covered packaging) into that state at all.

Sales restrictions are already on the books in several states:

• Oregon and Colorado: in effect since July 1, 2025
• California: January 1, 2027
• Minnesota: January 1, 2029
• Washington: March 1, 2029
• Maryland and Maine: no statutory date yet; penalties will apply once rulemaking sets the enforcement timeline

What Are the Next Key Dates?

Here's the 2026 timeline as it currently stands, in chronological order:

• January 2026: First of two fee installments invoiced for Oregon and Colorado
• May 2026: Annual Supply Report due for Oregon, Colorado, and California; Simplified Supply Report due for Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington
• July 2026: Second fee installment invoiced for Oregon and Colorado
• August 2026: Early program fees invoiced for California
• TBD 2026: California's Baseline Producer Report and Individual Source Reduction Plan due; Maine's Start-up Report due and Start-up Fees invoiced

Why Does the Timing Matter for Your Business?

There are two reasons to act now instead of later.

The first reason is straightforward regulatory risk. The penalties outlined in these laws are not theoretical; they are codified in state statute. States are currently building the oversight infrastructure (like producer registries and compliance tracking) needed to manage these programs. It’s safer to assume that enforcement will follow the established deadlines than to wait and find out how strictly these states intend to play.

The second reason is less obvious but arguably more valuable: companies with a clear understanding of their packaging data are often able to reduce material costs and simplify their packaging mix. Those efficiencies stem from the same data collection and analysis required for EPR compliance, making the work valuable beyond regulatory reporting.

Companies that wait until an EPR law takes effect before they prepare internally often find themselves reconstructing historical packaging data under deadline pressure. Establishing packaging data and tracking systems in advance is a far more manageable approach.

How Do You Stay on Top of This?

A few habits make it manageable:

• Register with the CAA. As the PRO for most enacted states, it's a direct line to the latest requirements, deadlines, and guidance for your business.
• Follow dedicated trackers. Industry sites and trade associations that focus specifically on packaging regulation tend to catch changes faster than general news.
• Loop in your packaging suppliers. They're often tracking material-level implications you won't see from the compliance side alone.

Where to Go From Here

We’re still in the early chapters of a much longer story. Seven states have already enacted comprehensive packaging EPR laws, and several more are in the works. Expect the increased pace of legislative activity to continue: new states, new deadlines, and updated requirements in the states already underway. Because EPR requirements continue to evolve, compliance isn't something companies can address once and move on from. Staying current must become part of your ongoing business operations.

It may feel complicated and overwhelming at first, especially if your company sells into multiple states with packaging EPR laws, but with the right data collection foundation and the right team behind you, the complexity is manageable. Businesses that get ahead of EPR now, rather than reacting deadline by deadline, are the ones that will move through this most smoothly with the least disruption.

Still not sure where to start? That's what Packledger is built for. Get in touch with our team to discuss solutions for your packaging data and compliance obligations. With the right resources, tools, and support, your business will be well positioned for successful compliance.

Sources

• Proskauer Rose LLP, "Seven States and Counting: The 2025 Guide to EPR Packaging Compliance"
• Amcor, "Which US States Have Packaging EPR Laws (2025 State Guide)"
• Holland & Knight, "Are You Ready to Report Your Packaging Data Next Month?"
• Legislative status verified against current state legislative portals and session reports at the time of original blog publication.