Extracted from Law360
Extended producer responsibility, or EPR, programs are transforming the regulatory landscape across the U.S. State governments are shifting the onus of end-of-life product management from consumers and local governments to the companies that produce, distribute or sell certain items.
As these programs expand and compliance deadlines rapidly approach, businesses across multiple sectors — including food and beverage, consumer goods, apparel, and logistics — need to quickly evaluate their options to ensure compliance as part of the broader move toward circular economies.
For example, in Oregon, producers were required to register and report product data by March 31, in anticipation of the July 1 program start date. These programs are being rapidly adopted, and with more states expected to follow, they will have far-reaching impacts across the supply chain.
What is EPR?
EPR programs, also sometimes called product stewardship programs, aim to encourage product design changes that minimize environmental impacts, reduce landfill waste, promote recycling, and support recycling and materials management goals.
Over the past decade, states have established EPR programs for products such as batteries, paints, pharmaceuticals and, in recent years, packaging. EPR programs for packaging require producers, such as brand owners, licensees, manufacturers and, in some cases, franchisors, to take responsibility for the waste generated by their covered products, such as single-use packaging, food serviceware and paper products.
Five states — California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota and Oregon — have enacted EPR legislation for packaging and other covered products, while many other states have introduced such legislation.
What products are covered, and who is responsible?
One of the most challenging aspects of EPR programs is the variability in definitions and coverage among states. Understanding what products and companies fall under these laws is essential.
What is a covered product?
EPR laws typically target a broad spectrum of products. The new laws are focused on paper products (e.g., magazines, catalogs and office paper); plastics (e.g., single-use utensils, plastic-coated food packaging and food service trays); and packaging materials (e.g., protective bags, boxes and bubble wrap).
Who is a producer?
Definitions vary by state, but often include brand owners, importers, distributors, packaging manufacturers and retailers. Some states, including Oregon, have enacted regulations aimed at upstream producers such as manufacturers, brand licensees and importers, while other states have focused more on brand owners and public-facing companies.
What exemptions exist?
Many states include exemptions based on annual revenue, volume of covered products sold in the state or geographical limitations. Small businesses or low-volume producers might be exempt or subject to reduced fees, easing the compliance burden on emerging companies.
What do these laws require?
EPR laws impose various obligations structured to shift the cost of waste to producers. Companies that produce, distribute or sell covered products — items that fall within a law's ambit — may be responsible for the following measures.
Joining a Producer Responsibility Organization
Companies must register with state-approved producer responsibility organizations, which manage the end-of-life processing of their products and assess fees based on the volume and type of covered materials distributed within the state. Formation and management of producer responsibility organizations vary by state.
Reduction Targets
States such as California require producers to reduce or eliminate the amount of nonrecyclable or noncompostable materials they use by specific deadlines. Companies may need to reformulate products or packaging to meet these benchmarks.
Other laws may be implicated in this as well, such as post-consumer recycled material laws in California, Washington, New Jersey and Maine, which mandate the amount of recycled plastic that can be used in certain products.
Reporting and Labeling
Specific labeling may also be required under these laws. For example, Washington requires that producers label packages that contain plastic trash bags with certain information when selling or distributing them within the state.
Companies may also need to report packaging data to remain in compliance with these new laws.
Stakeholder Engagement
In some jurisdictions, companies must work with local governments, recyclers and other industry stakeholders regarding recycling infrastructure and public education initiatives.
Why should your company care?
Companies from all levels of the supply chain, from brand owners and manufacturers to distributors and importers, may be affected by the wide-reaching EPR packaging laws. Due to the patchwork of state requirements, companies' obligations may vary by state and supply stream — e.g., direct-to-consumer or business-to-business.
For example, in Oregon, the obligated producer for certain packaging that is used to ship products via either e-commerce direct-to-consumer or business-to-business could be the importer. But in Minnesota, the obligated producer could be the brand owner within the U.S., and in Colorado, the obligated producer could be the U.S. manufacturer — but only for the direct-to-consumer stream.
Penalties for noncompliance vary by state, but range from $5,000 to $50,000 per day per violation, and for subsequent violations, can go up to $100,000 per day per violation. In addition, some states, such as Oregon, can take action to prohibit producers from selling or distributing covered products if they do not comply with the program requirements.
What's next?
Several state programs have already been enacted, with compliance deadlines on the horizon. While some requirements will not take effect until 2026, 2027 or later, other states' implementation dates are rapidly approaching.
Businesses distributing or selling in or into Oregon should evaluate — in short order — the program's applicability to their products. Notably, under Oregon's EPR program, producers were required to register with a producer responsibility organization and submit a report of quantity (i.e., weight) of covered product supplied into Oregon in 2024 by March 31.
Compliance with these requirements is necessary to continue selling or distributing covered products in Oregon after July 1. Producers may seek an exemption from program obligations for certain covered products, but were still required to submit these requests for approval by March 21 or March 28, depending on the exemption sought — and were required to submit their data by the March 31 deadline.
Producers will be charged fees for their products based on the submitted data, with payment obligations beginning after the July 1 program start date.
EPR programs may be coming to other states as well. To date in 2025, eight states have introduced legislation on EPR for packaging.
Given these rapid developments, it is critical for companies to stay informed of the changing legislative and regulatory landscape, and evaluate the applicability of the EPR laws to their businesses.