Packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) in the United States is state law, not federal. As of 2026, seven states have enacted packaging EPR laws: Maine, Oregon, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington. Six of them use a producer responsibility organization (PRO) model, in which obligated producers register with a PRO, report the packaging they put into the state, and pay fees that fund the recycling system, with fees often modulated by how recyclable the packaging is. Maine is the exception: it uses a municipal cost-reimbursement model. The Circular Action Alliance is the PRO running or selected to run most of the state programs, and the programs phase in on different dates.
There is no federal packaging EPR law in the United States. Instead, a growing set of states have each enacted their own, which means a company that sells a packaged product nationally is not facing one program but a patchwork of state programs with different definitions, deadlines, and fee schedules. This guide covers the seven states with laws, the model they use, who counts as an obligated producer, the core obligations, and the state-by-state timeline. It is the US companion to the EU PPWR guide, which is a separate regime.
Seven states, two models
As of 2026, seven states have enacted packaging EPR laws. Six use a producer responsibility organization model; Maine uses a municipal cost-reimbursement model, where producers reimburse municipalities for recycling costs rather than fund a producer-run program.
| State | Law and status |
|---|---|
| Maine | LD 1541 (2021). The first US packaging EPR law; municipal cost-reimbursement model, with the full program expected to operate from 2027. |
| Oregon | SB 582 (2021), the Recycling Modernization Act. PRO model; first producer fees were invoiced in July 2025. |
| Colorado | HB 22-1355 (2022). PRO model in which producers fund all program operations; producer fees began in January 2026. |
| California | SB 54 (2022). PRO model administered with CalRecycle; the program ramps toward 2027, with producer data due in 2026. |
| Minnesota | HF 3911 (2024). PRO model; producers registered in 2025, with the PRO plan due later in the build-out. |
| Maryland | SB 901 (2025). PRO model that permits multiple PROs; obligated producers register in 2026. |
| Washington | SB 5284 (2025), the Recycling Reform Act. PRO model; producer registration due in 2026, with implementation phasing toward the end of the decade. |
The producer responsibility organization
In the PRO-model states, the law does not have producers deal with the state individually. Instead, producers join a producer responsibility organization, a nonprofit that runs the program on their collective behalf: it registers producers, collects packaging data, sets and collects fees, and funds the recycling system. The Circular Action Alliance is the PRO designated or selected to run the program in most of the states, which gives a multistate producer a partly common point of contact, though each state program is legally separate.
Who is an obligated producer
The obligation falls on the producer, and each state defines the term through a hierarchy that usually lands on the brand owner. The brand owner of the product or packaging is typically the producer; where there is no brand owner with a presence in the United States, the obligation can shift down to the importer or the distributor that first sells the packaging into the state. The practical task is to determine, for each product and each state, which entity in the chain is the obligated producer, because that is who registers and pays. Many states exempt small producers below a revenue or volume threshold.
The core obligations
- Register. Identify as an obligated producer and register with the PRO, or with the state, by the state's deadline.
- Report. Report the covered packaging put into the state, typically by material type and weight. Covered materials usually include packaging and often paper products, with state-specific scope.
- Pay fees. Pay the producer fees the PRO assesses, which fund the program and are commonly eco-modulated, so more recyclable packaging pays a lower rate and hard-to-recycle packaging pays more.
Fees, exemptions, and non-compliance
Three practical questions follow from the obligations: how much, who is let off, and what happens if you do not comply.
- How fees are set. Producers do not pay a flat charge. The PRO sets fees based on the tonnage of each covered material a producer reports, then eco-modulates them so easy-to-recycle materials pay a lower per-ton rate and hard-to-recycle materials pay more. The exact rates are set state by state and are still being finalized as programs stand up, so a producer's bill depends on both its material mix and the state, and the same packaging change can move fees in several states at once.
- Small-producer exemptions. Most states exempt the smallest producers, typically those below a low annual revenue figure or a low tonnage of packaging put into the state. The thresholds differ by state and are part of what the producer obligation assessment has to check, because a producer can be exempt in one state and obligated in another.
- Non-compliance. Registration is a condition of selling: a producer generally may not sell covered packaging in a state unless it, or its PRO, is registered there, so failing to comply is a market-access problem, not only a fee problem. The state agencies that oversee the programs can also assess civil penalties for failing to register, report, or pay.
The patchwork problem
The hardest part of US packaging EPR is not any single state; it is that the states differ. Definitions of producer and covered material, fee schedules, reporting formats, exemption thresholds, and deadlines are set state by state. A national seller has to map each product to each state's rules and timeline, and a single packaging change can affect fees in several states at once. The common PRO reduces but does not remove the fragmentation.
How to comply
Step 1: Determine where you are an obligated producer
For each product and state, work the producer hierarchy to find which entity is obligated, and check the small-producer exemptions.
Step 2: Inventory your covered packaging
Catalog the packaging and paper you put into each state by material type and weight, the data the reports require.
Step 3: Register with the PRO in each state
Register through the producer responsibility organization, the Circular Action Alliance in most states, by each state's deadline.
Step 4: Report and pay
Submit the packaging data and pay the assessed fees, tracking the eco-modulation that rewards more recyclable packaging.
Step 5: Maintain a state-by-state calendar
Keep a calendar of each state's deadlines and rule changes, since the programs phase in on different dates and the rules are still being written.
Where it goes wrong
- Assuming one program. A producer treats packaging EPR as a single obligation instead of a state-by-state patchwork with different definitions and deadlines.
- Misidentifying the obligated producer. The hierarchy is not worked through, so the wrong entity registers, or no one does.
- Missing a phase-in date. A state's registration or reporting deadline passes unnoticed because the company tracked only the states already live.
US packaging EPR is a patchwork of state laws on a common PRO, and it is still being built out. For the separate EU regime, see the EU PPWR guide; for the producer-obligation instrument, see the US packaging EPR producer obligation assessment.
Primary sources
- California SB 54 (2022), the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act: California's packaging EPR law (Public Resources Code 42040 et seq.), administered by CalRecycle.
- Oregon SB 582 (2021), the Recycling Modernization Act: Oregon's packaging EPR law, which uses the producer responsibility organization model; first producer fees were invoiced in July 2025.
- Colorado HB 22-1355 (2022), the Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act: Colorado's packaging EPR law, under which producers fund all program operations; producer fees began in January 2026.
- Maine LD 1541 (2021), 38 M.R.S. 2146: The first US packaging EPR law, which uses a municipal cost-reimbursement model rather than a producer-run organization. Full program expected to operate from 2027.
- Minnesota HF 3911 (2024), the Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act: Minnesota's packaging EPR law; producers registered in 2025, with the producer responsibility organization plan due later in the build-out.
- Maryland SB 901 (2025): Maryland's packaging EPR law, which permits multiple producer responsibility organizations; obligated producers register in 2026.
- Washington SB 5284 (2025), the Recycling Reform Act: Washington's packaging EPR law; producer registration is due in 2026, with implementation phasing toward the end of the decade.
- Circular Action Alliance: The producer responsibility organization designated or selected to run the program in most US packaging EPR states; producers register, report, and pay fees through it.