2025 EPR POLICY UPDATES IN THE UNITED STATES

Globally, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is increasingly seen as a key policy tool to shift responsibility for waste management from governments and taxpayers back to the producers — incentivizing better packaging design and recyclability. Many countries are now implementing regulations that require packaging to be recyclable, contain higher levels of recycled content, or phase out single-use plastics, with the EU, UK, and Canada adopting some of the most ambitious measures to push producers toward more resource-efficient packaging systems. As of 2025, seven U.S. states have enacted comprehensive EPR packaging laws: California, Colorado, Maine, Oregon, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington. For many of these states, 2025 was the phase of rule-making, producer registration, and initial reporting deadlines. Beyond those, nearly a dozen additional states are actively considering or drafting similar EPR proposals.

State Packaging EPR Laws. Source: Product Stewardship Institute, Inc. https://productstewardship.us/products/packaging/

Read more:

https://h2compliance.com/us-states-with-packaging-epr-laws-what-businesses-need-to-know-in-2025/

https://www.proskauer.com/alert/the-2025-guide-to-epr-packaging-compliance