Brands that have already adjusted their packaging for the EU’s PPWR are now facing a similar shift on the other side of the Atlantic. A growing number of US states have passed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws for packaging, which shift the cost and reporting burden for packaging waste from municipalities onto the brands that put packaging on the market – called “producers” under these laws.
This is general background, not legal advice: EPR rules are new, state-specific, and still being phased in, so confirm your exact obligations with a compliance consultant. Here is what to know before you plan your next packaging order.
Which States Have Packaging EPR Laws
As of 2026, seven states have enacted packaging EPR laws: California (SB 54), Colorado (HB 22-1355), Oregon (SB 582), Maryland (SB 901), Minnesota (HF 3911), Maine, and Washington. Each state is on its own timeline for registration, reporting, and fee collection, and California, Colorado, and Oregon are furthest along with active registration and reporting requirements already in effect, while Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington are still building out their programs. More states are expected to introduce similar bills, so this list is likely to grow.
What Counts as “Packaging” Under These Laws
These laws generally define packaging broadly: retail boxes, folding cartons, rigid boxes, protective inserts, shipping mailers, and any labels or wraps that go around a product can all be in scope, not just the outer shipping carton. If you sell physical products into a covered state, the packaging your products arrive in at a US doorstep is very likely covered, regardless of where it was manufactured.
What This Means for Your Sourcing Decisions
Most of these programs calculate producer fees based on the type, weight, and recyclability of the materials used, often with reduced fees for packaging that uses recycled content or is more easily recyclable in practice, and higher fees for materials that are hard to recycle, like certain plastic laminates or mixed-material composites. This makes your material choice a cost decision now, not just a design one. It also means you’ll increasingly need documentation from your manufacturer – material composition, recycled content percentage, and packaging weight by SKU – to file accurate reports.
Working With Your Packaging Manufacturer
A few things are worth asking your supplier for as these laws roll out:
- Material spec sheets showing exact board type, coatings, and any plastic film or laminate components used.
- Recycled content percentages where available, particularly for FSC-certified paperboard, which is increasingly the default rather than a premium option.
- Accurate per-unit packaging weight, since several states calculate fees on a per-ton or per-pound basis across your total packaging volume.
If you sell in both the EU and covered US states, it’s worth designing your packaging to satisfy the stricter of the two standards where they overlap, rather than maintaining separate packaging specs for each market.
Getting Compliant Packaging Made
At Caiye Packaging, we can provide material composition and FSC certification documentation for your packaging orders to support EPR and PPWR reporting on both sides of the Atlantic. Our PPWR compliance guide and FSC certification guide cover the material side of compliance in more detail, or contact us directly to discuss your packaging specs.