Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws continue to proliferate in the United States, presenting significant operational challenges for consumer packaged goods companies. Earlier in 2024, Minnesota became the sixth state to enact a broad packaging EPR law, joining California, Colorado, Maine, Oregon, and Maryland in the emerging trend of states imposing responsibility for end-of-life management for single-use packaging on producers. EPR laws intend to shift the cost of waste management, traditionally borne by municipalities, to producers of single-use packaging. By shifting this financial responsibility, these laws aim to ease the financial burden on local governments, while in theory providing incentives to producers to improve and adapt product packaging to meet recycling standards and, thereby, reduce landfill waste.
Extended Producer Responsibility Packaging and Greenwashing Laws Expand, Targeting Plastic Reduction and Recycling Management
