Year in Review: 7 States with EPR Laws — What 2025 Changed

Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging is no longer a policy experiment — it is the law of the land in seven U.S. states, with more on the way. In 2025, the EPR landscape shifted from aspirational legislation to operational reality, with two new states enacting laws, two existing programs entering enforcement, and rulemaking advancing in California. For brands, retailers, and packaging manufacturers operating nationally, the question is no longer whether EPR will affect your business. It is how quickly you can build the compliance infrastructure to manage it.

The Seven-State Map

The current EPR-for-packaging landscape encompasses Maine (LD 1541, signed July 12, 2021), Oregon (SB 582, signed August 6, 2021), Colorado (HB 22-1355, signed June 3, 2022), California (SB 54, signed June 30, 2022), Minnesota (HF 3911, signed May 21, 2024), Maryland (SB 901, signed May 13, 2025), and Washington (SB 5284, signed May 17, 2025). These seven laws share a common premise — producers who introduce packaging into commerce bear financial responsibility for its end-of-life management — but they differ substantially in structure, timeline, and enforcement mechanisms. Maine pioneered a unique municipal cost-reimbursement model, where producers fund existing municipal recycling programs rather than building parallel infrastructure. Oregon and Colorado adopted PRO-administered models where a Producer Responsibility Organization manages collection and recycling on behalf of registered producers. California's SB 54 imposed the most aggressive targets: 30% recycling by 2028, 40% by 2030, 65% by 2032, with all single-use packaging required to be recyclable or compostable by 2032 and a 25% plastic source reduction mandate.

2025's Two Biggest Developments

Maryland and Washington joined the EPR roster within days of each other in May 2025, bringing two distinct approaches. Maryland's SB 901 introduced a multi-PRO model — unlike Oregon, Colorado, and California where the Circular Action Alliance (CAA) operates as the sole approved PRO, Maryland's framework allows multiple PROs to compete for producer participation. Washington's SB 5284 included a novel $5 million annual reuse financial assistance program starting in 2029, signaling legislative interest in pushing beyond recycling toward genuine reuse infrastructure. Both states set producer registration deadlines of July 1, 2026, giving companies less than fourteen months from enactment to initial compliance.

Enforcement Becomes Real

The most consequential 2025 development was the transition from registration to enforcement. Oregon and Colorado activated sales restrictions on July 1, 2025, meaning producers who failed to register with CAA or submit an individual compliance plan are legally barred from selling covered products in those states. This is not a theoretical penalty — it is a market access condition. Oregon's SB 582 authorizes penalties up to $25,000 per day for non-compliance, and Colorado requires initial supply reports to CAA by July 31, 2025 with first fee invoices following in January 2026. Oregon had already begun issuing fees based on 2024 reported supply data, making it the first state where producers are actively paying EPR obligations.

Minnesota Moves Quickly

Minnesota's HF 3911, signed in May 2024, moved rapidly toward implementation. By February 2025, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency confirmed CAA's registration, and producers face a July 1, 2025 deadline to join a registered PRO. Minnesota is notable for two reasons: it offers no individual compliance option — PRO membership is mandatory — and it adopted a phased municipal cost-reimbursement schedule of 50% by February 2029, 75% by 2030, and 90% by 2031. The stewardship plan is due October 1, 2028, but the early registration mandate means producers cannot afford to wait.

California's Ongoing Rulemaking

California's SB 54 remains the highest-stakes EPR law in the country, but its implementation timeline has been marked by delays. Governor Newsom directed CalRecycle to restart rulemaking on March 7, 2025, after draft implementation regulations underwent multiple revisions. CalRecycle published proposed regulations in the state regulatory notice register on August 22, 2025, opening a 45-day public comment period through October 7, 2025. The statutory deadline for producers to join a PRO or receive individual approval remains January 1, 2027, and CAA — approved for California in January 2024 — encouraged early registration by September 5, 2025. California's sales restriction takes effect January 1, 2027, and with its recycling targets and plastic reduction mandates, the state will drive the largest financial obligations of any EPR program.

The Pipeline Behind the Seven

The seven enacted laws do not exist in isolation. At least eight additional states introduced EPR packaging bills in 2025-2026: New York (SB 5062, the Affordable Waste Reduction Act, and SB 1464, the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act), Massachusetts (SB 571), Rhode Island (SB 939), New Jersey (A5009 and SB 3398), Illinois (HB 4064, the Extended Producer Responsibility and Recycling Refund Act), Tennessee (SB 296/HB 600, the Waste to Jobs Act), North Carolina (HB 882, Break Free From Plastic & Forever Chemicals), and Hawaii (HB 1264). Several of these states — Hawaii, Illinois, and Rhode Island — have mandated statewide recycling assessments, a pattern that preceded Maryland's 2025 EPR law (Maryland conducted its own assessment in 2023).

What This Means for Brands

The acceleration from four states (2021-2022) to seven (by mid-2025), with eight more in the legislative pipeline, establishes EPR as a permanent feature of the U.S. packaging regulatory landscape. Companies selling consumer packaged goods nationally should be building multi-state compliance strategies now, not reacting state by state. The Circular Action Alliance's role as the dominant PRO across five states (California, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, and Maryland) creates a partial harmonization pathway, but differences in covered materials, fee structures, reporting deadlines, and enforcement mechanisms mean that a single PRO membership does not equal a single compliance workflow.

Sources: Proskauer, "Seven States and Counting: The 2025 Guide to EPR Packaging Compliance" (Oct 2025); Holland & Knight, "What You Need to Know Now About State EPR Laws" (Jan 2026); H2 Compliance, "EPR 2026 Outlook" (Dec 2025)

Constellation Insights, a division of Trash Club Ventures, provides strategic regulatory intelligence for brands, investors, and operators navigating the circular economy.