US Packaging EPR in 2026: What Brands Actually Owe

Why EPR feels confusing in the US

Extended producer responsibility for packaging is not a single federal program. Each state that passes a law defines its own covered materials, producer thresholds, deadlines and fee structures. A brand can be fully obligated in one state and exempt in a neighboring one simply because of sales thresholds or how the law defines a producer. That is why a single national answer to what you owe does not exist, and why any 2026 plan has to be built state by state.

The other common confusion is mixing EPR obligations with labeling law. EPR is about paying for and reporting packaging in the waste stream. Compostable and recyclability claims are addressed separately, by the FTC Green Guides and by state statutes such as Washington's plastic degradability law. You can be current on EPR fees and still face enforcement over a claim on the box.

Questions to investigate for each state's EPR program

The cited sources here do not provide a comparative review of enacted state EPR laws. Use the following questions as a research checklist, not as a statement that every program imposes these duties. Confirm applicability against current statutes, rules and agency guidance.

This checklist is Teal's editorial planning framework. The cited sources cover only specific underlying principles, such as California's PRO structure and federal compostability claim rules, not the full list below.

• Determine producer status using the applicable state's definition and allocation of responsibility; do not assume that brand ownership alone resolves it.
• Check whether exemptions or thresholds apply, what measures they use, and what documentation is required.
• Verify whether registration or PRO participation is required, with whom, and by what applicable date.
• Verify reporting requirements, including covered components, material categories, units, reporting periods and submission dates.
• Check whether fees are currently due and obtain the applicable fee schedule; do not assume any material or format receives a discount.
• Review applicable labeling laws separately from EPR duties, especially for plastics and compostability claims.
• Identify required records and retention periods; consider collecting sales data, packaging specifications and relevant supplier documentation.

California SB 54: the law brands ask about first

California's Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act is the law most brands ask about first. Under it, a producer responsibility organization runs a statewide plan that CalRecycle must approve, and the PRO is the entity responsible for meeting statewide source-reduction targets. Individual producers are not required to hit those targets on their own; they participate through the PRO plan, reduce plastic use where practical, and report information on covered plastic materials they sell or distribute in California.

CalRecycle lists the reduction path for single-use plastic packaging and plastic food service ware as 10 percent by January 1, 2027 (at least 2 percent from reuse or refill), 20 percent by January 1, 2030 (at least 4 percent from reuse or refill), and 25 percent by January 1, 2032 (at least 10 percent from reuse, refill or elimination). The PRO must also establish legally enforceable agreements with each approved plan participant. For a brand, the practical reading is that your SB 54 duties center on participation, accurate reporting and any contractual commitments you sign with the PRO, not on privately hitting the 2032 number. Confirm current details with CalRecycle and counsel.

Compostable packaging: where EPR and claims collide

If your EPR strategy includes switching to compostable formats to lower fees, the claims rules matter as much as the material choice. Under the FTC Green Guides, it is deceptive to misrepresent that a product or package is compostable, and a marketer should have competent and reliable scientific evidence that all materials break down into usable compost in a safe and timely manner at an appropriate facility or in home composting. Claims should be qualified if the item cannot compost in home piles or if municipal composting facilities are not available to a substantial majority of consumers where the item is sold.

EPA distinguishes commercially compostable plastics from plastics suitable for home composting and identifies ASTM D6400 and D6868 as commercial compostability specifications. The cited EPA page states that no ASTM standard test methods are in place for evaluating home composting of plastics; this guide does not independently establish the current standards landscape. Do not infer home compostability from commercial certification. Under FTC guidance, qualify a claim clearly and prominently when home composting is unsuitable or appropriate facilities have limited availability.

Washington's labeling law: a preview of claim enforcement

Washington Ecology's cited handout summarizes third-party industrial compostability certification, FTC Green Guides alignment, compostable wording, color signals and producer declarations. It also describes restrictions on terms such as biodegradable, degradable and oxo-degradable. Treat the handout as an introduction, not a complete current applicability determination: verify the current statute and agency guidance for the specific product, labeling format and any exceptions before printing.

The handout gives film-bag examples involving ASTM D6400, a certifier logo, color and text-size options, and restrictions on recycling symbols. It also describes an exemption involving wood or at least 98 percent fiber without plastic additives. Do not determine an exemption from this summary alone. For multistate sales, have counsel compare all applicable rules before deciding whether shared artwork is feasible; satisfying one state's rule does not establish compliance elsewhere.

Recycled content and food contact: a separate gate

Brands sometimes fold PCR content into EPR planning as a possible fee reducer. If the packaging touches food, recycled content also raises a separate food-contact safety question that this guide's sources do not cover. Confirm current FDA expectations directly with FDA guidance, your resin or packaging supplier, and counsel. We recommend tracking food-contact suitability on its own line of your worksheet, distinct from EPR reporting.

Worked example: a hypothetical candle brand's 2026 worksheet

Consider a purely hypothetical brand, Harbor Wick, selling candles in glass jars inside folding cartons and paper inserts, with 40,000 units per year split across several states. This is an illustrative exercise with made-up figures, not a quote or market benchmark.

Harbor Wick inventories the jar, label, carton, insert and tape for each SKU. Hypothetically, every unit uses a 60-gram paper carton, a 15-gram paper insert, a 1-gram label and 2 grams of tape. Across 40,000 units, the cartons and inserts total 3,000 kilograms, or 3 metric tons. Labels and tape add 120 kilograms, with their material classification still to be verified. Hypothetical 350-gram glass jars total 14,000 kilograms, or 14 metric tons. These are inventory masses, not reportable totals: verify whether the candle jar and every other component are covered, how composite materials are classified, and how quantities must be allocated by state.

The next step is verification, not arithmetic. Harbor Wick should check producer status, any exemptions, covered components, reporting methods, applicable fees and effective obligations in each relevant state. If it proposes a compostable insert claim, evidence must address the entire claimed item, including inks and other constituents; soy-based ink alone does not substantiate compostability. Inventory calculations, registration, reporting and certification do not by themselves establish compliance with every applicable requirement.

A review workflow for the 2026 season

Use this sequence as an internal review workflow. It is a set of steps to verify, not a compliance determination, and legal counsel should sign off on anything ambiguous.

• Inventory every packaging component per SKU, with material, weight and format.
• Map sales by state and compare against each state's producer definition and exemption threshold.
• Register in each active program where you qualify, and calendar reporting dates from the statute or PRO agreement, not from blog summaries.
• Collect supplier documentation: material specs, any compostability certifications, and PCR source details for food-contact items.
• Audit every environmental claim on pack against the FTC Green Guides and state labeling statutes like Washington's.
• Route the completed worksheet to counsel for review before filing or paying anything.
• Re-run the worksheet whenever a state amends rules or your packaging changes.

Questions about US packaging EPR obligations for brands