US Packaging EPR in 2026: Drivers, Status, and What Comes Next

The United States has no federal packaging EPR law. It has seven state laws, one dominant producer responsibility organisation, and a calendar that is now moving fast.

Producers selling into the US face a state-level patchwork that has converged on one implementing organisation. CAA, the Circular Action Alliance, operates as the implementing PRO across most enacted states. California finalised its long-awaited rules in May 2026. Oregon faces a constitutional trial in July. And several more states have legislation in motion.

Here is what is driving US packaging EPR, where it stands, and what 2026 still has to deliver.

What is driving EPR in the US

US recycling rates have been flat or declining for years. The overall municipal recycling rate sits at around 32%, with plastic packaging in the single digits. Municipalities carry the cost. Infrastructure has not kept pace with material complexity. Brand owners face growing pressure from investors, retailers, and consumers to show real progress on packaging impact.

State legislatures stepped in where the federal government did not. Maine passed the first US packaging EPR law in 2021. Oregon, Colorado, and California followed by 2022. The 2024 to 2025 wave added Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington. Each state designed its own system, but a clear pattern emerged: producers fund recycling, a single PRO operates the program, and eco-modulated fees reward recyclable design.

Three structural forces keep the momentum going. Recycling infrastructure investment requires sustained funding, and EPR provides it. Retailers and brand owners increasingly prefer a single national approach over seven state-by-state programs, which keeps pressure on states to align. Consumer demand for circular packaging continues to grow, even as political attention shifts.

The result is a regulatory architecture being built one state at a time, with CAA acting as the cross-state implementation layer.

What is the current status

Seven states have enacted packaging EPR laws. Two are collecting fees today. Two more start fee collection within months.

Oregon launched first. Producers have been paying fees since July 2025. Oregon is also the first state where the law has been legally challenged. In February 2026, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction in NAW v. Feldon, blocking enforcement against the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and its members while the case proceeds. The court preserved the plaintiffs' Dormant Commerce Clause and Due Process claims. A trial on the merits is scheduled for 13 July 2026.

Colorado started collecting fees in January 2026 and is moving into full implementation by June 2026. Eco-modulation schedules and the first invoices are active. The Colorado model also includes minimum post-consumer recycled content targets for paper, glass, metal, and plastic by 2030.

California finalised its SB 54 regulations on 1 May 2026, after years of rulemaking, two restarts, and one gubernatorial intervention. Producers must register with CAA or CalRecycle by 1 June 2026. CAA submits its program plan to CalRecycle in June 2026. Full program implementation begins on 1 January 2027. The 2032 statutory targets remain in place: 100% recyclable or compostable single-use packaging, a 65% recycling rate, and a 25% reduction in single-use plastic against the 2023 baseline.

Maine, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington are in earlier stages. Maine expects to select its Stewardship Organisation in April 2026, with producer registration to follow in May 2026 and start-up fees due in September 2026. Minnesota appointed CAA as its PRO in February 2025 and is working toward a 2029 producer compliance date. Maryland and Washington passed their laws in 2025 and are now in rulemaking, with the first major producer deadlines arriving in 2026.

What will come in 2026

The next six months are the most consequential window US packaging EPR has had since Oregon launched.

In June 2026, California's SB 54 producer registration deadline arrives. Brand owners that have not yet engaged with CAA face a hard date. Colorado's full program implementation begins.

In July 2026, the Oregon NAW v. Feldon trial starts. The outcome will set precedent for how Dormant Commerce Clause and Due Process challenges apply to state EPR laws across the country. A ruling against Oregon could reshape the architecture of US packaging EPR. A ruling for Oregon would close one of the largest legal questions hanging over the system.

In September 2026, Maine's first start-up fees become due. New York continues to advance its Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act with approximately 150 amendments now in committee. New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Virginia introduced new EPR bills earlier in 2026. Massachusetts received its EPR Commission recommendations in January 2026.

The pattern through the rest of the year: California producers learn what their first program year actually looks like, Oregon learns whether its system holds up in court, and the next wave of states moves from study to bill.

What this means for producers selling into the US

Three practical priorities for brand owners and material suppliers operating in the US right now.

Register with CAA across every state where you have material exposure. CAA's single-portal architecture makes multi-state registration feasible, but the Participant Producer Agreement is signed per state. Mapping which legal entity is the obligated producer in each state is the first step.

Build a SKU-level packaging data foundation. CAA and the states prefer SKU-specific Bills of Materials. Brand owners with structured packaging data move through registration and reporting cleanly. Brand owners without it stall in the data layer.

Plan for legal volatility. The Oregon case is the first credible challenge to a state EPR law. Producers building a US compliance approach should design for adjustment, with portfolio decisions that hold up even if the state-by-state structure shifts.

For European brand owners with US operations, the same producer responsibility logic that drives PPWR also drives state EPR. The mechanisms differ. The data foundation overlaps almost completely. The recent piece on preparing for PPWR sets out the broader principle on sequencing regulatory work before final criteria are published.

US packaging EPR is a 2026 operational priority. If your team is mapping US state exposure across the portfolio right now, this is the conversation worth having. Reach out for a strategy call.