EPR for packaging advances in the United States with new state laws and more than 3,300 registered producers

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) continues to gain ground in the United States. In 2025, Maryland and Washington became the two newest states to pass state EPR laws for packaging, consolidating the expansion of this model that transfers the financing and management of recycling to producers.

In addition, Hawaii and Rhode Island passed bills to analyze the feasibility of EPR, while Massachusetts moved forward with an official recommendation to conduct a needs assessment, joining other states that are already working on previously commissioned studies.

The growth of the system is also reflected in business participation. As of November 28, 2025, the Circular Action Alliance (CAA) accounted for 3,386 national producer accounts registered, a figure that demonstrates the growing involvement of the industry.

In Oregon, one of the pioneering states, the EPR program for packaging has allocated $2.1 million to local communities for programs to combat recycling contamination. Within this framework, more than 1,200 samples have already been classified in the audit center created by the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act.

However, the advancement of EPR is not without resistance. In New York, 106 companies and organizations registered to oppose the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, compared to only 24 entities that supported it, which prevented the law from moving forward for the second consecutive year.

In sustainability, consumers and companies showed a growing commitment: 77 % of respondents surveyed by McKinsey considered recyclability as a “very important” or “extremely important” factor when evaluating the sustainability of packaging, ahead of recycled content, compostability, reuse, and volume of material. For its part, PepsiCo announced that it seeks 97 % of its portfolio of primary and secondary packaging in key markets to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2030, adjusting the original goal of 100 % by 2025.