This week Maryland’s Governor Wes Moore signed Senate Bill 901, an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law designed to make “producers” of packaged items and paper products financially responsible for the upgrades to state...more
On May 13, 2025, Maryland became the sixth U.S. state to enact an extended producer responsibility (“EPR”) law for packaging with Governor Moore’s approval of SB 901, passed by the Maryland legislature on April 7, 2025....more
All Wrapped Up is a newsletter that tracks and analyzes key developments in extended producer responsibility laws for packaging. It is a subscription-based resource for King & Spalding clients who sell or distribute just...more
If your business is a brand owner that controls the manufacturing of its products, operates in the packaged goods space, or influences the retail or shipping packaging of products, you may be subject to state-specific...more
An Update on the Legal Landscape Surrounding Plastic Pollution - It’s hard to reflect on “Our Power, Our Planet” this Earth Day without discussing plastic. Plastic is deeply embedded in our daily lives. Consider, for...more
Circular Action Alliance to accept reports through April 30, 2025 - Circular Action Alliance (CAA) recently announced a grace period through April 30, 2025 for producers to report data by weight and material category for all...more
On 7 March 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom sent the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) back to the drawing board on proposed regulations to implement the state’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging...more
With the March 31, 2025 deadline to comply with Oregon’s packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) law rapidly approaching, producers of covered materials, including packaging, paper products, and food serviceware,...more
Earlier this month, California Governor Gavin Newsom directed the state’s recycling agency, CalRecycle, to restart the process of issuing regulations for California’s landmark plastic and packaging extended producer...more
Across the country, states are enacting so called “Extended Producer Responsibility” (EPR) laws aimed at reducing plastic waste and shifting the cost of recycling these plastics from the consumer back to the producer. This is...more
For the past four years, multiple states have worked to pass laws (called Extended Producer Responsibility laws, or “EPR”) that reallocate the burden of dealing with end-product waste (and related recycling efforts) to the...more
Key Takeaways - What is happening? Packaging waste has received heavy attention from lawmakers in recent years. A growing number of states are adhering to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Recycled Content...more
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws are relatively new – the first were signed into law in 2021 and 2022 – and are aimed at encouraging producers to package goods in a more environmentally conscientious manner and...more
On November 21, 2024, Massachusetts enacted legislation likely to accelerate its adoption of new extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation. Tucked into a new climate law (find a separate alert on the law here),...more
California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Responsibility Act (“SB 54” or “the Act”) is unique in the growing extended producer responsibility (“EPR”) packaging landscape for its source reduction component for...more
Four years after the nation’s first extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws set out approaches to making producers financially responsible for managing the disposal of plastics and packaging, 2025 will see...more
With the compliance process for the Extended Producer Responsibility (“EPR”) programs for packaging, paper, and food service ware in full swing in Oregon and fast approaching in Colorado and California, “producer” companies...more