Packaging EPR Laws by State: Who Pays, When, and What It Costs (2026)

If your brand ships products in a box, bag, or a mailer, seven US states now have laws that can make you pay for what happens to that packaging after it's thrown away. In Oregon and Colorado, brands are already paying. Here at EcoPackables, we track these laws closely, so the brands we work with know what's coming. As of October 2026, seven states have packaging EPR laws. EPR stands for Extended Producer Responsibility, and it means the brand that sells the packaged product pays to recycle that packaging. The seven states fall into four groups: paying now, like Oregon and Colorado; starting January 2027, like California; paying soon, such as Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington, between 2028 and 2030; and then states on hold, like Maine. So how does EPR actually work? Under EPR, the brand pays, not your packaging supplier. If your brand name is on the product, you're almost certainly the one responsible. The law calls you the producer. The goal is to shift recycling costs off cities and taxpayers and onto the brands that sell products in that packaging. For this, you don't pay the state directly. Instead, you join a nonprofit that collects the fees and funds recycling. In six of the seven states, it's the same group, Circular Action Alliance. Your fee depends on two things: what your packaging is made of, and how much it weighs. Every material is covered: paper, cardboard, glass, metal, and plastic. Let's start with where brands are already paying. As of October 2026, Oregon and Colorado are the only two states charging brands, with California soon to follow. Oregon went first under its Recycling Modernization Act. Fees started July 1, 2025, and more than 2,900 brands enrolled in the first year, according to Circular Action Alliance's July 2026 annual report. That money has already paid for more than 42,000 recycling carts and 20 new drop-off centers. In August 2026, a federal judge upheld Oregon's law against an industry challenge. While that group appealed in September, the law stays in effect while the appeal plays out. Colorado's fees started in January 2026 under House Bill 22-1355, according to the state health department. You can't sell products in covered packaging there unless you've joined the program. Under SB 54, California's full program is set to start January 1, 2027, once the state approves the program's plan. Before that, Circular Action Alliance scheduled a one-time early fee for August 2026. California also has the toughest targets. Under SB 54, by 2032, all single-use packaging sold there must be recyclable or compostable, and 65% of single-use plastic must be recycled. While this is the plan right now, there are two pending lawsuits that could change the details. Now for the states where brands aren't paying yet. Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington are still setting up their programs. Brands aren't paying yet, but registration deadlines have already passed. Under SB 901 in Maryland, fees start after the state approves the program's plan, which is due July 2028. Under the Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act in Minnesota, fees start after the state approves the program's plan, which is due October 2028. Under the Recycling Reform Act in Washington, brands must join the program by March 2029 to keep selling there. The program starts in 2030, and according to the Washington Department of Ecology, it must cover at least 90% of the state's recycling costs. Maine passed the first packaging EPR law in 2021, but in August 2026, no organization applied to run its program. On September 11, 2026, Maine's Department of Environmental Protection said it will revise its search, so Maine has no start date yet. According to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, no new state has passed a packaging EPR law in 2026, but this list could still grow, as bills are currently moving in states like New York and New Jersey. A question we get a lot: is paper packaging exempt from EPR? A lot of people think of EPR as a plastic tax, but paper and cardboard are covered in all seven states, meaning paper packaging is not exempt. What's different is the rate. In Circular Action Alliance's 2026 early fee schedule for California, as reported by the compliance tracker EPR Atlas, paper costs 0.4 cents per pound, rigid plastic costs 1.3 cents, and flexible plastic, like polymailers, costs 2.5 cents. That's more than six times the paper rate. So at those early rates, 10,000 pounds of paper packaging would cost about $40, and the same weight in polymailers, about $250. There is one catch: that's per pound, not per package. A heavy paper box can still cost more than a light plastic mailer, so it is crucial to run the numbers on your own packaging. So what should you do right now? Here's a quick checklist. List every state you sell into. Check whether you're the producer. If your brand is on the package or your product is inside, then it's probably you. Check the small business exemption. California exempts brands with under $1 million in California sales. Oregon exempts brands with under $5 million in total revenue, or under one metric ton of packaging sold into the state. The other EPR states set their own limits. Register if you haven't. Registration deadlines have already passed in six of these seven EPR states, with Maine being the only exception. Under California's SB 54, penalties can reach $50,000 a day. Track your packaging by material and weight. All seven states ask for it, so this is non-negotiable. Put the next dates on your calendar: Oregon's next invoice in January 2027, and California's full program on January 1, 2027. Before we wrap up, here are a few questions we hear a lot from brands trying to figure out where they stand. Is there a federal EPR law? No. Congress is considering recycling label bills, but none have passed. Who pays if the brand owner isn't based in the state? In California, responsibility moves to the brand's licensee, then to the first company that sells or distributes the product into the state. Does EPR apply if I sell online or ship into the state? Yes. Oregon's law applies to companies that sell into the state, and online sales count. California treats a sale as in-state when the product is delivered there. For the shipping box itself, Oregon and Colorado may make whoever packs and ships the order responsible for it. Do shipping boxes count under EPR? Yes. Shipping boxes and mailers count along with the product's own packaging. Oregon's law also covers food serviceware and printing paper. California's SB 54 covers single-use packaging, including shipping and transport packaging, plus plastic single-use food serviceware. Is an EPR fee a tax? Not exactly. You pay a nonprofit, and the state oversees how the fees are set. If you're rethinking your packaging because of EPR fees, EcoPackables can help you compare materials. We can walk you through what options are best for you and help you navigate the evolving EPR landscape.