Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): The Future of Packaging

Packaging is essential to modern commerce, yet it remains one of the largest contributors to global waste. About 40% of the world’s plastic waste originates from packaging. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is improving the traditional waste management model by shifting the financial and operational responsibility for products’ end of life from government to producers themselves. The aim is to reduce waste, design for recyclability, and accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

A global shift to adopt EPR

Many countries have started adopting regulations that hold producers accountable for their packaging’s full life cycle. In the European Union, new rules require all packaging to be recyclable by 2030 and set ambitious targets for recycled content, while restricting certain single-use plastics. The United Kingdom complements its EPR program with a plastic packaging tax that incentivizes higher recycled content in plastic packaging. In Canada, provincial EPR programs have been rolling out between 2023 and 2025, requiring that plastic packaging contain at least 50% recycled content by 2030. In the United States, several states have introduced packaging EPR laws, where fee structure is tied to recyclability and material type. While the details vary, the trend is that producers are increasingly responsible for reducing packaging waste and improving packaging designs.

What to expect from packaging EPR

Packaging design will start from the end. EPR establishes recyclability as a design requirement. In designing packaging, businesses will need to start with how the materials will be collected, sorted, and processed through existing recycling infrastructure. This will drive greater adoption of mono-material that is easier to recycle, while discouraging multi-material packaging that is more difficult to recycle.

Life-cycle assessments will drive material choices. Producers must evaluate the composition of their packaging and its environmental impact across the entire life cycle. Life-cycle assessments (LCA) will become a standard practice, with recyclability, carbon emissions, and recovery rates serving as key performance indicators. These metrics will influence fee structures under EPR schemes, creating eco-modulation benefits for packaging with better environmental performance.

The use of “recyclable” on labels will be restricted. States vary widely in what packaging material qualifies as recyclable, based on local infrastructure and processing capabilities. If the local recycling infrastructure does not accept the material, it cannot be labeled as recyclable. This has led to stringent regulations on packaging claims and labeling to prevent misleading “recyclable” claims. Businesses must carefully align packaging design and labeling with local recycling capabilities to comply with these regulations. 

Businesses will need to plan for the cost of compliance. EPR requires businesses to collect and report detailed packaging data, including material type, weight, and composition. Currently, packaging EPR programs are coordinated through the Circular Action Alliance (CAA), a nonprofit producer responsibility organization designated to ensure compliance. Producers submit packaging data to CAA, which calculates fees and manages recycling obligations on their behalf. Fees are typically determined based on these factors and the recyclability of different materials. For example, flexible polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) packaging often incur higher fees than fiber-based materials due to their lower recyclability and recovery rates. Staying on top of these requirements demands data management systems to ensure compliance and cost efficiency.

EPR is reshaping the packaging industry. For sustainability professionals and businesses alike, EPR represents a convergence of policy, design, and systems thinking, challenging us to innovate across materials science, reverse logistics, and circular business models. With EPR gaining ground globally and in the U.S., the question is no longer whether it will affect your packaging strategy. The question is how prepared you are to leverage these upcoming regulations as a foundation for competitive advantage in an evolving circular economy.