Washington and Maryland Enact Packaging EPR Laws

Two states took significant steps toward circular economy leadership this month. Washington and Maryland enacted Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws for packaging, sending a signal that the national momentum behind sustainable packaging is accelerating. These measures shift the financial burden of recycling from local governments to the companies that produce packaging, aligning economic incentives with environmental responsibility.

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed Senate Bill 5284, a sweeping EPR law for packaging and paper products, on May 17. Maryland enacted SB 901 into law on May 13. The policies significantly shift who pays for recycling and how materials are handled in both states.

These laws brought the national EPR movement to eight states, including California, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Maine, and New York. The path to a national EPR framework is beginning to take shape.

“By requiring companies to fund the collection, sorting, and processing of packaging and paper products, EPR not only reduces waste but incentivizes the design of more sustainable materials,” the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators said on the signing of SB 5284.

Transferring Responsibility

The new laws place the financial and operational responsibility for recycling packaging on the companies that produce it. In Washington, producers will be required to fund the design and operation of a statewide recycling system that will serve nearly all state residents by 2030. Governor Ferguson said the bill represents the “biggest overhaul of our recycling system in decades.”

Washington joins California and Oregon, which previously passed EPR legislation, unifying the West Coast to reinvent recycling for the 21st Century.

Washington Impacts

Senate Bill 5284 is one of the country’s most detailed and progressive EPR laws. It requires producers of consumer packaging and paper products to:

• Join a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO), an industry-funded entity that will manage the EPR program, by July 1, 2027. That group, once established, will develop and submit stewardship plans to the Washington Department of Ecology.
• Ensure curbside recycling access for 90% of the population by 2031, including multi-family homes traditionally ignored by recycling programs.
• Provide non-curbside options, like packaging drop-off points, for at least 90% of the remaining population.
• Industry must cover at least 90% of the net cost of the recycling system, including collection, processing, and education campaigns.
• Clearly label all packaging with standardized recycling instructions by 2032.
• Eliminate specific problematic materials, including harmful PFAS-treated paper and hard-to-recycle plastics such as PVC and expanded polystyrene, from the recycling stream by 2029.

The law emphasizes equity, requiring that the recycling system be accessible across geographic, economic, and cultural lines, with special attention to rural, tribal, and overburdened communities. Washington’s Department of Ecology will lead oversight, enforcement, and reporting. Penalties for noncompliance range up to $1,000 per violation per day, rising to $10,000 per day for repeated violations.

Maryland Impact

Delivering the same benefits to households, with greater access to curbside collection and drop-off locations, Maryland’s law requires producers of packaging and paper products to join a PRO and gradually assume the financial responsibilities of local recycling programs on a more aggressive schedule than in Washington.

• By July 1, 2026, Producers must join a PRO
• By July 1, 2028, PROs must submit performance plans
• By July 2028, Producers must shoulder 50% of the net costs by July 2028
• By July 2029, Producers will cover 75% of the expenses by July 2029
• By July 2030, 90% of costs will fall on producers
• The law also integrates eco-modulated fees, which reward producers who use recyclable or compostable packaging.

Maryland’s Department of the Environment will oversee implementation and enforcement.

What Happens Next

These laws arrived as Circle Economy, a nonprofit research organization, reported that global recovery and processing of materials fell for the eighth consecutive year. As public frustration with confusing recycling systems and corporate waste grows, legislation like SB 5284 and SB 901 offers blueprints for systemic change, with manufacturers finally on the hook for the waste they create. These new costs could finally move packaging makers to embrace circularity to reduce their reliance on single-use materials.

More than a dozen other EPR bills are under consideration in state legislatures nationwide.