Implementing EPR in Canada and the US made gains in 2024 through a mix of determination and creativity.
In Canada, the Yukon readied packaging and battery EPR programs, and after much consultation and effort the First Federal Plastic Registry neared completion. In the US, seven states amended or enacted ten EPR laws, some of which had been in the works for years. Two EPR laws were notably included in omnibus budget bills, after years of stalling as stand-alone Bills.
New EPR laws:
California
- Carpet – California’s Carpet Stewardship Program (Amendment)
- Paint – California’s Architectural Paint Recovery Program (Amendment)
- Textiles – SB707 The Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024
Illinois
- Batteries – Portable and Medium-Format Battery Stewardship Act
Maryland
- Paint – Maryland Paint Stewardship
Minnesota
- Boat wrap – Boat Wrap Product Stewardship Program
- Packaging – Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act
*Packaging and Boat Wrap EPR were included in a House Environmental Omnibus Bill
Vermont
- Batteries – An Act relating to including rechargeable batteries and battery-containing products under the State battery stewardship program (Amendment)
Washington
- Lighting – Mercury-Containing Lights Product Stewardship Program (Amendment)
Wisconsin
- Ewaste- E-Cycle Wisconsin (Amendment)
Federal
- There are no national US EPR laws, but in November the EPA published a strategy to eliminate plastic waste release into the environment, finalized National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, but it is only a strategy.
Even as there was progress on implementing and improving EPR regulations, there is confusion.
In addition to some differences in province or state EPR reporting requirements and covered products for the same waste stream, differences in definitions are being codified. In Wyoming for example under SF0080 – Solid waste management-definition amendments signed in March specifies that chemical recycling facilities, also called advanced recycling facilities, will be regulated as manufacturing facilities rather than as solid waste facilities. In Maine it is the opposite, with chemical recycling processes being regulated under the same rules as solid waste. Maine’s LD 1660 An Act to Ensure Proper Regulation of Chemical Plastic Processing signed into law in February, specifies that solid waste processing facilities would not be allowed to count “chemical plastic processing” as a recycling method for plastic waste.
What’s coming in 2025?
Canada
Federal
- First annual report to the Federal Plastics Registry is due 29 September 2025
Yukon
- Battery EPR will be implemented on 1 April 2025
- Packaging EPR will be implemented on 1 October 2025
United States
Some states prefilled EPR bills for the 2025 legislative session:
- New York – SB73 Relates to rechargeable battery recycling
- Washington – HB1107 Concerning environmental impacts of fashion, and SB5045 Expanding the state battery stewardship program to include electric vehicle batteries.
Colorado
- Packaging Producers must join a PRO by 1 July 2025
Maine
- Expected to adopt packaging EPR rules by Summer 2025
Maryland
- The Packaging EPR Advisory Council expects to receive a completed needs assessment to review, and then use to begin finalizing their EPR recommendations to the legislature, that are meant to inform future packaging EPR bills, by 1 February 2025
Minnesota
- Packaging Producers must join a PRO by 1 July 2025
Oregon
- Packaging and paper products EPR launches on 1 July 2025
- making Oregon the first state to go live with their packaging EPR program
Vermont
- Producers of rechargeable batteries and battery containing products must join a PRO by 1 June 2025
2025 will be an interesting, confusing, and exciting year for EPR. H2 can help you navigate the developing landscape.
cglobal-sales@erpsas.onmicrosoft.com
Published January 6, 2025
Image generated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence.