2025 is a big year for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging laws in the United States (US), with Oregon and other states with key implementation dates this year. Oregon is on track to be the first state to kick off their program, requiring ~2,000 registered producers to submit 2024 packaging data related to operations in Oregon by March 31st.
To date, five states in the US have passed and are implementing EPR for packaging programs, including Oregon, Colorado, Maine, California, and, most recently, Minnesota. As we are nearly four months into 2025, we wanted to highlight which states have introduced or reintroduced EPR for packaging laws to their legislatures.
States include: Tennessee, Washington, and New York
Tennessee — Waste to Jobs Act
With landfills at capacity and low statewide recycling rates for packaging and other materials, State Senator Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) reintroduced an EPR for packaging bill in January of this year. The bill, titled the Tennessee Waste to Jobs Act (TWTJ), plans to use funding from multinational companies to “expand waste services and create jobs for Tennessee residents.”
The Waste to Jobs Act was reintroduced and renamed from the bill that was introduced in January of 2023, the Tennessee Waste Reduction and Recycling Act. The rebranding is an effort to help highlight how EPR can work to create jobs (estimated more than 7,700), support businesses in Tennessee and across the nation, and make Tennessee a hub for recycling and recycled materials.
State Senator Campbell was quoted in a Resource Recycling article stating:
“We’re kind of approaching it a little differently. We are really framing this as a business centric bill, a bill that builds jobs, a bill that brings money into the state and gives us the opportunity to be the lead state in material aggregation and distribution.”
The state has a long way to go in this regard; the same article highlights how Tennessee currently ranks 48/50 in the nation for recycling and only 47% of state residents have access to recycling services. The Waste to Jobs Act is expected to create thousands of jobs while increasing recycling rates by up to “355%” according to Campbell.
The focus on job creation, economic benefits, and giving more power to producers and organizations to guide program development is Campbell’s strategy to help the bill get traction in the Republican-controlled legislature—with the goal of becoming the first red state to pass an EPR for packaging bill.
With the TWTJ, Tennessee is set to position itself as a key market for recycled packaging materials in the southeast, as it borders eight states with meager recycling rates and infrastructure when compared to the national average.
Follow the progress and updates related to the Waste to Jobs Act (SB0296 / HB0600) here.
Washington — Recycling Reform Act
The state of Washington is looking to join its neighbors California and Oregon by passing an EPR for packaging law with the introduction of a new act to the state legislature—the Recycling Reform Act (HB 1150 / SB 5284). Spearheaded by state Senator Liz Lovelett (D-Anacortes) and Representative Liz Berry (D-Seattle), the law would create a system in which manufacturers, brands, and other producers fund recycling services across the state.
The Recycling Reform Act, introduced in January of this year, is the third attempt from state officials to introduce an EPR for packaging bill in the state, following the failure of the Washington Recycling and Packaging Act (WRAP Act) to receive a vote on the house floor in 2023. Waste Dive notes that this was due to industry pressure from the American Chemistry Council, American Forest & Paper Association, and other groups.
Similar to other EPR laws in the US, HB 1150 would require identified producers to join a PRO or register with the state individually and pay fees based on the types of packaging materials entered onto the market in Washington. The Washington State Standard notes that if producers are not members of a PRO or registered with the state by March 2029, they will be prohibited from selling products into the state.
Furthermore, the Washington Department of Ecology would use collected producer fees to invest in statewide recycling infrastructure and create education campaigns to boost resident participation in proper recycling practices.
State investments from an EPR program could have massive benefits for Washington’s waste management practices and infrastructure. The Senate Democrats Washington site notes that only 58% of jurisdictions have access to curbside recycling programs, with eleven counties having no access at all. The same site highlights that the new bill was modeled after Minnesota’s EPR bill that passed in 2024, including a lengthy implementation timeline.
Follow the status and progression of Washington’s newly introduced EPR bill here.
New York — Affordable Waste Reduction Act
Legislators in the state of New York are also working to make progress on an EPR for packaging bill in 2025 with the introduction of the Affordable Waste Reduction Act (S5062). The bill, sponsored by state Senator Monica R. Martinez (D-WF), would add an amendment to article 27 of the Environmental Conservation Law.
The introduction of S5062 follows Senate Bill S4246D, introduced in 2023 but failed to pass in 2024 before the end of the legislative session. All EPR bills that have been introduced in New York thus far have worked to amend the Environmental Conservation Law, with S4246D the closest to pass to date.
S5062 will work to “define terms; provides for registration of producer responsibility organizations and service providers; establishes the producer responsibility advisory board.” Similar to Washington’s newly introduced EPR bill, this law was modeled after legislation in Minnesota.
In the words of the bill:
“The legislation is intended to establish an effective, efficient program that will minimize costs and inconveniences for consumers, while providing material producers with a workable, affordable program to increase recycling and reuse of their packaging and paper products.”
It is important to note that this is not the only EPR bill filed in the New York state legislature in this calendar year, as state Senator Pete Harckham and Assembly member Deborah Glick introduced S1464 and A1749 in January. These bills, as Politico reports, are currently facing opposition from plastic and food producers, as more than 100 companies and industry organizations came together to write a letter to New York lawmakers citing concerns about the bill and noted California’s recent delay with SB 54.
Politico highlights that the group writing to New York lawmakers favors Martinez’s bill, which is more similar to Minnesota’s approach and is “far more lenient in terms of targets and would give power to companies, allowing them to set up the organizations that establish targets and other provisions.”
With the delay in California, it will be interesting to see if other states follow suit and delay the implementation of their programs—all eyes on Oregon, Colorado, Maine, and Minnesota . . .
Read more on EPR for Packaging in the US
The EPR for packaging space in the US is evolving quickly, with Oregon set to be the first state to kick off their program this summer (July 2025).
Interested in reading more on EPR for packaging in the US, check out these research blogs:
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