Staying Ahead of Product Stewardship Laws

19 May, 2026

Staying Ahead of Product Stewardship Laws

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) can no longer be put off. Seven U.S. states already have packaging EPR legislation on the books, battery stewardship mandates are rolling out, and enforcement deadlines with real financial teeth are coming between now and 2030. When the first wave of penalties lands, the companies still in wait-and-see mode will be scrambling.

Taking the lead on EPR can give businesses a real advantage, including lower waste management costs, cleaner ESG reporting, and a stronger story to tell customers who are increasingly concerned about what happens to products after they’re done with them.

Why EPR Is Growing So Fast

Basically, EPR shifts the costs of collecting, recycling, and managing end-of-life products from cities and taxpayers back to the companies that made or sold them. That means if you build electronics, sell batteries, or put packaged goods on a shelf, you will be affected by EPR laws.

California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington have all passed packaging EPR laws, each with definitions of who is a “producer,” fee structures, and implementation timelines. Illinois, Nebraska, Connecticut, and Vermont have adopted battery stewardship legislation. California passed SB 707, the nation’s first EPR law for textiles and apparel. And the EPA is working on a national battery EPR framework that could someday provide some federal-level structure to what is now a chaotic patchwork of state-by-state rules. 

Why is this all happening now? Consumers expect brands to take responsibility for sustainability. Then there is also the ESG pressure from investors and boards, making inaction harder to justify. For companies selling into Europe, the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation came into force in February 2025, with requirements taking effect in August 2026, pulling global supply chains toward compliance, whether or not U.S. law requires it yet. 

Proactive Steps to Comply 

EPR impacts finance (new fees), legal (new liability), supply chain (collection logistics), and operations (reporting workflows). To get ahead of it, you need to know where the impact lands and build systems before deadlines force a scramble.

1. Understand Your Reporting Obligations Before the Deadlines 

The new EPR laws include reporting requirements on packaging data such as material types, weights, and recyclability classifications. But getting it right is harder than it sounds, so make sure to audit your packaging and product information now. Work with suppliers to fill in missing information on material composition and clarify who owns the EPR reporting internally. It is also necessary to ensure coordination among the finance, procurement, and sustainability teams to avoid late or inaccurate reporting.

2. Build EPR Costs Into Your Budget 

The next wave of programs will introduce eco-modulated fees, in which what you pay is directly tied to the recyclability of your packaging. For instance, those classified as easy to recycle get lower fees, while those that are hard to recycle or end up in a landfill cost more. To take advantage of this, begin budgeting for it as a regular line item. Work with your packaging team to model the impact of material choices on fee exposure. And watch out for eco-modulation frameworks as they begin to kick in, because the gap between the cheapest and most expensive packaging categories will only widen.

3. Turn Compliance Into a Competitive Advantage

EPR compliance is about real savings in disposal, getting more value out of materials, and eliminating the waste that was costing you money in the first place. And companies that build take-back programs ahead of the mandate, rather than in a panicked response to it, earn credibility with customers, investors, and regulators.

Stay Ahead With Close the Loop

EPR initiatives are not going to slow down. The state count is increasing, product categories are growing, and enforcement mechanisms are getting tougher. The winners will be the companies that see this as an opportunity to lower costs, improve reporting, and build a sustainability story that stands up to scrutiny. That’s where Close the Loop comes in. 

We handle the front-end logistics required by EPR compliance. And we also design and manage the program from end to end, whether you need consumer mail-back kits, retail drop-off coordination, or bulk collection from distributed facilities. On the processing side, we process hard-to-recycle materials that most recyclers won’t touch, including electronics, batteries, toner cartridges (using our patented TonerPlas technology), and complex packaging, all with our zero-landfill guarantee and e-Stewards certification. Contact us today to get started.