Responsible Packaging Requirements: The Hidden Cost on Retailers

On March 19, Jamie Szal and Adam Mooney presented the latest webinar in Brann & Isaacson’s webinar series, B&I University. They discussed one of the newest regulatory trends to impact retailers, brands, manufacturers, and importers across the United States: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Programs.

ERP Programs are state-enforced initiatives that shift recycling and waste management costs from states onto “producers”. If your business manufactures, sells, or imports packaged goods, you could be considered a producer. And if so, these regulations could impact you. As of March 2025, seven states have put rules into place with Maine being the first state in the nation to sign a program into law.

“You really want to think about this as responsible packaging,” explained Jamie in the webinar. “And what obligations you as a retailer, or brand owner, or manufacturer may have in this new world— where states are starting to require businesses take on the cost of recycling packaging and other single use products in response to what has been a high level of consumer demand.”

Jamie and Adam defined who a ‘producer’ is and how careful companies need to be in analyzing whether they fall into this category. They offered several examples. For instance, where a manufacturer and/or brand is located outside of the U.S., who the ‘producer’ subject to the compliance requirements is will flow to the next business in the supply chain located within the U.S., typically the retailer.

They covered the various exceptions, including the small producer exception and how this is defined across the various states. Jamie and Adam closed with the next steps businesses need to take, such as joining a producer responsibility organization (PRO) and keeping abreast of the effective dates and deadlines.

Be sure to check out our next B&I University webinar on May 21 at 12pm ET. At just 30 minutes long, these webinars offer practical overviews of some of the most talked-about matters facing our clients.

If you have questions about EPR Programs or this webinar series, please contact Jamie Szal at jszal@brannlaw.com.