Sponsorships and Speaking Engagements | 6 June 2024 | 11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. (MST)

Extended Producer Responsibility: Threat or Opportunity?

To shift the expense of packaging waste from taxpayers to consumer product manufacturers, four states covering 50 million consumers are implementing EPR regimes, with more sure to follow. California’s program requires manufacturers, collectively as a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO), to achieve aggressive targets for recyclable and compostable packaging, and to fund $500 million on top of funding improvements in waste collection and recycling infrastructure to achieve these targets. As a result, almost every package on retailers’ shelves will either change or face “eco-modulated” fees in the coming years. This panel will explain the unique structure of these laws and related laws regulating terms such as “recyclable” or “compostable,” as well as options for personal care product companies to confront this challenge.