Am I an obligated producer?
Seven US states now run packaging EPR programmes, and each applies its own test. Here is how to work out your own answer, state by state, without hiring anyone.
There are two separate questions hiding inside “am I obligated”, and mixing them up is the most common way brands reach the wrong answer. The first is are you the producer — the party the law puts the obligation on for a given item of packaging. The second is are you above the threshold in a particular state. You have to answer them in that order, because a brand that is not the producer never reaches the threshold question at all.
Question one: are you the producer?
Each state defines the producer through a hierarchy, and while the wording differs the shape is consistent. For packaging on a branded consumer product sold in the US, the obligation normally lands on the brand owner — the entity whose name or trademark is on the product. Not the co-packer who filled it, not the converter who made the film, not the retailer who sold it.
Three situations flip that, and they are worth checking against your own catalogue:
- Private label. If you manufacture a product sold under a retailer’s brand, the retailer is usually the producer for that packaging, not you. A co-manufacturer with a mixed book of branded and private-label work is the producer for some of its output and not others.
- Imports. Where the brand owner has no US presence, the obligation typically moves down the chain to the importer of record.
- No brand at all. For unbranded packaging the obligation generally sits with whoever first distributes it into the state.
The practical consequence: producer status is not one answer for your company. It can differ by SKU, by brand, by sales channel and by state. Venable put it plainly in its March 2026 note to CPG brands — determining who the producer is “is not a one-time answer.”
Question two: are you above the threshold?
Only if you are the producer does this matter. Every state exempts small producers, and no two states use the same test.
| State | Revenue test | Tonnage test | Exempt if under | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon SB 582 (Recycling Modernization Act) | $5,000,000 global revenue | 1 tonne into the state | either test | charging now |
| Colorado HB 22-1355 | $500,000 global revenue | 1 tonne into the state | either test | charging now |
| California SB 54 (Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act) | $1,000,000 in-state gross sales | — | either test | Jan 2027 |
| Washington E2SSB 5284 (Recycling Reform Act) | $5,000,000 global revenue | — | either test | Jul 2029 |
| Maryland SB 901 | $2,000,000 global revenue | 1 tonne into the state | either test | Jan 2028 |
| Minnesota HF 3911 (Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act) | $2,000,000 global revenue | 1 tonne into the state | either test | Feb 2029 |
| Maine LD 1541 / LD 1423 | $2,000,000 global revenue | 1 tonne into the state | either test | Dec 2026 |
First, California measures something different. Oregon and Washington look at your global revenue against a $5M line. California’s threshold is $1M in gross annual sales — five times lower. Concluding correctly that you are a small producer in Oregon tells you nothing about California, which is also the largest state by covered volume.
Second, in California the exemption is not automatic. CalRecycle requires a producer to register in its PEPRS system first and then apply for the small producer exemption. Staying quiet because you believe you are under the line is not the same as being exempt.
What being obligated actually requires
Three things, in this order, and only the third costs money:
- Register with the producer responsibility organisation. Circular Action Alliance is the only approved PRO in all seven states, one registration covers them, and registration is free. This is the first legal obligation and it is the one most commonly skipped.
- Report your supply data — how much of each packaging material you placed on each state’s market, by weight.
- Pay the fee assessed on that data, in the states that have started charging.
What it costs to ignore
| Oregon | Class 1 violation, civil penalties up to $25,000 per day; Oregon DOJ may bar sale of the producer's products in state. |
| Colorado | Enforcement by CDPHE; producers below ~$5.5M revenue may register as low-volume producers rather than pay full fees. |
| California | CalRecycle enforcement; producers can be found delinquent by the PRO and referred to the state. |
| Washington | Minimum $1,000 for a first violation, escalating. |
| Maryland | $5,000 first violation; $10,000 second; $20,000 each subsequent violation. |
| Minnesota | Up to $100,000 per day for successive violations. |
| Maine | Maine DEP enforcement. |
Oregon has moved first on enforcement. Its DEQ began publishing a quarterly producer status list in April 2026, naming producers who have not complied. The first list carried 250 companies.