Home › Guides

EPR compliance guides

Country by country and waste stream by waste stream: who is obligated, registration, reporting deadlines, compliance schemes and penalties. Every guide is built from official legal texts and reviewed by our team before publication. All guides are examples of analyses produced by EPR Specialist: for questions about your own products and obligations, ask the EPR Specialist assistant directly.

USA, California packaging EPR guide: Producers must join an approved PRO to sell in California (2026)
Under Section 42051(b), from January 1, 2027 or plan approval if sooner, you may not sell, offer, import or distribute covered materials in California unless you are approved to participate in a department-approved PRO plan. A new producer after that date must join within six months. Individual compliance is available only if the department agrees, at its sole discretion. Whether or not you are in a PRO, file your primary business address with the department and report any change within 30 days. If you are in a PRO, give it the data it needs for source reduction reporting. Non-compliance can bring an administrative civil penalty of up to $50,000 per day per violation.
USA, California · packaging · Last verified 2026-11-06

Get the weekly EPR digest. A short summary of what changed in EPR regulation, every Monday — free, no account needed.