Maryland became the sixth state to enact extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation for packaging, when the governor signed the measure into law.
The law, which was supported by industry groups such as AMERIPEN—American Institute for Packaging and the Environment and the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA), calls for the implementation to start in July 2026.
“Notably, FPA successfully secured a limited exemption for protein packaging from certain performance goals where infrastructure is not currently developed, marking the first time this exemption has made it into a packaging EPR law,” according to an FPA statement about the law signed May 13, 2025, by Gov. Wes Moore.
The other states with EPR laws are California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, and Oregon.
EPR laws require the producers of packaging waste to be responsible for how it is handled in the waste stream, with the intent of keeping it out of landfills.