Washington vs. Oregon, California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland and Minnesota: EPR Laws Compared

How do the state laws compare, side by side?

The laws share a core, and the table sets out where they differ. Every cell comes from that state's own agency or legislature page, checked on 2026-09-21. Recheck a date before you rely on it. The last column gives the first date each source states plainly. Some are producer duties and others reporting or operator dates, so do not read across the rows. EPR means extended producer responsibility, and a PRO is a producer responsibility organization. DEQ, DEP, MDE, MPCA and CDPHE are the environment agencies of Oregon, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Colorado. The Washington row uses Ecology's name for chapter 70A.208 RCW, the Recycling Reform Act. The chapter's text never uses it.

Washington's dates are in our deadlines article.

Table sources:

• Washington: RCW 70A.208.020, RCW 70A.208.030, Ecology PRO.
• Oregon: DEQ program, DEQ producers, ORS 459A.
• California: CalRecycle SB 54, exemptions, PRC 42051.
• Colorado: CDPHE program, signed act.
• Maine: DEP program, 38 M.R.S. § 2146.
• Maryland: MDE program, MDE compliance guide, fiscal note, Chapter 431.
• Minnesota: MPCA program, Minn. Stat. 115A.1441, 115A.1443.

What differences matter most if you sell in several states?

Four things differ most: the sale bar (when a producer outside the program may not sell or distribute), whether an operator exists, the small producer line and the fee and definition rules.

What happens without participation, and when, differs by state:

• Washington: from March 1, 2029, a producer that is not a member in good standing with a registered PRO, or has not submitted an individual plan, may not introduce covered materials (RCW 70A.208.040(2)).
• Minnesota: after January 1, 2029, no producer may introduce covered materials without a written agreement with a PRO to operate under an approved stewardship plan (Minn. Stat. 115A.1448).
• Colorado: as of July 2025, no sale or distribution of products using covered materials without participating (CDPHE).
• California: from January 1, 2027, or plan approval if sooner, no sale unless approved to participate in a PRO plan, with an exception (PRC 42051(b)).
• Maryland: from October 29, 2028, or a later date MDE identifies, no sale without an approved plan (MDE compliance guide).
• Maine: one calendar year after the DEP contract with the stewardship organization takes effect, with an exception (38 M.R.S. § 2146(4)).
• Oregon: DEQ says failing to register or become a member of a PRO can result in fines of up to $25,000 per day.

Maine is the outlier on operators. Its statute has DEP select a stewardship organization by contract. DEP's news list shows an August 20, 2026 announcement that no proposals were submitted as of the deadline, and a September 11, 2026 notice that DEP will revise its request. In the other states the agency's page names CAA as the PRO.

The revenue figure is $5,000,000 in Washington, inflation adjusted from January 1, 2031. Oregon's is $5 million. Colorado enacted $5 million and adjusts it yearly. Maine, Maryland and Minnesota use $2,000,000, and California uses $1 million. The same producer can qualify for an exemption under one line and miss it under another.

CAA's fee-setting page says its fee method will be used consistently across states but fee rates will vary by state. Its registration page tells each company to check each state's producer definition. DEQ says Oregon's 25 largest producers must conduct and disclose life cycle impact evaluations.

What do the laws have in common?

Producers fund the work, each law has an organization run it, and fees can reward better packaging.

Every agency page or statute read for the table says producers pay. Fee rules point the same way. Oregon's ORS 459A.884(4) calls for lower fees for covered products with a lower environmental impact. California's PRC 42053(d)(1) gives lower fees to material that is easier and less expensive to recycle or compost. Colorado, Maine and Minnesota describe incentives for better design. Maryland's fiscal note describes an eco-modulation of fees based on recycled content. Washington's RCW 70A.208.160(2)(c) lists design attributes, and the statute sets no rate. See our eco-modulation article.

How can you keep one set of packaging data for every state?

Keep one product level record and cut it by state when you report. This layout is our own method, not a state requirement. Each item reflects something a source above asks for:

• Brand, and every affiliated company that is also obligated (CAA's reporting page).
• Each component's material type and weight. CAA lists sales and packaging weights, and Maine's DEP says reports are by packaging material type.
• Units sold into each state in the prior year. Washington's fee rule looks at the prior year, per unit (RCW 70A.208.160(2)(a)).
• Recycled content and design attributes, which Maine, Maryland and Washington name as fee factors.
• Your role for each product in each state, such as manufacturer, brand owner or importer.

CAA says reporting requirements vary by state, so cut the same record differently each time.

Common questions

How is Washington's EPR law different from Oregon's?

Oregon's law passed in 2021, and DEQ's page gives March 31, 2025 as the first supply report date. Washington's passed in 2025, and its first producer date is January 1, 2026 (RCW 70A.208.030(1)). Both agencies name CAA as the PRO. DEQ says Oregon's 25 largest producers owe a life cycle evaluation duty.

Which states have packaging EPR laws?

Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland and Minnesota, the seven in the table. Maine's was still contracting its operator at this article's last verification date. No other state was checked, so the list may be incomplete. Use each agency page in the table for current status.

Do I have to comply in every state?

Each state applies its own law to producers as that law defines them. CAA says each company must review the producer definition under each state's packaging EPR law and determine whether it is a covered producer. Do not assume that meeting one law counts under another.

Do other states use the same PRO?

Mostly. The agencies in Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Maryland and Minnesota each name CAA as the PRO. Maine had none at our check. Colorado's CDPHE says a producer may also need to register with Interchange 360, and Ecology has approved it in Washington as a group of producers intending to operate an alternative collection program.

Which states have a small producer exemption?

Every state in the table has one, under different names and lines. Washington, Maryland and Minnesota use "de minimis producer." Oregon and California use "small producer." Colorado and Maine list producer exemptions by revenue, tons and other tests. California's is by application.

What to do next

1. List every state you sell or ship packaged goods into, and the products that go to each.
2. Open each agency page from the table and check its producer definition and small producer line against your numbers.
3. Recheck the open dates. Maine had no fixed date, and Maryland's sale bar can move to a later date MDE identifies.
4. Build the record above: one line per component, with material, weight, brand and units by state.
5. Read what the Recycling Reform Act is and CAA's role. To weigh hiring help, see this comparison.

I am a Distinguished Committee Member of the SWANA Sustainable Materials Management Technical Division and a juror for the NYSAR3 Recycling Leadership Awards, both since 2023.

The Washington EPR Compliance Assessment marks which rows and which state pages apply to the states you ship into.

Get the Washington EPR Compliance Assessment

General information, not legal advice.