What Is Washington's Recycling Reform Act and Who Does It Apply To?
What does extended producer responsibility mean?
Extended producer responsibility means the company that puts a product's packaging into the market pays for that packaging's collection and recycling, not just the shoppers who buy it. RCW 70A.208.010(2)(a) states the legislature's intent: to require extended producer responsibility programs for consumer packaging and paper products to be implemented in a manner that involves producers in material management from design concept to end of life. The law ties a producer's cost to the packaging choices it makes at the design stage, not only to what happens after a shopper throws something away.
The legislature explained why. RCW 70A.208.010(1) finds that Washington's statewide waste recovery rate had been generally static since 2011 as of 2025, that the state was not meeting the 50 percent recycling goal set in 1989, and that many residents in rural areas and multifamily buildings lack convenient or affordable curbside recycling. The Recycling Reform Act is chapter 70A.208 RCW's answer to that finding, not a separate program.
Who pays and who runs the program?
Three different parties do three different jobs, and mixing them up is the most common confusion.
| Role | Who fills it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Producer | The company responsible for an item's packaging or paper, as chapter 70A.208 RCW defines it | Pays fees. By January 1, 2026, each producer must appoint a producer responsibility organization to address its covered materials (RCW 70A.208.030(1)) |
| Producer responsibility organization | An organization registered with Ecology, most often one shared by many producers | Runs the program: registers with Ecology, submits a plan, collects producer fees, and reimburses service providers |
| Service provider | Haulers, processors and other companies that collect or sort covered materials | Gets reimbursed through the plan the producer responsibility organization runs |
A producer does not deal with Ecology directly for most of this work. It joins a producer responsibility organization, and that organization registers, plans and pays on the producer's behalf. Read what a producer responsibility organization does and how to join one for the detail on that relationship, and Circular Action Alliance's role in Washington for the organization Ecology has been working with.
What does the law actually cover?
At a high level, chapter 70A.208 RCW covers packaging and paper products sold or supplied to a consumer for personal, noncommercial use. That includes the boxes, wrap, containers and cushioning that carry a product to a shopper, and paper items such as flyers, catalogs, magazines and similar printed paper. It does not reach every kind of packaging: some materials, such as packaging for bulk construction supplies, sit outside the law's covered materials. The exact list of what counts and what does not is its own topic. See what packaging and paper materials the law covers for the full breakdown.
Whether your business is the producer for a given item, and whether your business is small enough to fall outside the law entirely, are also separate questions. Start with the coverage checklist to work through your own products, and the de minimis exemption if your tonnage or revenue is low. If you bring products into Washington without a clear manufacturer or brand owner in the state, read the first distributor rule.
Who has to follow the Recycling Reform Act?
Producers of covered packaging and paper products, unless they meet the small business exemption known as the de minimis producer test. The law sets duties for producers in RCW 70A.208.040, and it also touches producer responsibility organizations, service providers and, for narrow purposes, any person Ecology asks for information. RCW 70A.208.900(3) says no penalty under the chapter may be assessed on an individual or resident for improperly disposing of covered materials in a noncommercial or residential setting. The law regulates businesses, not the recycling habits of a household.
What are the key dates and what happens if you miss them?
Chapter 70A.208 RCW sets its dates over several years, starting with the January 1, 2026 deadline to appoint a producer responsibility organization. Missing a deadline can carry a cost. See the full list of dates from 2026 to 2030 and what non-compliance can cost your business rather than relying on a single date here.
Common questions
What is the Washington Recycling Reform Act?
It is Ecology's name for chapter 70A.208 RCW, a law passed in 2025 that makes producers of packaging and paper pay for and help run Washington's recycling system. The chapter's own text does not use the phrase "Recycling Reform Act"; it is the name Ecology gives the law on its website.
Who has to follow the Recycling Reform Act?
Producers of covered packaging and paper products sold to consumers for personal, noncommercial use, unless they meet the de minimis producer test in RCW 70A.208.020(16). Producer responsibility organizations and service providers also have their own duties under the chapter, separate from a producer's duties.
Is the Recycling Reform Act the same as EPR?
The Recycling Reform Act is Washington's version of an extended producer responsibility, or EPR, law. RCW 70A.208.010(2)(a) states the legislature's intent to require extended producer responsibility programs for packaging and paper. Other states have their own EPR packaging laws with different names and different rules; see how Washington compares to six other states.
What is chapter 70A.208 RCW?
It is the section of the Revised Code of Washington that contains the Recycling Reform Act, made up of numbered sections such as RCW 70A.208.010 through RCW 70A.208.900. Every section carries the session law note 2025 c 316, tying the chapter to the bill the legislature passed in 2025.
Who pays for recycling under the Recycling Reform Act?
Producers pay fees to a producer responsibility organization, which uses that money to run the program and reimburse the service providers that collect and process covered materials. RCW 70A.208.160(1) lets a registered producer responsibility organization charge each member producer a fee based on market share or another equitable method, sized to cover its costs. The statute does not set a fee amount; the organization and its approved plan do.
What to do next
- Find out if you are a producer. Work through the coverage checklist for your specific products.
- Check the small business exemption. If your tonnage or revenue is low, read the de minimis exemption before you assume the law applies.
- Learn what your producer responsibility organization does. See what a producer responsibility organization is and how to join one.
- Mark the deadlines that apply to you. The 2026 to 2030 date list has them in order.
- See the law applied to real products. Two illustrative scenarios walk through a dairy and a cleaning products company.
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.
Not sure where your business fits in this law? The Washington EPR Compliance Assessment maps your product list against the statute and tells you exactly where you fit.
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General information, not legal advice.