As we begin 2026, the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) wanted to provide our glass container industry colleagues with an update on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging laws in the US.

Based on the calls and emails over the past couple of months, it is apparent that many international manufacturers and more importantly, their customers, seem caught unaware that there have been several new state laws implemented recently, despite approximately 20% of these consumers living in states with EPR for packaging.

The GPI is working daily across all these jurisdictions to improve how glass is treated under the law and reduce costs for producers and suppliers who use glass. The following section outlines the policy for each state, organized chronologically by the date on which the fees will be implemented.

Oregon

Oregon producer fees were official in July 2025. But just because it was first does not mean the rest of the states will follow, and it will be an outlier in terms of state law impacts on glass.

Of the seven states that passed laws, Oregon arguably had the most advanced recycling system in place prior to the law, and glass was recycled well there compared to the rest of the country, at nearly 75%.

The Oregon law was supposedly only going to ask the private sector to fund activities aimed at plastic reduction, as well as the hardest to recycle materials and packaging. However, the State Department of Environmental Quality has turned it into an expensive program seeking to reach deep into end-markets. For a state that handled glass efficiently, it is an expensive outlier for glass due to the regulatory focus on weight and use of life-cycle assessments to make almost every decision.

I will review Oregon in detail, and why it should be isolated, next month.

Maine

Maine was actually the first to pass its law but has yet to finalise regulations. Data reporting is not scheduled until mid-2026, with fees potentially due in late 2026.

Maine is the smallest of the states to pass EPR in the US, and for glass, has the most expansive bottle deposit system, so most of the glass is exempt.

Food jars will remain, and Maine has seemed open to an independent or alternative management plan for materials like glass.

Colorado

Colorado is likely the state which will announce a fee schedule next. Colorado’s program differs from those in both Oregon and Maine, and it serves as the model for most states other than California.

I am a member of the CO State EPR Advisory Board, and we have worked diligently to keep glass fees lower in Colorado. The state agency charged with overseeing the program is reviewing the final plan now and will soon determine whether the final plan is approved, initiating the announcement and collection of producer fees in Q1 2026. We expect the glass impacts to be far less than Oregon. Colorado has incentivized the circular domestic use of recycled content as well, something that all states should implement.

California

The next, and biggest, program to move forward in 2026 will be California, which is gearing toward a January 1, 2027, start date.

There is a lot to be finalized before that happens, and the state in many ways is the opposite of Oregon. Comprehensive, with a decidedly different focus on plastic source reduction, which could be good for new glass market opportunities.

California expanded the beverage container deposit return program the same year it passed the EPR for packaging, adding wine and spirits containers to the traditional beer, water, soda and other non-alcoholic beverage mix that is exempt from EPR fees in the state.

Consequently, food, dairy, and other limited products in glass are covered.

California is nearly 10 times the size of Oregon, the second smallest market, which is why California has a much greater long-term impact.

Minnesota

Minnesota enacted its law in 2024 but drew on the experiences of the first four states to build more time into its rules and regulations.

Some of the basic elements from Colorado’s structure were built into Minnesota, Maryland and Washington, and the sponsors of the bills started to coordinate more.

In addition, more external stakeholder meetings were held to harmonize the next set of states, so while there are differences among them, they are more alike than the first four.

Minnesota will take most of 2026 and 2027 to finalize regulations and plans for a program that starts with fees in 2029.

Maryland

Maryland started with a needs assessment inventory of how the state recycling infrastructure was prepared to handle EPR and then enacted a bill earlier this year.

I also serve on the Maryland EPR Advisory Council.

Maryland did well to preserve options for dual-stream collection systems that improve quality. It is also working to improve circular end-markets, but the details will need to be worked out in regulations. Expect fees in 2028 and operations in 2029.

Washington

Washington legislators had been meeting for at least four years before finally passing an EPR for packaging bill in late Spring 2025.

The state is now organizing the implementation and regulations for a program that is due to start in Q1 2029.

Glass can be treated fairly if the rules acknowledge the impact of contamination on its commodity value and provide options for separate collection, but we will need to be vigilant that the state regulations reflect the law’s purpose.

Other states

There are several states that have been debating an EPR for packaging, and we could see several of them in action in 2026. We will share more about these states in Q1 2026, but here is a preview:

This article was originally published in the January/2026 issue of Glass International, available here.