A variety of complex packaging regulations are coming up fast and furious in both the United States and Europe, creating some confusion for businesses that will be affected by new rules. Leaders from packaging policy organizations U.S.-based Ameripen and Europe-based Europen broke down important points to help manufacturers and others prepare during a virtual event they hosted Wednesday.
For European entities, attention is largely toward the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation slated to go into effect in August 2026. Provisions include EU member states reducing packaging waste by 5% by 2030, 10% by 2035 and 15% by 2040, compared with a 2018 baseline.
In the United States, the key focal area is certain states’ extended producer responsibility for packaging laws, said Lynn Dyer, executive director at Ameripen. While seven states have passed such EPR laws and three more have launched needs assessments, only Oregon has formally launched a program so far.
Because EPR is still so early stage in the U.S., manufacturers and related groups are still trying to figure out how best to work under the new parameters. However, “we will see soon some best practices [to make] sure that we’re adopting those best practices in other states,” Dyer said. And U.S. entities can learn from those in Europe, where various packaging EPR programs have a longer history.
US and EU can learn from each other’s regulations, packaging groups say | Packaging Dive