Is EPR going away in the US? There’s a conversation happening in boardrooms and in c-suites right now. It goes something like this: "Did you hear about the EPR lawsuit in Oregon? If they win, we won’t have to do EPR, so we’re going to wait and see how that turns out before we sign up." It’s an understandable reaction. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations are complex, the compliance workload is real, and nobody wants to absorb fees and reporting burdens for a system that might get struck down. The companies positioning themselves best for whatever legal and regulatory outcome emerges aren’t sitting on their hands — they’re building capabilities that pay off regardless of how the courts rule. Here’s the prudent playbook: 1. Get Your Packaging Data Centralized — Now 2. Map Your State-by-State Exposure 3. Register on Current Timelines 4. Build Your Cross-Functional EPR Team Now 5. Model Your Fee Exposure — Even Roughly

Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages, a local Coca-Cola bottler serving Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York City, and WestRock will collaborate to implement a paperboard carrier that replaces plastic rings for its multipack bottled beverages. WestRock’s PETCollar™ Shield Plus paper-based packaging will be used at Liberty’s Philadelphia production facility to package Coca-Cola’s top brands in multipacks. The 12 ounce (355 millileter) and 16.9 ounce (500 milliliter) products packaged with the durable, easy-to-hold carriers will be distributed throughout Liberty’s multi-state territory. Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages will be the first bottler in the world to implement the PETCollar Shield Plus bottle clip solution. “We’ve made it our mission to invest in technology that produces recyclable beverage containers that can return to our system while significantly reducing the need for secondary plastic packaging,” said Fran McGorry, co-owner of Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages. “We know the most valuable change to reduce plastic waste occurs when bottlers and packaging producers work together. We are proud to partner with WestRock to make this change.”

WestRock Company announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary WRKCo Inc. commenced a consent solicitation through which it is soliciting consents from registered holders of the Notes to amend certain terms of the indentures governing the respective Notes. The terms and conditions of the Consent Solicitation are set forth in a consent solicitation statement dated as of September 20, 2023. Adoption of the proposed amendments with respect to the applicable Indenture for each series of Notes requires the Consent of the Holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes of such series. The purpose of the Consent Solicitation is to obtain Consents from the Holders to (i) amend the definition of “Change of Control” applicable for the relevant series of the Notes under the Indentures to add an exception for the previously disclosed proposed business combination of WestRock and the Smurfit Kappa group announced by WestRock on September 12, 2023, pursuant to the transaction agreement entered into on September 12, 2023, by and among, inter alios, Smurfit Kappa Group plc, a public limited company incorporated in Ireland, and WestRock; and (ii) make any other changes of a technical or conforming nature to the Indentures necessary or desirable for the implementation of the proposed amendment above.