What you need to know about EPR packaging compliance

Is your packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliant? With new regulations in effect in some states and more poised to come online in others, furnishings manufacturers and retailers may have new or changing responsibilities when it comes to the disposal of their shipping boxes and other packaging.

Currently, Oregon, Colorado, California and Maine all have EPR packaging regulations in place, requiring producers to take on the financial responsibility for recycling of their packaging via fees or reimbursements. California has the most stringent of these laws, requiring 100 percent of single-use packaging to be recyclable or compostable by 2032. Maryland, Minnesota and Washington also have passed laws shifting end-of-life recycling costs from municipalities to producers.

We recently sat down with Alex Williams, manager of sustainability and regulatory compliance programs at the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA), to learn where these regulations stand now and what furnishings manufacturers and retailers should know to ensure compliance.

What is the purpose of EPR regulations?

These pieces of legislation are basically putting a fee or tax on the producer or manufacturer, so that they’re going to essentially fund the waste management or recycling collection system for that state. The goal is to achieve more sustainability and be more environmentally friendly by getting rid of all this plastic that’s in our landfills that cannot be properly recycled. 

What spurred this legislation?

One of the big things, especially during Covid, was the styrofoam shell takeout containers, which were ending up in sorting facilities. Oregon the presented this idea of producer responsibility that became the Recycling Modernization Act (RMA), which has caught fire. Each state has its own priorities in terms of how they want to manage their landfills and recycling facilities. And that complicates things based on the laws and regulations of each state, which can cover different materials deemed OK to use under the law.

For example, Colorado’s bill prioritizes more of a composting aspect beyond just recycling. So if you’ve got a fiber molded angle pad or something similar in your packaging, that might cost you less in fees in one state compared to another based off the different types of materials they categorize for collection fees. There are around 95 covered material categories in California, 60 in Oregon and a few less in Colorado.

What complications do furniture packaging present to this type of legislation?

In furniture, we have so many pieces that are integral to the packaging of our products to ensure they arrive safely with no damage, because if we have damage, the return and repair rate goes back to the manufacturers and costs them more. We have the National Motor Freight Carrier Rule 181 for furniture that requires packaging to meet a standard so the product doesn’t fall out of the box and get damaged. When you have so many different types of materials making up the packaging to protect furniture, it can complicate things—we’re in an entirely different category compared to single-use products you buy at the grocery store.

Do the rules differ state to state?

The states are trying to follow a similar pattern, but some of these states now have a third-party non-governmental organization called Circular Action Alliance essentially running these programs, collecting fees, obtaining and reporting supply data and dealing with the producers. The idea of harmonization is something everyone wants, because if everyone’s doing it just a little different, that’s going to complicate things even further, especially when you’re not just selling across state lies, but you have a distribution center in one state and a warehouse in another.

How are these laws enforced?

In most states, such as Oregon, there’s a publicly available list of registered producers, and if you don’t register as a producer when you are obligated to under the law, there will be retroactive fees possibly with interest. Each state is different, but it can be up to $25,000 per day if you’re in violation. I think there’s a grace period at the moment, but that won’t last forever.

If enforcement is coming down the road in the future, the two low-hanging fruit targets to make an example of are the TV industry and the furniture industry because of the size of their boxes.

What should furnishings manufacturers and retailers do to ensure they’re compliant?

First of all, they need to know if they’re obligated as a producer. And then it really comes back to understanding what your responsibility is as a manufacturer or a retailer to do things better in your store or facility to enhance environmental and sustainability standards that might save you money in the long run because they reduce waste. Ultimately, it’s about being a good steward of our industry and the environment.