As packaging EPR moves into implementation, manufacturers are prioritizing material efficiency, adaptable equipment, and investments that can withstand regulatory change.
Sustainability is now an operating requirement. Packaging teams must make measurable progress while protecting throughput, product integrity, and capital.
EPR Shifts from Policy to Cost
That challenge is becoming more immediate as U.S. extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws move into implementation. Oregon and Colorado began key registration, reporting, and fee requirements in 2025 and early 2026. California approved permanent regulations implementing SB 54 in May 2026, linking producer responsibility to source reduction, recyclability, and recycling targets. Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington are also developing statewide programs.
Because definitions, exemptions, schedules, and fees vary by state, national brands need reliable material data and packaging designs that meet the strictest applicable requirements. EPR is influencing specifications and capital plans before every program is fully operational.
Material Reduction Is the Practical First Move
The 2026 Packaging State of the Industry report, produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, points to a pragmatic response. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are prioritizing changes they can implement now: right-sizing, lightweighting, reducing secondary and tertiary materials, improving load stability, and cutting process waste. These actions can lower material spend and transportation impacts. There is also emphasis on extending machinery life through maintenance, controls upgrades, and modular retrofits.
Yet lightweighting is a system change, not simply a lower-gauge purchase. Thinner films and lighter structures narrow operating windows, requiring greater precision in sealing, forming, handling, and inspection to maintain machinability and package integrity.
Flexibility and Data Reduce Risk
Equipment flexibility is becoming a form of capital protection. Modular platforms, recipe-driven controls, faster changeovers, and upgradeable inspection systems help producers respond as fee schedules and recyclability criteria evolve. Before approving assets with 10- or 15-year lives, buyers should test likely future substrates and formats for throughput, sealing, tension control, shelf life, and changeover waste.
EPR also makes packaging data an operational asset. Defensible information on material type, weight, format, and market placement supports reporting and reveals opportunities for reduction and likely fee exposure. Digital tools can further reduce engineering revisions, downtime, startup waste, and knowledge loss as materials change.
Progress Requires a Portfolio
No single material or technology meets every sustainability requirement. Recyclability depends on collection, sorting, and end markets; recycled-content supply varies; and packages must still protect products. The strongest strategy combines accurate data, material elimination, right-sizing, process control, and asset-life extension with targeted trials of alternative structures. Decisions should reflect total system cost, including EPR fees, waste, downtime, transport, and product loss.
Turn Sustainability Goals into an Action Plan at PACK EXPO International
PACK EXPO International 2026, taking place Oct. 18–21 at McCormick Place in Chicago, gives teams a focused opportunity to turn operational goals into actionable specifications. More than 2,600 exhibitors will showcase the latest materials, machinery, and automation for 48,000 attendees. With packaging solutions available side by side, attendees can efficiently compare options and evaluate critical performance factors such as seal quality, speed, material waste, energy consumption, changeover efficiency, and total cost of ownership.
Before the show, attendees can use the Sustainability Solutions Finder to identify PACK EXPO Green exhibitors by sustainability attribute, package type, or solution category. On-site resources include Sustainability Central, sustainability sessions on three Innovation Stages, the Containers & Materials Pavilion, The Showcase of Packaging Innovations®, sponsored by Smurfit Westrock, and the Reusable Packaging Pavilion and Learning Center, sponsored by the Reusable Packaging Association.
A cross-functional team can arrive with priority packages, baseline data, and operating constraints; test assumptions with material suppliers and OEMs; compare pilot and retrofit options; and leave with qualified partners and a clearer roadmap. In four days, PACK EXPO International can compress months of research into the technical conversations needed to turn sustainability requirements into production changes that work in practice.
Held every two years, North America's largest showcase of packaging and processing innovation is a key resource for achieving sustainability goals and making smarter investment decisions. Visit packexpointernational.com to learn more and to register.