Packaging EPR glossary

extended producer responsibility: A program that makes producers responsible for managing the packaging and other products they put on the market. California's SB 54 set one up for packaging and single-use plastic food service ware. (source: calrecycle.ca.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026)

producer: The person a packaging law holds responsible for a product's packaging. Maine's statute defines the producer separately for each way a product is contained, protected, delivered, presented or distributed, so who counts depends on the brand and sales chain. (source: legislature.maine.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026)

producer responsibility organization: An organization a producer can designate to act on its behalf in carrying out the producer's obligations. (source: novascotia.ca, retrieved September 29, 2026)

Circular Action Alliance: The producer responsibility organization that Oregon has approved for its packaging program; at the time of the source it was the only one. (source: oregon.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026)

Producer Participant Agreement: The agreement an Oregon producer signs with Circular Action Alliance before it can use the PRO's data reporting portal. (source: oregon.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026)

Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation: The EU regulation on packaging that applies from 12 August 2026 and reorganises who is responsible for packaging, so existing registrations may need checking for changed roles. (source: verpackungsregister.org, retrieved September 29, 2026)

harmonised label: Under the PPWR, a label on packaging placed on the EU market that gives information on what the packaging is made of. The obligation applies from 12 August 2028. (source: eur-lex.europa.eu, retrieved September 29, 2026)

LUCID Packaging Register: Germany's public register of producers. Anyone distributing packaged goods in Germany has to be registered in it. (source: verpackungsregister.org, retrieved September 29, 2026)

system participation: In Germany, packaging falls into one of two categories, subject or not subject to system participation. For packaging that is subject to it, the producer joins a system operator by agreement. (source: verpackungsregister.org, retrieved September 29, 2026)

covered material: In Washington's packaging law, the packaging and paper products introduced into the state that the program covers. (source: app.leg.wa.gov, retrieved November 3, 2026)

covered product: In Oregon's law, the three kinds of product the program covers - packaging, printing and writing paper, and food serviceware. (source: oregon.public.law, retrieved September 29, 2026)

de minimis producer: In Minnesota's law, a producer small enough, measured over its most recent fiscal year, to fall under the de minimis rules instead of the full obligations. (source: revisor.mn.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026)

large producer: In the UK, one of the two producer sizes, alongside small producer. When a group's combined totals meet the large-producer criteria, every member of the group is a large producer. (source: gov.uk, retrieved September 29, 2026)

gross revenue: A producer's total revenue before costs, which several programs use as a threshold. In Oregon, gross revenue of less than $5 million for the most recent fiscal year is one of the tests for a small producer. (source: oregon.public.law, retrieved September 29, 2026)

online marketplace: A platform through which third parties sell products. Under California's SB 54, the owner or operator of the marketplace is not treated as the retailer or wholesaler for those third-party sales. (source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026)

Plastic Packaging Tax: A UK tax charged on plastic packaging. A business must register for it when it meets the registration tests in the government guidance. (source: gov.uk, retrieved September 29, 2026)

transport packaging: Packaging used to move goods in transit. Under the UK Plastic Packaging Tax, plastic transport packaging is one of the exemptions, so the tax is not charged on it. (source: gov.uk, retrieved September 29, 2026)

service packaging: A category of packaging that Belgian rules name separately from household packaging. Companies that produce or import service packaging to put it on the Belgian market have obligations for it. (source: fostplus.be, retrieved September 29, 2026)

eco-modulation: Adjusting a producer's fees up or down according to the design of its packaging, for example its recyclability. In Colorado, the executive director develops an eco-modulation bonus each year from 1 January 2026. (source: colorado.public.law, retrieved September 29, 2026)

simplified report: A shorter report some low-volume producers may file instead of the full one. In British Columbia, eligible stewards supplying 1,000 to 15,000 kg of packaging and paper a year have that option. (source: recyclebc.ca, retrieved October 18, 2026)

needs assessment: A statewide assessment prepared under a packaging program. In Minnesota, the full needs assessment is due 31 December 2026. (source: circularactionalliance.org, retrieved September 29, 2026)

Blue Box material: In Ontario, the packaging, paper products and packaging-like products made of paper, glass, metal or plastic that the Blue Box program covers. (source: rpra.ca, retrieved September 29, 2026)

printed paper: Paper that some Canadian programs cover alongside packaging. In Manitoba, registered producers report the packaging and printed paper they supplied into the province each year. (source: recyclemanitoba.ca, retrieved September 29, 2026)