What is extended producer responsibility (EPR)?
Last verified
extended producer responsibility (EPR) means: 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. The Instica dataset lists extended producer responsibility in 3 jurisdictions, including California, Spain, Portugal.
What does extended producer responsibility mean?
This is the definition Instica uses for extended producer responsibility, abbreviated EPR, in its EPR dataset. The wording below is checked against the source named beside it.
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).
Original wording
SB 54 establishes a new extended producer responsibility (EPR) program to manage packaging and single-use plastic food service ware productsSource: calrecycle.ca.gov
What is extended producer responsibility called in other languages?
Packaging producers search for extended producer responsibility in their own language and under the name their national scheme uses. The dataset records 3 local terms, each with the home analogy a reader of that language already knows.
| Language | Local term | Also called | Closest home analogy |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | extended producer responsibility | EPR | – |
| Spanish | responsabilidad ampliada del productor | – | – |
| Portuguese | Responsabilidade Alargada do Produtor | Responsabilidade Alargada | – |
- Spanish — Local definition
- Régimen por el que el productor responde de los envases que pone en el mercado. En España, el productor acredita su pertenencia a un sistema individual o colectivo de responsabilidad ampliada del productor.
- Portuguese — Local definition
- Regime que torna o produtor responsável pelas embalagens que coloca no mercado. Em Portugal, aderir à Sociedade Ponto Verde não é obrigatório, mas cumprir as obrigações da Responsabilidade Alargada é.
Where does extended producer responsibility apply?
extended producer responsibility appears in the rules of 3 jurisdictions in the dataset. The table gives the duty and the regulator for each; the sections after it list every sourced rule.
| Jurisdiction | Producer duty | Regulator | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Yes | CalRecycle (Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery), through its PEPRS portal | verified Sep 29, 2026 |
| Spain | Yes | Ministry for the Ecological Transition (MITECO), Directorate-General for Environmental Quality and Assessment | verified Sep 29, 2026 |
| Portugal | Yes | Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) | verified Sep 29, 2026 |
California: the rules behind the term
6 sourced rules for California. Each statement names its source and the date Instica retrieved it, and a rule without a primary source shows as not yet published.
In California, packaging producer duties rest on California SB 54, Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (Public Resources Code, Division 30, Part 3, Chapter 3.1) (Source: calrecycle.ca.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026).
Producers that place packaging on the market in California carry a producer responsibility duty (Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026).
The regulator named for California is CalRecycle (Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery), through its PEPRS portal (Source: calrecycle.ca.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026).
California organises producer duties through a single producer responsibility organisation: Circular Action Alliance (Source: calrecycle.ca.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026).
Producers must register in California; the registry is PEPRS (CalRecycle Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility System) (Source: calrecycle.ca.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026).
In California, a revenue threshold applies: below $1,000,000 (gross annual sales in California, most recent calendar year); it exempts producers below it (Source: calrecycle.ca.gov, retrieved September 29, 2026).
Original wording
SB 54 establishes a new extended producer responsibility (EPR) program to manage packaging and single-use plastic food service ware productsSource: calrecycle.ca.gov
Spain: the rules behind the term
6 sourced rules for Spain. Each statement names its source and the date Instica retrieved it, and a rule without a primary source shows as not yet published.
In Spain, packaging producer duties rest on Royal Decree 1055/2022 on packaging and packaging waste, under Law 7/2022 on waste and contaminated soils (Source: boe.es, retrieved September 29, 2026).
Producers that place packaging on the market in Spain carry a producer responsibility duty (Source: boe.es, retrieved September 29, 2026).
The regulator named for Spain is Ministry for the Ecological Transition (MITECO), Directorate-General for Environmental Quality and Assessment (Source: boe.es, retrieved September 29, 2026).
Spain organises producer duties through more than one producer responsibility organisation: Ecoembes, Ecovidrio (Source: boe.es, retrieved September 29, 2026).
Producers must register in Spain; the registry is Packaging section of the Register of Product Producers (Registro de Productores de Productos) (Source: boe.es, retrieved September 29, 2026).
In Spain, a packaging weight threshold applies: 10 tonnes per calendar year (packaging made available for the first time in the Member State); it reduces the duty (Source: eur-lex.europa.eu, retrieved September 29, 2026).
Original wording
se crea la sección de envases en el Registro de Productores de ProductosSource: boe.es
Portugal: the rules behind the term
7 sourced rules for Portugal. Each statement names its source and the date Instica retrieved it, and a rule without a primary source shows as not yet published.
The legal basis is not yet published. Reason recorded: The consolidated text at pgdlisboa.pt returned corrupted accented characters, so no verbatim quote could be checked against it.
Producers that place packaging on the market in Portugal carry a producer responsibility duty (Source: pontoverde.pt, retrieved November 3, 2026).
Portugal organises producer duties through more than one producer responsibility organisation: Sociedade Ponto Verde (SPV), two other licensed management entities (Source: pontoverde.pt, retrieved November 3, 2026).
In Portugal, a packaging weight threshold applies: 10 tonnes per calendar year (packaging made available for the first time in the Member State); it reduces the duty (Source: eur-lex.europa.eu, retrieved September 29, 2026).
In Portugal, a reporting deadline falls every June 1, covering previous full calendar year (Source: eur-lex.europa.eu, retrieved September 29, 2026).
In Portugal, a deadline of another kind falls on August 12, 2026 (Source: eur-lex.europa.eu, retrieved September 29, 2026).
Portugal sets 2 recycling targets, the first on recycling rate, all packaging waste at 65% by December 31, 2025 (Source: eur-lex.europa.eu, retrieved September 29, 2026).
Original wording
Não é obrigatório aderir à SPV, mas é obrigatório cumprir as obrigações decorrentes da Responsabilidade Alargada do ProdutorSource: pontoverde.pt
Which Instica pages use extended producer responsibility?
These 3 jurisdiction pages put extended producer responsibility into practice, with thresholds, deadlines and fees for each.
What does EPR stand for in the context of waste management?
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. Every statement on this page names its source and the date Instica retrieved it.
How to read these figures
Sources
- calrecycle.ca.gov (packaging epr) retrieved
Original wording: SB 54 establishes a new extended producer responsibility (EPR) program to manage packaging and single-use plastic food service ware products
Original wording: Circular Action Alliance has been approved to serve as the first Producer Responsibility Organization.
Original wording: This updated information will inform the next update to the Covered Material Categories List, which will be published by January 1, 2027.
- calrecycle.ca.gov (exemptionsexclusions) retrieved
Original wording: Small producers with gross annual sales of less than $1 million may apply to be exempt from most of the law’s reporting and fee requirements.
Original wording: To apply, first register in CalRecycle’s reporting system, known as PEPRS, as a Packaging EPR producer. Then fill out the small producer exemption application.
Original wording: Achieve 65% recycling rates from 2024 to 2026, and 70% in 2027 and after
- calrecycle.ca.gov (producerguidance) retrieved
Original wording: PEPRS is CalRecycle’s online portal for: Producer Registration Data Submission Compliance Tracking
Original wording: Circular Action Alliance manages registration, reporting, and submissions of certain exemptions and exclusions on the producers’ behalf.
Original wording: 65% Single-Use Plastic Recycled
- eur-lex.europa.eu retrieved
Original wording: a quantity of packaging, including packaging of packaged products, of less than 10 tonnes during one calendar year
Original wording: of Annex IX to the competent authority responsible for the register, by 1 June for each full preceding calendar year.
Original wording: It shall apply from 12 August 2026.
Original wording: by 31 December 2030, a minimum of 70 % by weight of all packaging waste generated
- leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (codes displaySection.xhtml) (faces) retrieved
Original wording: “Producer” does not include a person who produces, harvests, and packages an agricultural commodity on the site where the agricultural commodity was grown or raised.
- leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (codes displaySection.xhtml) (faces) retrieved
Original wording: a producer shall not sell, offer for sale, import, or distribute covered materials in the state unless the producer is approved to participate
Original wording: upon approval of a plan pursuant to Section 42063, or commencing January 1, 2027, whichever is sooner
Original wording: Each producer shall notify the department of any change in their business address within 30 days.
- leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (codes displaySection.xhtml) (faces) retrieved
Original wording: an administrative civil penalty not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per day per violation
- boe.es (2022) (buscar / act) retrieved
Original wording: se crea la sección de envases en el Registro de Productores de Productos
Original wording: a través de la Dirección General de Calidad y Evaluación Ambiental
Original wording: se obliga a todos los envasadores a inscribirse y a remitir anualmente información
Original wording: deberán designar a una persona física o jurídica en territorio español como representante autorizado
Original wording: se inscribirán en la sección de envases del Registro de Productores de Productos
Original wording: menos de 15 toneladas de envases al año
Original wording: antes del 31 de marzo del año siguiente
- boe.es (2022) (buscar / act) retrieved
Original wording: Multa desde 100.001 euros hasta 3.500.000 euros
- pgdlisboa.pt retrieved (not yet published)
Original wording: No published text found at this source.
- pontoverde.pt retrieved
Original wording: No published text found at this source.
Original wording: Não é obrigatório aderir à SPV, mas é obrigatório cumprir as obrigações decorrentes da Responsabilidade Alargada do Produtor
Original wording: A SPV é uma das três Entidades Gestoras que, em Portugal, estão habilitadas, por licença
- www2.calrecycle.ca.gov (131538) retrieved
Original wording: Beverage containers subject to the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (Division 12.1 (commencing with Section 14500)).
- www2.calrecycle.ca.gov (131541) retrieved (not yet published)
Original wording: Producers are required to report annual data on the amount of plastic covered material sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state
- www2.calrecycle.ca.gov (138910) retrieved
Original wording: Enter the amount of total gross annual sales (U.S. dollar) in California, as found on the most recent calendar year's tax returns.
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