Pouches packaging EPR California: what a stand-up pouch costs per 1,000 packs, 2026

What this page estimates for a stand-up pouch in California

The stand-up pouch on this page is a flexible stand-up pouch of layered plastic film that holds food, supplements, pet treats or powders. It has one component, each matched to the published rates of the 2026 schedule of Circular Action Alliance (California PRO), early fee for California; weight times rate gives a fee per 1,000 packs in USD. The figures are estimates built on starting weights.

What is in a stand-up pouch

The pouch is one flexible plastic component. A zip, spout or valve is part of the same weighed unit in the starting estimate.

Starting weights, an Instica estimate for a typical pack and not a measured weight: pouch (plastic film, 12 g).

Pouch

plastic film, 12 g (Instica starting estimate)

Worked example: 1,000 stand-up pouches in California

One stand-up pouch of the Medium (about 8 to 12 oz) size weighs 12 g in total. For each component the table gives its weight, the matched published rates, and the fee for 1,000 packs.

Added together, the estimate for 1,000 packs is $0.66.

Divide by 1,000 for a single pack: about $0.0007.

What the fee tool returns for 1,000 stand-up pouches in California

Entered into the public fee tool for California (2026 schedule, effective January 1, 2026), 1,000 stand-up pouches give the figures below. The tool is the same engine that prices a report, so this page and the tool agree.

The tool total is $0.66.

Which published rates were matched in California

One published rate was matched to the pack in California from the 2026 schedule. Each is quoted from the programme’s own fee table; the page does not change the rate or round it.

Pouch, 12 g: one matched rate

How size changes the fee for a stand-up pouch

The weight of a stand-up pouch depends on its size. The table prices each of the 3 sizes with the same matched rates, so the only thing that changes between rows is the weight.

Each component of the stand-up pouch priced at every size, at the matched rates for California.

What if the stand-up pouch used another material?

Suppose the main component of the stand-up pouch, weighing 12 g, were made of another material. The table prices the same weight in each material class that California publishes a rate for, at the lowest published rate in that class.

A fee comparison only: another material changes weight and protection too.

What a larger run of stand-up pouches costs in California

Fees scale with the number of packs, because the schedule charges by mass. The table repeats the worked example for larger runs of the Medium (about 8 to 12 oz) stand-up pouch in California. Nothing else changes between rows: the same weights and the same matched rates apply.

Taken as a whole, the pack is priced at $0.0551 per kilogram of packaging, so a heavier pack costs more in proportion to its weight.

Flat fee bands, registration fees and minimum charges sit outside this per-kilogram table.

The fee schedule behind these figures for California

The rates come from the 2026 schedule of Circular Action Alliance (California PRO), early fee for California, effective January 1, 2026. The facts below record where it was published and what else the schedule charges.

Ways to lower the fee on a stand-up pouch

Film thickness sets the weight, so a thinner structure that still protects the product is the most direct way to lower a mass-based fee.

Single-material films are easier to sort for recycling, and several programmes publish different rates for them than for multilayer laminates.

A pouch that is sold with a paper outer box carries two packaging components, and the box is priced on its own page.

Pouches are light, so the fee per pack is small, but the fee per 1,000 packs adds up for a product sold in volume.