PSC Updates Legislation Tracker – Need to Knows About Packaging in July  

Sustainability legislation continues to evolve across the globe, with packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws one of the biggest priorities for pet brands. To help you stay informed, the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) is rounding up resources and launching a tool update to support your company at every stage of your sustainability journey.

Key Legislation Updates: Packaging & Beyond

Staying current on legislation is becoming increasingly challenging as regulations expand beyond packaging into broader sustainability topics. To help companies monitor this changing landscape, PSC has expanded its Packaging Legislation Tracker tool into a Sustainability Legislation Tracker (Made possible by MPM Products) to cover a wider range of sustainability legislation.

Recent updates to the tracker highlight key themes within sustainability globally, including: 

• >50 new packaging EPR records were added, along with updates covering registration requirements, reporting obligations, fee information, and Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) participation.
• U.S. sustainability legislation activity remains especially active in California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, Washington, and Maine. Key topics include packaging EPR, recycled content requirements, packaging restrictions, recyclability claims, carbon reporting, and packaging-related fees and taxes.
• International sustainability legislation continues to expand across the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Chile, South Africa, the UAE, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, India, Singapore, and South Korea. This represents both mature compliance programs and emerging national frameworks for packaging EPR, plastic restrictions, and corporate sustainability reporting.
• Additional implementation details released for EPR programs including the UK Packaging EPR system, Maryland’s Packaging Producer Responsibility program, Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act, and Canada’s Federal Plastics Registry. These are in regards to reporting bodies, registration timing, fee pages, or reporting deadlines.
• Packaging restrictions and bans remain highly active, with updates covering PFAS, expanded polystyrene, single-use plastics, compostability claims, toxic substances, and food-contact packaging chemicals.
• Climate disclosure and sustainability reporting requirements continue to grow through California climate legislation, U.S. federal items, and EU reporting frameworks, creating new compliance considerations beyond just packaging.

Key takeaway: Companies that invest now in packaging data management, supplier engagement, packaging material inventories, and internal reporting processes will be better prepared as EPR programs and sustainability legislation continue rolling out around the world.

EPR Compliance Update: What Brands Should Be Watching

EPR continues to move from legislation to implementation, and recent updates provide several important reminders for producers navigating these regulations. If you are new to EPR, check out PSC’s previous blog on Extended Producer Responsibility: The New Economics of Packaging. 

Source reduction has become a major compliance priority

California’s Individual Source Reduction (ISR) Plans are due from producers on August 3, 2026. These plans will represent binding commitments, and there is currently no mechanism for revising them after submission. The source reduction regulation requires producers to collectively cut single-use plastic packaging by 25% by 2032, using 2023 data as a baseline. There are currently five approved reduction methods: 

1. Reuse and refill systems 
2. Elimination of unnecessary plastic packaging components 
3. Packaging right-sizing, lightweighting, concentrating products, or bulking  
4. Switching to non-plastic materials 
5. Post-consumer recycled (PCR) content 

Check out rePurpose Global’s website for a helpful Source Reduction Guide and FAQ’s designed to simplify key deadlines and requirements. Find PSC’s recent webinar on Preparing for SB 54: Source Reduction Strategies and Reporting Essentials for additional information. 

California fees (and Colorado & Oregon) are coming soon 

California’s initial early program fees for packaging are expected later this summer, with invoices anticipated in August. These early fees will be based on 2025 supply data, and are expected to align with previously published estimates. Producers should also prepare for potentially larger program fees beginning in January 2027, when the full-scale annual EPR fees calculated across base fees, reuse fees, and plastic pollution mitigation fund fees begin. Learn more about California’s EPR fee schedule through rePurpose Global, or the PRO Circular Action Alliance that includes a Producer Resource Center.  

Producers should also be preparing for the second round of invoices for Colorado and Oregon Program Year 2025, which are due July 30th, 2026. 

EPR Key Dates Recap: 

• August 3, 2026 – California Individual Source Reduction Plans due
• August 2026 – California early program fees due
• October 2026 – Finalized Producer 2027 fee schedules published across states
• 2032 – 25% collective source reduction target

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It’s Not Too Late to Join Plastic Recovery July! 

While regulatory compliance is becoming increasingly important, meaningful sustainability leadership extends beyond meeting regulatory requirements.

That’s why PSC’s Plastic Recovery July campaign, in partnership with rePurpose Global, brings the pet industry together around measurable action to address plastic pollution. Throughout the month, participating companies support verified plastic recovery projects while engaging employees, customers, and partners in collective environmental impact.

Plastic Recovery July offers an opportunity for companies to complement their packaging compliance efforts with tangible action that helps recover plastic waste from the environment.

Join these participating companies:

We’d love to have your company join this collaborative plastic recovery effort, it’s not too late to participate! Join other pet industry leaders making a measurable difference today. PSC encourages companies to participate by July 17th to get the most out of the partnership, but companies can still contribute until the end of July.

Learn more about Plastic Recovery July and how to get involved

Your Partner in Sustainability 

As sustainability expectations continue to grow, the strongest companies will be those that combine compliance with action. PSC is committed to helping the pet industry do both through practical resources, timely legislative updates, and collaborative initiatives like Plastic Recovery July. Members of PSC gain access to the bi-annual release of the Legislation Tracker as well as value through a number of other benefits.