From Burden To Strategy: Mastering Packaging EPR Compliance

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations for packaging are evolving rapidly. In the EU, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) took force in February 2025, standardizing requirements across member states to promote circularity, increase recyclability and sharply reduce virgin materials in packaging by 2030. Countries such as France, Denmark and Luxembourg have intensified EPR enforcement, often requiring registration, regular declarations, eco-modulation fees and the use of Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs).

Outside the EU, EPR frameworks are well established in Canada and parts of the US, with states enacting their own packaging laws, resulting in a patchwork of requirements including British Columbia’s B.C. Reg. 255/2023 and Colorado’s HB 22-1355. Similar mandates are spreading across Asia, Latin America and Australia, each with its own deadlines, scoping rules and product coverage.

Firms must now track complex obligations across jurisdictions, covering multiple materials, recyclability standards and reporting frameworks. Common requirements under EPR packaging laws include:

• Partnering with a PRO for reporting and fee remittance.
• Payment of eco-modulation fees based on packaging type, recyclability and volume.
• Mandatory targets for recycling rates and use of recycled content.
• Periodic reporting on packaging placed on the market, collected and recycled.
• Product design obligations that may cover recyclability, labelling or use of secondary feedstock.

Organizations face significant challenges in complying with these regulations due to an increasingly fragmented and fast-evolving regulatory landscape with limited harmonization across jurisdictions. Many struggle to navigate differing rules, definitions and reporting formats across markets while managing complex and often incomplete packaging data. Fragmented data sets, manual processing and low material visibility hinder accurate reporting and traceability. Decentralized supplier engagement and limited internal resources further exacerbate these issues, making it difficult to collect consistent data and maintain robust audit trails.

This regulatory complexity is driving growing investment in software solutions that automate compliance and reduce the risks of inaccurate reporting or penalties. Several software vendors have emerged to respond to these challenges by offering EPR for packaging-specific solutions. For example, Assent now offers packaging EPR modules for North American firms in partnership with Lorax EPI to manage supplier data, estimate jurisdiction-specific fees, validate information and centralize reporting. Meanwhile, PackTotal automates EPR data categorization, calculations and reporting for UK and EU EPR regulations.

Effective EPR for packaging software transforms compliance from a burden into a strategic asset by:

• Centralizing packaging data management, reducing manual workload and ensuring reporting accuracy.
• Streamlining supplier engagement and validation, closing data gaps and supporting continuous improvement.
• Delivering predictive insights into compliance spend, materials choices and future regulatory risks.
• Maintaining audit trails for global reporting and regulatory defence.

As EPR requirements proliferate – with harmonized EU rules on the horizon and global uptake rising – early adopters of EPR packaging software solutions will be best positioned to manage costs, mitigate risks and build sustainable packaging leadership.

Other product sustainability digital tools such as LCA software can help support EPR compliance by providing the necessary product and material data. Look out for our upcoming Smart Innovators report on LCA software and attend our webinar ‘How To Drive Sustainability Goals Through Operations’ on November 18^th to uncover best practices for embedding sustainability into product development, manufacturing and supply chains.