Plastic pollution has traditionally been treated as a recycling problem: consumers use plastic, throw it away, and local governments are left to figure out what happens next. But a growing environmental policy movement is asking a different question: Should the companies producing plastic be responsible for what happens to it after it is used?
That idea, known as extended producer responsibility (EPR), is becoming increasingly important in U.S. environmental policy. Instead of placing most recycling and cleanup costs on taxpayers and local governments, EPR policies require producers to help finance the collection, recycling, and disposal of their packaging.
California has become an important national test case. Regulations implementing its major plastic-packaging law took effect in 2026. The policy requires producers to reduce single-use plastic packaging, increase recycling, and contribute billions of dollars toward addressing plastic pollution. However, the law has also triggered legal challenges and concerns about costs for businesses and consumers.
The debate reflects a larger national policy challenge. The EPA’s National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution calls for reducing single-use plastics, improving waste management, expanding reuse, and developing a national framework for producer responsibility. However, the EPA currently notes that the strategy is under review to determine how it aligns with the current administration’s priorities.
That uncertainty leaves states playing an increasingly important role. While state policies can test new approaches, different rules across the country can also create challenges for companies operating nationally.
Ultimately, recycling alone cannot solve plastic pollution. Effective policy must address the entire life cycle of plastic—from how much is produced and how packaging is designed to who pays when it becomes waste. The emerging debate over producer responsibility could determine whether that cost continues to fall primarily on communities or increasingly on the companies creating the waste.
Diya Comar