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The legislation is a crucial step in the growing trend of EPR adoption across the US, aiming to reduce landfill waste and promote sustainability. Credit: Black Salmon / Shutterstock

Maryland has become the sixth US state to pass an extended producer responsibility (EPR) law covering paper and packaging, marking a significant policy development in U.S. waste and recycling legislation.

Senate Bill 901, passed by lawmakers and sent to Governor Wes Moore on April 7, outlines a comprehensive framework requiring producers to fund and improve recycling, reuse, composting, and waste reduction efforts across the state.

Under the new law, a producer responsibility organisation (PRO) will be established to set and meet performance targets for recycled content, packaging recyclability, reuse systems, and contamination reduction.

The UK Government has initiated the formal process of notifying the European Union about planned amendments to the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging regulations in Northern Ireland.

This step marks the beginning of a legislative timeline that aims to implement the changes before the second year of the scheme begins.

According to a government update, the amended regulations are scheduled to be introduced in Parliament in November 2025.

The Islamabad Capital Territory administration, in collaboration with the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, has ramped up efforts to enforce the Islamabad single-use plastic ban.

This initiative aims to mitigate plastic pollution in the capital city and its surrounding regions, thereby safeguarding the environment and public health.

In a recent statement, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination announced that the enforcement of the Single-Use Plastics (Prohibition) Regulations, 2023, has been bolstered through inspection drives.

France’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) programme is gaining renewed global attention as governments seek sustainable ways to reduce plastic pollution.

Launched over three decades ago, the system shifts the environmental burden of packaging waste from taxpayers to producers, requiring manufacturers to fund and manage the entire lifecycle of packaging.

With World Environment Day on 5 June highlighting the challenge of plastic waste, many countries are evaluating EPR as a potential solution.

The New York State Senate has passed the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, a sweeping bill aimed at tackling plastic pollution and shifting the financial burden of waste management from taxpayers to manufacturers.

Approved by a 33-25 vote, the legislation seeks to reduce single-use plastic packaging by 30%, ban 17 toxic substances used in packaging, and create a new oversight body to enforce compliance.

The bill now moves to the State Assembly for further consideration before the legislative session ends in June.