As a business owner or manager, you may have read about new EPR laws, like the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act, to reduce plastic pollution. What do regulations like these, which are cropping up around the US and abroad, mean for your company?
Here’s an updated guide for 2026 that explains:
Plus, you’ll learn how switching to sustainable packaging lets you stay compliant with new shipping rules while also giving your merchandise better protection against wear and breakage.
Last year, the state of Oregon introduced exciting new rules to encourage residents to recycle more. The groundbreaking Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act had three key goals:
They did this by embedding specific strategies in the act and by making policies uniform across the entire state. Major elements included:
There are two companion bills accompanying this act. One bans Styrofoam food containers as of January, 2026. The other—to be phased in—requires products to be labeled with Oregon-specific recycling information.
What prompted the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act? It was plastic packaging, which is a global problem but a particular concern in the United States. Because of the size of our country and the volume of shopping we do in stores and online, the US typically generates more plastic waste than any other nation annually. The bulk of this waste consists of food packaging, everyday household items, and materials used for shipping parcels.
If you think about the last 40 or so years, this makes sense. Before the advent of the internet and e-commerce, everyone shopped mostly in stores—little packaging was needed. Today, though, everyone shops online, and the amount of packaging used is staggering, whether it’s plastic air pillows or bubble-lined envelopes.
Back then, food came from local farms and wasn’t shipped from halfway around the world, so it didn't require as much protective wrapping. And drinks like soda were sold in bottles before lightweight synthetic plastics were widely available. Bottled water? Nobody drank that; everyone used the tap or public bubblers.
During the 1980s, the need to address all the plastic we were using became an issue. Plastic recycling facilities sprang up, and many communities collected plastic with refuse pickup. But is all plastic packaging recyclable?
In many cases, the answer is no. It’s tricky because many plastic items look like they can go in the home recycling bin. However, these plastics require specialized facilities for processing—facilities that aren’t available or affordable for most municipalities.
What happens when plastic can’t be recycled or when the decision becomes too confusing for consumers? It winds up as litter, is outsourced to other countries, or ends up in landfills. As of 2019, only 5% of plastic in the US was recycled.
This is a problem, as plastic isn’t biodegradable the way natural materials are. It can take tens or hundreds of years to break down. And even before it starts to decompose as a whole, plastic sheds microplastics. These tiny bits of plastic, also known as nanoplastics, are everywhere now. They’ve been found in soil, freshwater, and saltwater systems, as well as in rain and snow on seven continents.
Microplastics don’t go anywhere. Instead, they accumulate, making drinking water unsafe. Wild animals and animals that they consume in the food chain. Humans are exposed to them through eating and drinking, as well as through absorption from precipitation or simply by breathing.
For humans, exposure to microplastics is linked to a broad range of health conditions, such as:
Because of the dangers associated with plastic packaging, many businesses are switching to sustainable alternatives. They’re driven by new legislation, like the Oregon Act, as well as by consumers who also know the risks of plastic.
Kraft paper packaging is a great alternative to plastic because it’s compostable and curbside recyclable—no special processing needed. You’ll find product wrap, void fill, protective mailers, and even pallet wrap made from paper that comes from renewable resources.
If you use paper packaging made with slit-paper honeycomb technology, you get benefits that go beyond sustainability. This type of packing material actually cushions better than outmoded options like bubble wrap because it doesn’t flatten out during shipping. That helps companies reduce the cost of damage-related returns and exchanges.
Paper pallet wrap is equally efficient. You’ll enjoy better load stability with less material to safeguard bulk items and workers who load and unload pallets.
Sustainable paper packaging is also often lighter than plastic and synthetic alternatives. That can save you money on shipping costs.
Using sustainable packaging helps businesses stay compliant with new regulations, too. That’s important because it’s not just Oregon that’s enacting rules to govern the use of plastic.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, like Oregon’s, hold companies responsible for the packaging they use for shipping. If they don’t comply, they may face stiff fines. And eventually, they likely won’t be able to ship to certain areas at all.
What other states besides Oregon have EPR laws or are currently implementing them?
Not only that, the European Union, which comprises 27 countries, plans to require all packaging to be sustainable by 2030. Australia is working on similar regulations. Likewise, many Asian nations are adopting EPR laws. It’s essential to stay current with this if you are internationally:
Whether your business is seeking compliance with EPR laws or seeking to reduce the risks posed by plastics to customers and workers, HexcelPack is here to help.
We offer an entire suite of sustainable kraft paper packaging solutions. You can get a jump on your competition and make the planet safer at the same time. Reach out to our team to test HexcelPack’s effectiveness yourself or to place an order today.