Overview
Perhaps the two most consequential legal instruments adopted in the packaging and product sustainability arena in recent years are the European Union's (EU) Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) of 20241 and California's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law for packaging, SB 54, adopted in 2022.2 It is apparent that the legal requirements imposed under these instruments have some level of divergence, but also key areas where there is significant overlap.
Multinational companies that do business in California and the EU do not have the benefit of avoiding compliance with both laws, much less selecting which law to comply with. Instead, such companies must adopt compliance programs for both laws. Understanding where these key laws diverge and overlap is, therefore, an important exercise to best manage supply chains, achieve operational efficiency, and minimize global compliance program costs. With this goal in mind, this article and the accompanying chart compare some of the key provisions from both SB 54 and the PPWR that might apply to companies operating in the packaging supply chain.
High Level Conceptual Differences
SB 54 is, first and foremost, positioned as an EPR law requiring "producers" to fund and manage the recovery of "covered materials," which includes packaging. Conversely, the PPWR is, on its face, positioned as a somewhat broader legal instrument, with many provisions that are not focused on EPR, per se. While the PPWR does include some provisions around EPR for packaging, EPR for packaging was already mandatory in the EU before the PPWR was adopted.3 With regard to EPR, the PPWR instead focuses on requiring member states to establish national registers of producers, and on promoting harmonization around the provisions of the member state packaging EPR laws, including around how the term "producer" is defined and around the assessment of eco-modulation fees at the member state level.
High Level Conceptual Overlaps
Although SB 54 is positioned as an EPR for packaging law, it includes many provisions that seek to go beyond merely industry funding and managing the recovery of packaging, which is a (if not the) reason that some argue that SB 54 is not really just an EPR law, but rather an EPR law with many other requirements layered on top of EPR. In this regard, both laws focus on common and rather granular aspects tied to the design, manufacture, and distribution of packaging and packaged products. Elements of these provisions include, but are certainly not limited to: (1) bans on the presence of discrete chemicals of concern in packaging, (2) requirements that packaging be designed for recyclability, compostability, and reusability, and (3) adoption of forward-looking minimum recovery requirements for packaging that some have described as "aspirational" as opposed to "achievable."
Next Steps for Implementation of the PPWR and SB 54
Clearly there is much work that must be done to implement both the PPWR and SB 54. In the case of the PPWR, this work includes multiple implementing measures that need to be developed by the European Commission (EC), as well as the need for member state action and for guidance documents to clarify compliance questions. The general date of applicability for the PPWR is August 12, 2026.
SB 54, despite being adopted in 2022, still exists without any concomitant regulations. This is not for lack of effort on the part of California’s Department of Resources, Recycling, and Recovery (CalRecycle), the Agency with jurisdiction for SB 54 in California. Rather, it’s a consequence of CalRecycle having nearly finalized regulations in 2025, only for Governor Newsom to order CalRecycle to start the process anew. Most recently, CalRecycle withdrew another round of proposed regulations on January 9, 2026, so that revisions can be made to provisions in the regulations around packaging for food and agricultural commodities. Given that there are no finalized regulations for SB 54 at this time, the discussion in the below table is focused on the provisions in SB 54, itself, and consequently some of the discussion is subject to change, depending on how the final regulations are written.
While it is unclear when the regulations will be finalized, SB 54 requires that, by January 1, 2027, all producers be members of the selected Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO), Circular Action Alliance (CAA), and that CAA starts to implement the program plan. At the time of this writing, there is no finalized program plan, but CAA currently estimates the program plan will be submitted for review to the authorities by mid-2026.
Understanding How the PPWR and SB 54 Fit into the Larger Picture
Finally, we note that attention in the EU also must be paid to, among other legal instruments, the Single Use Plastics Directive4 and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.5 These legal instruments have tentacles to the PPWR, such that it is not always adequate to focus compliance for sustainable packaging in the EU on just the PPWR. The same is true for companies doing business in the United States. Several states now have EPR for packaging laws, with many of those laws diverging in important ways. Moreover, there are numerous laws in California beyond SB 54 that can impact and drive packaging sustainability requirements.
1 Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on packaging and packaging waste, available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/40/oj. The PPWR ostensibly replaced the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) of 1994. European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste, available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/1994/62/oj. As a result, the PPWD will be repealed August 12, 2026. However, some select provisions of the PPWD will continue to apply even after that date.
2 California Senate Bill 54, adopted June 30, 2022, available at https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB54/id/2600075.
3 See Article 7(2) of the PPWD.
4 Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/904/oj/eng.
5 Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products, available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj.
6 Note that the information in this chart includes, in some cases, only summaries of text from the PPWR and SB 54, and the chart is intended to provide a higher-level overview of key provisions from the PPWR and SB 54. Companies should always consult the original text when evaluating legal obligations, taking into account the specific facts associated with their situation.
7 Exemptions for certain categories of packaging are described in Article 6(11), and include, but are not limited to, certain "contact sensitive" packaging applications for products like some medical devices, infant formula, and packaging used for the transportation of dangerous goods.
8 Annex III defines Grade A as greater than or equal to 95% recyclable, Grade B as greater than or equal to 80% recyclable, and Grade C as greater than or equal to 70% recyclable (as determined per unit and by weight).
9 Compostability certifications for packaging already exist in the EU. For example, TUV Austria has a certification scheme in place for home compostability of packaging. See TÜV AUSTRIA Certification Scheme: OK compost HOME, available at https://en.tuv.at/ok-compost-home-en/.
10 California Senate Bill 343, adopted October 5, 2021, available at https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB343/id/2435934.
11 California Assembly Bill 1201, adopted October 5, 2021, available at https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1201/id/2435908.
12 California Assembly Bill 793, adopted September 24, 2020, available at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB793.
13 See generally, California's Rigid Plastic Packaging Container (RPPC) Program, CalRecycle, available at https://calrecycle.ca.gov/plastics/rppc/.
14 The source reduction requirements increase over time such that, by January 1, 2027, the PRO shall source reduce no less than 10% of plastic covered material, with at least 2% of that reduction coming from shifting to reusable or refillable covered material, with the same rates progressively increasing to 20% and 4%, respectively, by January 1, 2030.
15 Article (5)5 of the PPWR defines PFAS as "any substance that contains at least one fully fluorinated methyl (CF3-) or methylene (-CF2-) carbon atom (without any H/Cl/Br/I attached to it), except substances that only contain the following structural elements: CF3-X or X-CF2-X′, where X = -OR or -NRR′ and X′ = methyl (-CH3), methylene (-CH2-), an aromatic group, a carbonyl group (-C(O)-), -OR′′, -SR′′ or –NR′′R′′′; and where R/R′/R′′/R′′′ is a hydrogen (-H), methyl (-CH3), methylene (-CH2-), an aromatic group, or a carbonyl group (-C(O)-).
16 For example, Article (5)5 provides that PFAS are banned when detected above a level of: (1) 25 parts per billion (ppb) for any single PFAS chemical in the food-contact packaging using a method targeting analysis for that PFAS chemical; (2) 250 ppb in the food-contact packaging using a method that measures the sum of targeted PFAS chemicals; or (3) 50 ppm in the food-contact packaging based on measuring total fluorine content.
17 SB 343 specifically prohibits the presence of PFAS in otherwise recyclable plastic or fiber based food packaging that meets either of the following criteria: (i) PFAS that a manufacturer has intentionally added to a product or packaging and that have a functional or technical effect in the product or packaging, including the PFAS components of intentionally added chemicals and PFAS that are intentional breakdown products of an added chemical that also have a functional or technical effect in the product, or (ii) the presence of PFAS in a product or product component or packaging or packaging component at or above 100 parts per million, as measured in total organic flourine.
18 The definition that applies under AB 1200 is "a single fully fluorinated carbon atom," which covers more than 10,000 discrete chemicals. Assembly Bill 1200, adopted October 5, 2021, available at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1200.
19 See Ban on Expanded Polystyrene Foam, California Attorney General, December 2, 2025, available at https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/SB%2054%20Foam%20Ban%20Enforcement%20Advisory%2012.2.25%5B1%5D.pdf.
