Minnesota's EPR Draft Backs National Responsible End-Market Standard

Minnesota's Pollution Control Agency opened a public comment period Oct. 8 on a 400-plus-page needs assessment for the state's packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) program — the latest piece of a state-by-state regulatory patchwork reshaping packaging decisions for brands and producers. Comments close Nov. 13.

Prepared for MPCA by consultancy Eunomia, the draft recommends Minnesota adopt "responsible end markets" (REM) requirements that align with a national standard the Circular Action Alliance (CAA) is developing, in its role as the state's producer responsibility organization. The assessment also inventories existing end-market capacity for the materials covered under the law.

What does the assessment recommend for end markets?

Eunomia urged Minnesota to mirror CAA's draft REM standard to "establish a consistent minimum standard for all facilities accepting covered materials, regardless of their location." Aligning would spare brokers, processors, and end buyers the cost of meeting divergent state rules, Eunomia wrote, while flagging handling practices that pose environmental or public-health risks.

The CAA standard lays out a process for verifying that recyclables move through the chain responsibly. A standard-development committee — comprising trade groups, recyclers, and state agencies, including MPCA — is finishing the document with SCS Standards and Assurance Systems.

What is REM and why does it matter to brands?

REM requirements make recycling systems more transparent and trackable. The concept gained traction after reports of illegal dumping, especially after China and other countries imposed recycling-import bans starting in 2017. Those incidents exposed how some U.S. recycling streams fed exports of waste abroad, dragging brand reputation into the conversation.

Six of the seven U.S. states with packaging EPR laws now carry some form of REM requirement, including Oregon and California. Each state's rules differ slightly. CAA has argued the patchwork complicates compliance across the value chain. The organization has proposed a unified verification process that would let end-market entities undergo one audit every few years, rather than multiple state-by-state audits.

How would Minnesota's REM framework work?

Most EPR states ask the producer responsibility organization to verify whether facilities meet REM criteria. Minnesota's statute instead directs the state to appoint an independent third-party certifier.

CAA's draft contains due-diligence and verification provisions that, Eunomia wrote, "could serve as a useful reference point for supporting this verification process by establishing consistent documentation and evidence requirements that can be applied across end markets."

The draft also fits other elements of Minnesota's EPR law, including pollution-prevention and environmental-management mandates. "Incorporating these [CAA] requirements could help ensure that recycling outcomes are assessed not only on whether materials are recycled, but also on how they are managed throughout the recycling process," Eunomia wrote.

Where does Minnesota stand on end-market capacity?

The assessment calls Minnesota's end markets "well established" for several commodities, particularly paper. It names Liberty Paper and Smurfit Westrock as the two main in-state buyers, noting that fiber also flows to mills in neighboring states and Canadian provinces. Eunomia said it could not determine whether those markets could absorb extra volume once EPR ramps up.

Plastics markets are thinner. Choice Plastics in Hennepin County is the only in-state end market for certain plastics covered by the law. More capacity sits across neighboring states and the broader U.S. and Canada. While post-consumer PET, HDPE, and PP recycling capacity exists regionally, Eunomia cautioned that "does not necessarily represent available capacity for Minnesota-generated residential packaging materials."

End-market capacity is not an immediate crisis for most covered materials, Eunomia added, but sustaining good recycling outcomes will require continued investment in infrastructure, market development, and responsible-market verification.

What happens next?

During the 2027-2028 period, MPCA expects to publish a statewide materials list, and CAA will submit its first stewardship plan. Once finalized, the CAA REM standard will shape how Minnesota's third-party certifier audits processors handling materials under the state's law — and how CPG brands sourcing packaging in the state document their compliance.