Defense or offense: Sustainability and “complementary football” in private credit
by Adam Davies
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Extended Producer Responsibility laws are ramping up: Is your portfolio EPR & SB 54 compliant?
- Post Date
- 06 November 2026
- Read Time
- 2 minutes
US Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations for consumer products and packaging are active across seven states, and your disclosures might be past due.
US EPR laws have long covered specific products like batteries, paint, and mattresses, controlling end-of-life disposal and putting the funding burden on producers. Similar laws now cover broad categories of consumer goods and packaging, shifting the financial and operational burden from governments to producers across the full product lifecycle.
Scope of US EPR Regulation
As of June 2026, US EPR laws are active and requiring comprehensive disclosure in:
US EPR laws are ramping up and requiring basic data gathering in:
Each state has its own scope and compliance rules, but the broad strokes on who’s covered are:
- Firms with >$1M in annual sales into a state with active EPR legislation
- Firms placing products on the market under their own branded packaging
For active states, the first round of reporting was due May 31, 2026. Oregon has issued delinquency notices, and late filers face escalating daily fines: $5,000 for the first day of a violation, and $1,500 each day after. Potentially more damaging than the fines are stop-sale orders, which can block product distribution in the state entirely.
This is just the beginning. EPR laws are written to expand into more stringent requirements as producers are expected to build more sophisticated compliance capabilities.
How are GPs responsible?
While GPs themselves aren’t packaging and selling physical goods, their portfolio companies very likely are. To avoid revenue loss through fines or stop-sale orders, GPs should assess portfolio exposure to EPR laws proactively. Once exposure is mapped, strategic plans can be put in place, and reporting can commence. GPs behind the curve may be able to reduce or delay near-term enforcement risk by starting now and demonstrating good-faith compliance efforts.
SLR offers portfolios a phased approach to EPR compliance: company-by-company exposure assessments screened against each state’s criteria, an obligations memo for in-scope companies, registration and reporting with the appropriate governing bodies (CAA/CalRecycle), and ongoing program management through data collection, source-reduction plan execution, and direct portfolio company engagement.
Momentum on US packaging and product waste regulation is only accelerating. As roughly 10 more states move toward active EPR legislation, the window for GPs and their portfolio companies to get ahead is closing fast.
