Join NACS and the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) on February 6 at 2 p.m. EST for “Extended Producer Responsibility Laws: What Retailers Need to Know,” a webinar on the new and complex extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws that five states (California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota and Oregon) have already enacted.

These regulations affect retailers who sell private label packaged products and are intended to promote sustainability in product design. This webinar will explore what extended producer responsibility laws for packaging are, how they work, what they are intended to do and who is affected.

Topics will include how producers are defined, what is required of producers, what is a producer responsibility organization and what the role is of government versus the solid waste sector versus the producers.

Join NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor, and EPR expert consultant Michael Washburn, who has a long resume of leadership roles in academia and nonprofit environmental organizations and who served as the vice president of sustainability at Nestle Waters North America. In his consulting practice, he advises clients on their engagement with existing EPR laws as well as emerging environmental-related legislative proposals.

Sign up for “Extended Producer Responsibility Laws: What Retailers Need to Know.”

In a previous interview, Washburn encouraged producers—especially larger ones—to enlist help from third-party data providers in collecting and reporting their packaging material, unless that data is “really simple.” He noted funding will need to be allocated for the third party, including for software access.

Washburn is concerned for companies that haven’t adequately prepared and factored into their 2025 budget a placeholder number for their EPR payment. Nonetheless, “The sooner you get into this process, the easier this is going to be. The minute you care about this, you better turn it on, because this is a forever problem,” Washburn said.