Unlike the EU’s single directive, plastic packaging regulation in the US moves state by state — there’s no federal single-use plastics law, so what applies to a shipment depends entirely on which states it’s headed to. Here’s where the fastest-moving rules actually stand. (Selling into both markets? Our companion piece on the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive and PPWR covers the equivalent picture across the Atlantic.)
Packaging EPR Laws: A Seven-State Patchwork
Seven states have enacted Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws for packaging, each making the “producer” placing packaging into that state financially responsible for its end-of-life management. Oregon (2021) and Colorado (2022) already have producer fees live — Oregon’s since July 2025, Colorado’s since January 2026. California’s SB 54, enacted in 2022, hit its first major compliance wave in 2026: producer registration and baseline reporting deadlines fell in mid-2026, with statewide plastic-reduction targets of 10% by 2027, 20% by 2030, and 25% by 2032. Maine, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington have EPR laws on the books too, phasing in producer fees between 2027 and 2030.
Most of these laws are scoped to plastic packaging specifically. Maryland is the exception — its statute explicitly covers paper packaging alongside plastic, so buyers shipping FSC-certified paper products into Maryland shouldn’t assume paper falls outside its scope.
PFAS Restrictions in Food-Contact Packaging
Eleven states already prohibit intentionally added PFAS (“forever chemicals”) in food packaging: California and New York led with bans effective in 2022-2023, followed by Washington, Vermont, Connecticut, Colorado, Minnesota, Maryland, Hawaii, Oregon, and Rhode Island, all active by 2025. New Hampshire’s ban follows in 2027 and New Jersey’s in 2028. Maine, the state most associated with early PFAS action, is still finalizing its own food-packaging rule after a stalled implementation timeline.
For packaging buyers, this is increasingly a documentation question rather than a material-selection one: grease-resistant coatings on paper foodservice items are the category regulators watch most closely, and a supplier’s ability to produce PFAS test data matters more than a verbal assurance. That’s true of any manufacturer — Corncomp included — so it’s a fair question to ask before placing an order bound for any of these eleven states.
Polystyrene Foam and Straws/Utensils-on-Request
Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foodservice ware is now banned in most states that regulate packaging at all — California, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Maryland, Vermont, Washington, Rhode Island, and Delaware banned it earliest, and Virginia, Oregon, and Colorado completed their own bans in 2025-2026, pushing demand toward paper cup and food box alternatives. Separately, more than seven states — including California, New York, and New Jersey — require restaurants to provide plastic straws only on customer request rather than by default, and New Jersey’s utensils-on-request law, covering utensils, condiments, and napkins, takes effect August 1, 2026.
A Federal Wrinkle Worth Knowing
In February 2025, a federal executive order reversed a prior directive to phase out single-use plastics from federal procurement, explicitly steering federal purchasing back toward plastic straws over paper ones. It’s a real shift in federal posture, but it doesn’t preempt state or local law — states and cities retain full authority to regulate plastic foodservice ware within their own borders, and the EPS, PFAS, and straws-on-request laws above stay in force regardless of federal procurement policy. Worth knowing so the picture doesn’t look more one-directional than it is.
What This Means for Sourcing Decisions
None of these laws ban FSC-certified paper, PLA, or bagasse packaging outright — the regulatory pressure runs almost entirely against conventional plastic and EPS, which reinforces rather than disrupts sourcing that’s already moved toward fiber-based and compostable materials. The practical work for procurement teams is state-specific: confirming whether a destination state has an active EPR registration requirement, whether PFAS test documentation is on file, and whether a particular product category — foam, plastic straws, plastic utensils — is restricted there before a shipment goes out.
Certification Checklist for US-Bound Packaging
- FSC Chain of Custody for wood-fiber materials (paper, kraft, cardboard)
- BPI Certified Compostable (ASTM D6400) for PLA, CPLA, and bagasse items
- ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification
- BRC Global Standard for Packaging Materials
Corncomp’s certificate numbers and verification links for each of these are on our Certifications page. For help matching a compostable material to a specific use case, see our guide to PLA vs bagasse vs FSC paper, or read up on how BPI compostable certification differs from FSC if you’re weighing PLA or bagasse against wood-fiber options.
This article summarizes publicly available regulatory information as a general reference and isn’t legal advice. Requirements vary by state and change frequently — buyers should confirm current requirements for their specific destination states with their own compliance counsel before finalizing sourcing decisions.