EPR – Colorado

The Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act, House Bill 22-1355 was signed into law on June 3, 2022.

The law creates a Producer Responsibility program that requires companies that sell products in packaging, paper products to fund a statewide recycling system to recycle those materials. These companies will form an independent non-profit organization, called a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO), to coordinate, fund, and manage this statewide recycling system.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is the agency responsible for overseeing the program.  An Advisory Board advises the PRO and reports to the CDPHE.  CDPHE appointed Circular Action Alliance (CAA) as the PRO in May 2023.

Resources:

• HB 22-135 (Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act)
• CDPHE Producer Responsibility Program website
• Rulemaking Materials
• Producer Responsibility Advisory Board
• Circular Action Alliance

Effective July 1, 2025,  “a producer shall not sell or distribute any product that uses covered materials in the state unless the producer is participating in the program…”

Resources: 

• Implementation Timeline (subject to change).

Date to Join PRO:

• The deadline for producers to register with the PRO is October 1, 2024.
• However, by January 1 each year, a producer may submit to the Advisory Board an individual program plan proposal, subject to various requirements and approval by the Board.

Dates covered materials can no longer be sold if producer not in a PRO:

• By July 1, 2025, a producer cannot sell or distribute products that use covered materials in Colorado unless they participate in the Producer Responsibility Program.

Colorado EPR Reporting Deadline:

• Obligated producers selling paper and packaging products in Colorado must submit their first reports under the state’s EPR law by July 31, 2025.

Pay Fees to PRO/CAA:

• Producers must pay the producer responsibility dues on “covered materials” annually to the PRO in January 2026, and each year thereafter.

The producer of a covered product shall be determined as follows:

Statute Definition C.R.S. 25-17-703(30).:

(30)”Producer” means:

Covered Products includes: 

• “paper, plastic, glass, metal, cartons, flexible foam, rigid packaging, or other materials or combination of these materials.”

Covered Products does NOT include:

• Packaging materials used solely in transportation or distribution to nonconsumers;
• Packaging materials used solely in business-to-business transactions where a covered material is not intended to be distributed to the end consumer;
• Packaging materials that are not sold or distributed to covered entities; or
• Packaging materials that are used for products sold or distributed outside the state.

Direct-to-Consumer Sales versus Sales to Wholesalers:

• Note that packaging, e.g. cardboard, Styrofoam etc., for sales shipped to consumers in Colorado is included in the reporting requirements/fees, but packaging is NOT included in sales to wholesalers because it is a business-to-business sale.

Resources:

• C.R.S. 25-17-703(13)
• Producer Determination Flow Chart
• CAA Guidance – Covered Materials & Producer Definitions: Colorado and Oregon, Aug. 2025

How will the PRO determine fees to members?

• On or before February 1, 2025, the PRO will submit a plan proposal to the Advisory Board including proposed dues based on the type of covered material and the cost of the program.
• Eco-modulation will be a factor in determining the fees, including the use of PCRC in packaging, high recycling and refill rates of covered materials.

Are dates established as to when fees must be paid?

• Producers must pay the producer responsibility dues on “covered materials” annually to the PRO in January 2026, and each year thereafter.

Is there a bottle deposit law exemption in the EPR law? 

• Yes

Does this state currently have a bottle deposit law?

• No

Are there efforts to pass a bottle deposit law that would add wine and wine products packaged in glass containers into the existing bottle bill program?

• No

Is there a small producer exemption?

• Yes

Small Producer Exemption:

• A person with less than $5,506,200 in realized gross total revenue, not including on-premises alcohol sales, during the prior calendar year;
• A person that has used less than one ton of covered materials for products sold or distributed within or into the state during the prior calendar year;
• The state or local government;
• A non-profit organization;
• An agricultural employer, as defined in Section 8-3-104(1), regardless of where the agricultural employer is located, with less than $5,506.200 in realized gross total revenue in the state from consumer sales of agricultural products sold under the brand name of the farmer, egg producer, grower, or individual grower cooperative;
• An individual business operating a retail food establishment that is located at a physical business location and that is licensed under section 25-4-1607(1)(a) or section 32-106.5(1) to Section 32-106.5(5) of the Denver Code of Ordinances; or
• A builder, construction company, or construction contractors.

Product Exemptions:

• Packaging materials used solely in transportation or distribution to non-consumers;
• Packaging materials used solely in business-to-business transactions where a covered material is not intended to be distributed to the end consumer;
• Packaging materials that are not sold or distributed to covered entities; or
• Packaging materials that are used for products sold or distributed outside the state.

Will a Needs Assessment be conducted?

• Yes. This was completed in February 2024.

Resources:

• Colorado Needs Assessment – 2025 update

Are there Post Consumer Recycled Content (PCRC) requirements in law?

• Producers will need to report how much PCRC is used in their packaging and what efforts the producer is using to increase this.

What are the dates and percentages when the PCRC reductions take effect?

• Yes. The PRO will determine minimum PCRC by January 1, 2030, and then by January 1, 2035.

Are there reusability requirements in the law?

• No, but reusability will be taken into account in determining eco-modulation/fees.

Are there packaging reduction requirements in the law?

• No, but packaging reduction will be taken into account in determining eco-modulation/fees.

Are Large Producer Life Cycle Assessments required?

• No

First Offense:

• $5000 for the first day of each violation and $1500 per day for each day the violation continues.

Second Offense:

• If a violation occurs within the first 12 months after the first violation, a penalty of $10,000 for the first day of each violation and $3000 per day for each day the violation continues.

Third Offense:

• For a third or subsequent violation committed within 12 months after two or more prior violations, a penalty of $20,000 for the first day of each violation and $6000 per day for each day the violation continues.

Are any materials completely banned from use under the law?

• No