Governing Law
Fee Start
No producer fee start date set; the first reimbursement floor is Feb 1, 2029 (50% of net costs, 115A.1455 subd. 4), and the PRO may charge member fees earlier (115A.1443 subd. 3(c))
Max Penalty
Up to $25,000/day, rising to $50,000 then $100,000 for repeat violations (115A.1462(c)); the $50,000 and $100,000 tiers apply to repeat violations within five years after stewardship plan approval
Administering Agency
PRO / Administrator
De Minimis
Under 1 ton introduced into Minnesota OR under $2M global gross revenue (Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 13)
Fees are not yet active in Minnesota, and no program fee schedule has been published.

Reimbursement floors for service providers

Reimbursement rates to service providers must reach at least 50% of net costs by February 1, 2029, 75% by February 1, 2030, and 90% by February 1, 2031 and each year thereafter (Minn. Stat. 115A.1455, subd. 4). Producers fund this through the PRO, which may already charge member producers fees to pay MPCA's estimated implementation costs (115A.1443, subd. 3(c)); Minnesota sets no separate producer fee start date. Administered by MPCA through the Circular Action Alliance (CAA).

The tonnage test is measured in Minnesota and the revenue test globally

The de minimis rule is an either/or test: a producer qualifies by introducing less than one ton of covered material into Minnesota OR by earning global gross revenues under $2 million, and either condition alone is enough (Minn. Stat. 115A.1441, subd. 13). Note the tonnage test is measured on material introduced into Minnesota while the revenue test is global, and the statute says "one ton" without specifying metric or short.

Rulemaking status

MPCA published a Request for Comments on possible rules (Revisor ID R-04992, MPCA document sw-rule3-06a, dated April 27, 2026) in the State Register on May 26, 2026, and comments closed July 24, 2026; no draft rule text exists yet, and MPCA opened comment on the draft 2026 needs assessment from September 14 through November 13, 2026.

Fee Schedule by Material

No program fee schedule has been published for Minnesota yet, so this page shows no per-material rates. The fee calculator shows a projection for Minnesota, estimated from Oregon’s 2026 rates and labeled as an estimate.

Eco-Modulation Factors

○ SpeculativeProjected/estimated. Eco-modulation rules are not yet finalized in this state.

Source: HF 3911 (2024) / MN Stat. 115A.1455. CAA selected Feb 18, 2025. Eco-mod set in the stewardship plan (PRO plan due Oct 1, 2028); not yet established.

In Oregon this cycle, eco-modulation is three voluntary LCA bonuses, A, B, and C.

Fee Reductions (Bonuses)

Recyclability / PCR / reuse credit (expected): not yet finalized

Fee Increases (Maluses)

Hard-to-recycle materials (expected): higher cost share, not yet finalized

Multiplier floor: Not established - stewardship plan due Oct 1, 2028

SPECULATIVE for eco-mod. Cost-share model ramps: 50% of net recycling costs by Feb 1, 2029; 75% by Feb 1, 2030; 90% by Feb 1, 2031 (MN Stat. 115A.1455). Eco-mod criteria follow the CAA harmonized approach once the stewardship plan is approved; specific factors/rates not yet established.

Program Plan Status

Signaled

Plan submitted: No. No program plan has been filed; the implementing rules that will govern one are still being written.

Agency approved: Not applicable yet.

Where it stands: MPCA is at the pre-draft rulemaking stage. Its Request for Comments (Revisor ID R-04992, MPCA document sw-rule3-06a) closed July 24, 2026 and no draft rule text exists yet.

Next milestone: MPCA opened public comment on its draft 2026 Needs Assessment, including a recommended methodology for service-provider reimbursement rates, through November 13, 2026; the statutory deadline for the needs assessment is December 31, 2026 (Minn. Stat. 115A.1450). The PRO may charge member producers fees now (115A.1443 subd. 3(c)); the 50% reimbursement floor is February 1, 2029 (115A.1455 subd. 4).

Source: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Request for Comments (Revisor ID R-04992, document sw-rule3-06a, closed July 24, 2026). Agency program page →

Reporting Deadlines and Program Dates

Jul 1, 2026
PRO must register with the MPCA commissioner (115A.1443 Subd. 1(a)); producers had to appoint a PRO by Jan 1, 2025
May 26, 2026
MPCA Request for Comments on possible EPR rules published in the State Register (Revisor ID R-04992); comments closed Jul 24, 2026
May 31, 2026
Interim Producer Report (simplified reporting categories) due (CAA-set date, not statutory)
Sep 14, 2026
MPCA opens 60-day comment on the draft 2026 Needs Assessment, covering baseline rates, investment, service provider reimbursement methodology, sustainable design, and outreach
Nov 13, 2026
Comment closes on the MPCA draft 2026 Needs Assessment
Dec 31, 2026
MPCA needs assessment complete
Oct 1, 2028
PRO submits stewardship plan to the MPCA commissioner (115A.1451 subd. 1), after sending the draft to the advisory board at least 60 days earlier (subd. 2)
Jan 1, 2029
Producer PRO agreements required; prohibition on sale without agreement
Feb 1, 2029
50% reimbursement floor for service providers (115A.1455 subd. 4); the PRO may charge member fees earlier (115A.1443 subd. 3(c))
Feb 1, 2030
75% reimbursement floor for service providers (115A.1455 subd. 4)
Feb 1, 2031
90% reimbursement floor for service providers, and each year thereafter (115A.1455 subd. 4)

Program Notes

Reimbursement rates to service providers must reach at least 50% of net costs by Feb 1, 2029, 75% by Feb 1, 2030, and 90% by Feb 1, 2031 (Minn. Stat. 115A.1455, subd. 4); the PRO may charge member fees earlier (115A.1443, subd. 3(c)). MPCA published a Request for Comments on possible rules (Revisor ID R-04992, doc. sw-rule3-06a) in the State Register May 26, 2026, comments closed July 24, 2026; no draft rule text yet, and MPCA opened comment on the draft 2026 needs assessment through Nov 13, 2026.

Covered Products Scope

Packaging of all materials and paper products introduced into Minnesota (Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 10); packaging includes pallets, blocking, and bracing and is not limited to consumer packaging. De minimis: under 1 ton of covered material introduced into Minnesota OR under $2M global gross revenue, and either alone qualifies (Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 13).

Exemptions and Exclusions

The following categories may be fully or partially exempt from producer obligations in Minnesota. Verify applicability with the CAA producer portal or Minnesota MPCA before excluding any materials from supply reports.

De minimis (small producer)Out of scopeAutomatic by law
<1 ton of covered material introduced into Minnesota OR global gross revenues <$2M. Either condition alone qualifies, because the tests are joined by "or". CORRECTED 2026-08-03: this entry previously said both conditions had to be met and described Minnesota as stricter than the other states. The statute says otherwise. Note the tonnage test is measured on material introduced into Minnesota while the revenue test is global, and the statute says "one ton" without specifying metric or short.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441, subd. 13
Government and nonprofitEntity-side reliefAutomatic by law
'Producer' does not include a state, a federal or state agency, a political subdivision, or other governmental unit, nor a registered 501(c)(3) charitable or 501(c)(4) social welfare organization.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 26(b)(1) and (2)
Paper and wood-fiber millsEntity-side reliefAutomatic by law
Two categories, both outside the producer definition: a mill that uses ANY virgin wood fiber in the products it produces, and a paper mill that produces container board derived from 100 percent postconsumer recycled content and nonpostconsumer recycled content. A mill in the first category is out if it uses virgin fiber at all.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 26(b)(4) and (5)
Restaurant and single-location retailNo provision
No restaurant or single-retail exclusion in the producer definition.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 26(b)
Beverage manufacturer volume testNo provision
No raised volume threshold for beverage manufacturers. Oregon is the only state of the seven with one, and the ordinary de minimis test applies here instead.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 13 and 26(b)
Alcohol licenseeNo provision
No alcohol licensee exclusion, and no on-premises alcohol carve-out in the revenue test either. Maryland is the only state with a direct alcohol exemption; Colorado and Washington carve on-premises sales out of their revenue thresholds instead.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 26(b)
B2B and transport packagingConditionalAutomatic by law
The exemption is much narrower than a general B2B exclusion. The exemption reaches covered materials that (i) a producer distributes to another producer, (ii) are then used to contain a product distributed to a commercial or business entity for the production of another product, and (iii) are not introduced to anyone other than that entity. All three conditions must hold, so this is an industrial-input exemption. A corrugated shipper carrying finished goods to a retailer meets none of them and is not exempt.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(14)
Hazardous or flammable (OSHA HazCom)ConditionalAgency determinationNot yet determinable
Conditional, claimed rather than automatic, and currently dormant. Subd. 16(11) reaches OSHA Hazard Communication Standard products, but only where the hazard prevents the packaging from being waste reduced or made reusable, recyclable, or compostable, “as determined by the commissioner”. No such determination has been located, so the exclusion cannot be relied on today and the correct answer for now is in scope. The formal route at 115A.1453 subd. 6 is a producer request on a prescribed form, reviewed by the advisory board, approved only where a specific federal or state health and safety requirement prevents waste reduction, decided within 120 days, posted publicly, and expiring after two years. Note the wording: Minnesota says products “regulated by” the OSHA standard where Washington and California say “classified by”, and whether regulated-by is broader is unlitigated. Unlike Maryland's, it is not limited to primary packaging.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(11); route at 115A.1453 subd. 6
DOT dangerous goodsNo provision
No DOT-based exclusion.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(1) to (14)
Refillable LPG and pressurized containersOut of scopeAutomatic by law
“Packaging used to contain liquefied petroleum gas and are designed to be refilled.” The refillable qualifier is part of the test, the same as Oregon (F) and Washington 102(19)(i). A single-use pressurized cylinder is not covered by this. Not limited to primary packaging, unlike Maryland's equivalent.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(8)
Pesticides (FIFRA)Out of scopeAutomatic by law
All packaging for products regulated by EPA under FIFRA. No material limit and no condition.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(7)
Beverage containers and deposit programsNo provision
No beverage-container exclusion of any kind. The list has 14 items and contains none. Minnesota operates no deposit return system. So beer, soda, wine, and spirits containers are all covered materials in Minnesota, including glass wine bottles that are out of scope in California and Maine.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(1) to (14)
Medical, drug, and deviceOut of scopeAutomatic by law
Six separate subsections: (1) infant formula, (2) medical food, (3) fortified oral nutritional supplements, (4) products regulated as a drug or medical device by the FDA including associated components and consumable medical equipment, (5) medical equipment or products used in medical settings, (6) animal drugs, biologics, parasiticides, medical devices, and in vitro diagnostics. Not limited to primary packaging.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(1) to (6)
AgriculturalNo provision
No agricultural exclusion in the exempt-materials list, and no agricultural producer exemption of the kind Colorado and Washington carry. CORRECTED 2026-09-09: this entry previously deferred to separate Department of Agriculture programs and told the reader to confirm scope with MPCA. It implied relief the statute does not give. Agricultural chemical containers may be handled under separate MDA programs, but that is a different regime and does not exempt packaging from 115A.1441.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(1) to (14)
Paint stewardship containersOut of scopeAutomatic by law
Packaging being collected and properly managed through a paint stewardship plan approved under section 115A.1415. The condition is collection and proper management through the approved plan.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(12)
Long-term storage, five yearsNo provision
No five-year long-term-storage exclusion. Colorado, California, Maine, Maryland, and Washington have one in statute, and Oregon has one by rule (OAR 340-090-0840(2)(a)). Minnesota does not.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(1) to (14)
Commercial recycling routeNo provision
No commercial-recycling-route or high-recycling-rate exit.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(1) to (14)
Construction and contractorsNo provision
No construction exclusion.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(1) to (14)
Agency catch-allConditionalApplication required
Exempt materials as determined by the commissioner under 115A.1453 subd. 6. This is the same route the hazardous exclusion runs through: a producer request on a prescribed form, advisory board review, approval only where a specific federal or state health and safety requirement prevents waste reduction, a 120-day decision, public posting, and expiry after two years. Two-year expiry means an exemption granted under this route is never permanent.
Minn. Stat. 115A.1441 subd. 16(13) with 115A.1453 subd. 6
Minnesota's de minimis is an either/or test (Minn. Stat. 115A.1441, subd. 13). A company at $1.9M global revenue is exempt on the revenue test whatever its tonnage, and a company under one ton into Minnesota is exempt on the tonnage test whatever its revenue. CORRECTED 2026-08-04: this note previously said both conditions had to be met, and gave a worked example that reached the opposite of the statutory answer.

Responsible Producer

Obligation follows a statutory cascade and the shape differs by state. Washington, Maryland, Minnesota, and Maine run five tiers: the manufacturer for goods under its own brand or in packaging lacking brand identification; the licensee that makes or sells under a brand owned by another party; the brand owner; the U.S. importer where none of those exists in the United States; then the person that first distributes the item into the state. The Oregon and Colorado statutes run three tiers: own-brand or unbranded manufacturer, licensee, then the importer into the United States (ORS 459A.866(1)(a); C.R.S. 25-17-703(30)(a)); in Oregon there is no brand-owner tier. The Colorado rule then sets the order of obligation in four steps (6 CCR 1007-2 Part 1, s18.2.2(A)): the brand owner directing or performing the manufacturing of the packaging, then the brand or trademark licensee directing it, then the manufacturer where no brand is identified, then the importer. California reaches a manufacturer that owns or is the licensee of the brand at tier 1, then the brand owner or exclusive licensee, then whoever sells or distributes in or into the state, with no importer tier (PRC 42041(w)). Store-brand and private-label goods usually land on the retailer whose brand appears, but the test differs in two states. In Oregon the retailer is reached only where it directs the manufacturing, including setting packaging specifications, and ordering finished goods for resale in the normal course of business is not directing manufacturing (OAR 340-090-0860(1)(a)). In California an in-state manufacturer that owns the brand or is licensed to manufacture the goods is the producer ahead of the brand owner (14 CCR 18980.1.1(c)(1)).

MN: The standard hierarchy above applies, and producers confirm their determination in the CAA portal. General framework; verify the statutory definition and your specific role before registering.

What You Report and Covered Materials

These attributes are the fee inputs, so they are best captured at design time. CAA collects this once through its producer portal and maps it to each state a producer sells into, and state-specific rules still apply. Retain supporting records to substantiate reports, exemptions, and credits, for the period your PRO agreement and the state program set.

Covered materials list pending the MPCA program plan. Covered materials / recyclability list →

Design Levers: PCR, Source Reduction, and Toxics

Signaled

Minnesota requires the MPCA commissioner to set the percentage of postconsumer recycled content that covered materials must contain, and the stewardship plan must carry PCR targets by material type (Minn. Stat. 115A.1451, subd. 5(a) and 7(a)); no percentage has been set yet.

The commissioner must also set the percentage of covered materials that must be waste reduced (115A.1451, subd. 7(a)); none is set yet, and lighter packaging will lower future tonnage-based fees.

Minnesota applies the Toxics-in-Packaging heavy-metals limit and bans food packages that contain intentionally added PFAS (Minn. Stat. 325F.075, subd. 2).

Sources: Minnesota Toxics in Packaging; Minn. Stat. 325F.075 (PFAS in food packaging); Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse member list (Minnesota is a member). The EPR fee calculator models the dollar impact of a design change, and this section does not estimate fees.

Statute and Rule Text

Statute: HF 3911 (2024), the Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act, codified at Minn. Stat. 115A.144 to 115A.1463. Read the statute →

Implementing rule: No rule yet. MPCA rulemaking is at the pre-draft stage. The Request for Comments (Revisor ID R-04992, document sw-rule3-06a) closed July 24, 2026 and no draft rule text has been published. Read the rule →

Primary sources. Where the statute and an agency summary disagree, the statute and the adopted rule control.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Minnesota's de minimis threshold?
Either condition alone qualifies. A producer is a de minimis producer in Minnesota if it introduced less than one ton of covered material into the state in its most recent fiscal year, OR if it earned global gross revenues of less than $2 million (Minn. Stat. 115A.1441, subd. 13). So a company at $1.9 million in revenue is exempt on the revenue test whatever its tonnage, and a company under one ton into Minnesota is exempt on the tonnage test whatever its revenue. The statute says "one ton" without specifying metric or short.
When do Minnesota EPR fees begin?
Minnesota sets no producer fee start date. The PRO may charge member producers fees now to cover MPCA's implementation costs (115A.1443 subd. 3(c)), and the first reimbursement floor for service providers is 50% of net costs by February 1, 2029 (115A.1455 subd. 4), rising to 75% by February 1, 2030 and 90% by February 1, 2031 and each year thereafter.
What type of supply report does Minnesota require?
Minnesota currently requires CAA's Interim Producer Report (Simplified Reporting Categories), showing aggregated weight in a short list of simplified reporting categories, rather than the roughly 60 categories Oregon and Colorado use. The 2025 supply report was due to CAA May 31, 2026, a CAA-set program date; Minn. Stat. 115A.1443 sets no producer reporting date.
What is Minnesota's PRO structure?
Minnesota's EPR program is administered through the Circular Action Alliance. Producers must be members of a registered PRO after July 1, 2025 (Minn. Stat. 115A.1448, subd. 1(a)). After January 1, 2029, a producer may not introduce covered materials unless it has a written agreement with a PRO to operate under an approved stewardship plan (subd. 1(b)).