Washington's E2SSB 5284 (2025), the Recycling Reform Act, requires producers to have appointed a PRO by January 1, 2026 (Sec. 103(1)) and, after July 1, 2026, to be members of a registered PRO, in practice the Circular Action Alliance, or register to run an individual plan (Sec. 104(1)(a)), with the cost-share ramp running Feb 15, 2030 to 2032 (Sec. 117(2)(a)) and an initial pre-plan producer fee structure required by Sec. 104(3)(b).
Facts on this page were last verified against primary sources on October 8, 2026. The EPR Atlas is re-checked weekly, and this stamp moves only when a verification pass runs.
Washington's de minimis test has three tests and any one of them qualifies: under one ton of covered materials, under $5 million in global gross revenue excluding on-premises alcohol sales, or an agricultural employer with under $5 million in Washington revenue from own-brand agricultural commodities (RCW 70A.208.020(16)). The exemption is available now, and January 1, 2031 is only the date the $5 million figures begin CPI adjustment. The statute says "one ton" without specifying metric or short.
Ecology begins enforcement activities against noncompliant producers that are not PRO members on March 1, 2029 (E2SSB 5284 Sec. 106(2)(m)), and from that date a producer that is not a member in good standing of a registered PRO, in practice CAA, and has not submitted an individual plan may not introduce covered materials into Washington (Sec. 104(2)). The cost-share ramp is 50% by February 15, 2030, 75% by February 15, 2031, and 90% by February 15, 2032.
The statute requires the PRO to set an initial producer fee structure, used until its plan is approved, and to collect fees annually from registered producers (RCW 70A.208.040(3)(b)). CAA published these rates on October 1, 2026 for program year 2027. CAA’s schedule gives no invoice date and no supply-data year. Program fees under an approved plan come later, and the statutory due date for the plan is October 1, 2028 (E2SSB 5284 Sec. 113(1)).
| Material category | 2027 early fee ($/lb) |
|---|---|
| Printing & Writing Paper | $0.016 |
| Glass & Ceramics | $0.002 |
| Metal | $0.009 |
| Paper/Fiber | $0.005 |
| Rigid Plastic | $0.011 |
| Flexible Plastic | $0.025 |
| Wood & Other Organic Materials | $0.030 |
| Compostable Materials | $0.017 |
Source: CAA, 2027 Washington Early Fees Schedule, Fees for Program Year 2027, originally published October 1, 2026 (PDF) and CAA’s Washington 2027 early fees page.
No program fee schedule has been published for Washington yet, so this page shows no per-material rates. CAA’s 2027 Washington early fees are a separate charge and are listed above. The fee calculator shows a projection for Washington, estimated from Oregon’s 2026 rates and labeled as an estimate.
Source: E2SSB 5284 (2025), Recycling Reform Act. Eco-mod required; program plan (~2028) not yet approved; factors not established.
In Oregon this cycle, eco-modulation is three voluntary LCA bonuses, A, B, and C.
Multiplier floor: Not established - program plan pending
Plan submitted: No. Washington is still in rulemaking and no PRO plan is due yet.
Agency approved: Not applicable yet.
Where it stands: Ecology filed CR-101 for WAC 173-950 on March 19, 2026; comment period 1 closed June 24, 2026 and comment period 2, on draft rule language, closed September 2, 2026, with the CR-102 estimated for October 2027 and adoption estimated for April 2028. Version 2 of Ecology's preliminary statewide collection lists went to the Recycling Reform Act advisory council's Statewide List Subcommittee in August 2026, Ecology took public comment on the preliminary lists from August 5 to 19, 2026, and the council approved the subcommittee's recommendations on August 13, 2026.
Next milestone: Ecology opened public comment on its draft preliminary needs assessment on October 1, 2026, through October 30, 2026 (needs assessments page, read October 4, 2026); the statutory deadline for the final preliminary needs assessment is December 31, 2026 (E2SSB 5284 Sec. 111). Ecology was required to develop the initial statewide collection lists by October 1, 2026 (E2SSB 5284 Sec. 109(1)(a)); the statute says develop, and publication follows plan approval rather than that date. The Advisory Council was scheduled to meet October 8, 2026, and the RRA Advisory Council site listed the following meeting for November 19, 2026.
Source: Washington Department of Ecology; RRA Advisory Council. Agency program page →
The following categories may be fully or partially exempt from producer obligations in Washington. Verify applicability with the CAA producer portal or Washington Ecology before excluding any materials from supply reports.
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)).
WA: 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.
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.
Sec. 109 set October 1, 2026 for Ecology to develop initial collection lists, and preliminary lists were out for comment August 5 to 19, 2026. Ecology must publish the lists no later than 30 days after approving a plan (Sec. 109). Covered materials / recyclability list →
Ecology must set the percentage of postconsumer recycled content that covered materials must contain, and the PRO plan must carry PCR targets by material type, including the rates already set under the separate recycled content law, RCW 70A.245 (E2SSB 5284 Sec. 115(1) and (10)(a)); no EPR percentage has been set yet.
Ecology must also set the percentage of covered materials that must be plastic source reduced against a 2023 baseline (Sec. 115(10)(a); Sec. 102(27)), and no more than 8% of a PRO target can be met by switching from virgin plastic to PCR (Sec. 115(6)). None is set yet.
Washington applies the Toxics-in-Packaging heavy-metals limit and prohibits intentionally added PFAS in each food packaging application for which Ecology has found a safer alternative, two years after its report (RCW 70A.222.070(1), (5)).
Sources: Washington Toxics in Packaging; Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse member list (Washington is a member); RCW 70A.222.070 (PFAS in food packaging). The EPR fee calculator models the dollar impact of a design change, and this section does not estimate fees.
Statute: E2SSB 5284 (2025), the Recycling Reform Act. Read the statute →
Implementing rule: WAC 173-950 (in development). CR-101 filed March 19, 2026. Ecology estimates CR-102 in October 2027, hearings in December 2027, and rules effective May 2028. Read the rule →
Primary sources. Where the statute and an agency summary disagree, the statute and the adopted rule control.
The EPR Atlas hub includes interactive tools to model your Washington EPR cost exposure and compare it across all seven enacted states.