The Event

Packaging Recycling Summit 2026Rosemont, IL · June 15-17, 2026

The fourth annual Packaging Recycling Summit brought packaging leaders together in Rosemont, Illinois for three days of sessions and roundtables on recyclability, small-format packaging, and state-level EPR compliance in the US. The 2025 edition drew 600+ attendees from around 500 companies, and 2026 lined up 12+ confirmed speakers and 15+ sponsors, including names like PureCycle Technologies, LyondellBasell, and Stora Enso North America. It is a summit format built for sessions and networking, not an exhibitor trade show floor.

For a brand focused on EU expansion, this one is valuable groundwork rather than a direct compliance touchpoint. It is a US state-level EPR event, and watching how US packaging regulation is evolving state by state builds a useful sense of the scale and pace EU-wide EPR and PPWR rules are also moving at, even without EU content on the program itself.

View event site → What this means for EU expansion

The Room

Who was in the room atPackaging Recycling Summit 2026

The room skewed toward packaging and sustainability specialists working through US state-level EPR rules, recycled-content mandates, and recyclability engineering. Speakers and sponsors came from materials science, recycling infrastructure, brand packaging teams, and industry research bodies, including names like SAMBAZON, PureCycle Technologies, LyondellBasell, and the Biodegradable Products Institute.

Packaging Sustainability LeadsMaterials ScientistsRecycling Infrastructure ProvidersPolicy and Compliance Specialists

For a growing brand seeking the next step up, was Packaging Recycling Summit 2026 a good fit?

Yes, as preparation rather than as a direct EU compliance session. This is a US state-level EPR audience focused on domestic recyclability and recycled-content rules, and tracking how that regulation has developed state by state is a useful preview of the scale and complexity EU-wide EPR and PPWR rules bring once a brand starts shipping packaged product into Europe.

Packaging Sustainability Leads

Brand-side teams responsible for meeting state recycled-content mandates and recyclability targets, weighing packaging redesigns against cost and supply constraints.

Materials Scientists

Specialists from companies like PureCycle Technologies and WovenWorks working on recyclable and recycled-content materials for flexible film and small-format packaging.

Policy and Compliance Specialists

Attendees tracking how state-level EPR laws are being implemented and enforced across the US, including the compliance tensions those laws create for national brands.

Programme

WhatPackaging Recycling Summit 2026 told us

The sessions surfaced signals worth watching for any brand thinking about what comes after US packaging compliance, including the case for getting ahead of stricter rules before they arrive.

State-level EPR is creating a patchwork, not a standard

Sessions returned repeatedly to the reality that US packaging EPR is being built state by state, not as a single federal framework. For brands operating nationally, that means tracking multiple sets of registration and reporting rules at once, a compliance shape that will feel familiar to anyone who has already dealt with country-by-country EPR registration in Europe.

Small-format and flexible packaging remain the hardest problem

Speakers from Ecologic Brands/Jabil Packaging Solutions and WovenWorks discussed why small-format packaging and flexible film are lagging behind rigid packaging on recyclability, with materials and collection infrastructure both cited as constraints. This is the same category of packaging that tends to cause friction under EU Extended Producer Responsibility rules too, so the underlying engineering challenge is shared even where the regulation differs.

Recycled-content mandates are moving from target to requirement

According to Packaging Dive's coverage of the summit, discussion moved past voluntary recycled-content goals toward the compliance mechanics of state mandates that now carry real deadlines. Brands were candid about the operational lift of proving recycled content at scale, a theme that echoes the documentation demands under EU packaging rules.

Materials innovation is being pitched as the compliance shortcut

Sponsors including PureCycle Technologies and LyondellBasell presented on advanced recycling and recycled-resin capacity as ways for brands to meet content mandates without redesigning packaging from scratch. It is a pragmatic near-term answer, though several speakers noted capacity and cost still limit how fast brands can lean on it.

Live Intelligence

What's being said aboutPackaging Recycling Summit 2026

Post-event coverage confirms the summit's focus stayed squarely on US state-level EPR mechanics and recyclability engineering, with no EU or PPWR crossover surfacing.

State EPR compliance tensions were the recurring thread

PACKAGING DIVE COVERAGE · JUN 2026

Packaging Dive's post-event write-up on the summit's EPR takeaways described a room still working out how to reconcile differing state rules within one national packaging strategy. The consistent message was that state-by-state EPR is now an operational reality for US brands, not a future planning problem.

Flexible film recycling has no easy fix yet

SUMMIT SESSIONS · JUN 2026

Session speakers were direct about flexible film and small-format packaging remaining the toughest category to make genuinely recyclable at scale. Materials innovation is progressing, but collection and sorting infrastructure has not caught up.

Recycled-content mandates are being treated as fixed cost, not aspiration

SUMMIT SESSIONS · JUN 2026

Discussion around state recycled-content requirements framed them as near-term compliance line items rather than long-range sustainability goals. Brands are now budgeting for recycled-content proof and reporting the same way they budget for other regulatory costs.

Limited detail on how deep EU comparisons went

DESK RESEARCH · AUG 2026

Available post-event coverage did not surface any session or speaker addressing EU or UK packaging EPR directly, and no PPWR reference was found. This confirms the summit's scope stayed US-domestic, with limited post-event intelligence available beyond the confirmed speaker and sponsor list and the Packaging Dive recap.

Expandly perspective

US packaging rules are tightening. EU packaging rules already are.

Packaging Recycling Summit 2026 confirmed something worth sitting with even though the event itself was US-domestic: packaging compliance is getting harder everywhere, not just in Europe. State-by-state EPR in the US and country-by-country EPR in the EU are different systems, but they rhyme. A brand that is already building the discipline to track recycled-content mandates and packaging registration at home is closer than it thinks to being ready for the EU version of the same problem.

EU Extended Producer Responsibility applies per country, so Germany, France, and others each require separate registration and fees, much like navigating separate state rules in the US.
Small-format and flexible packaging, flagged at the summit as the hardest recyclability category, faces the same scrutiny under EU EPR schemes.
Recycled-content and reporting obligations that US brands are now budgeting for domestically map closely onto documentation demands under EU packaging rules.
Brands that treat packaging compliance as a US-only project often discover the EU requirements late, once expansion is already underway and the timeline is tight.

Expandly's job is making sure that discovery never happens under pressure. The EU side of packaging compliance, VAT, product safety, and fulfillment gets mapped and registered before launch, not after.

Packaging rules are converging in spirit

US state EPR and EU EPR are separate legal systems, but both now treat packaging as a compliance line item with real fees attached. Brands building EPR discipline for one market are better positioned to build it for the other.

State-by-state how US EPR is currently structured

EU EPR registration is per country, not per region

Selling packaged goods in Germany, France, and other EU markets each requires its own EPR registration and fee structure. Skipping it risks marketplace suspension, so it needs to be resolved before launch, not fixed after a warning.

Per country EU EPR registration requirement

One partner, not a stack of vendors

EU entry usually means stitching together a VAT agent, a 3PL, a compliance advisor, and a marketplace consultant. Expandly runs all of it as one operation, using the Global Expansion Pathway (GEP™), so the coordination burden never lands on your team.

GEP™ one method, compliance to fulfillment

Good to Know

Questions about Packaging Recycling Summit 2026

What did Packaging Recycling Summit 2026 actually cover?

The fourth annual edition ran June 15 to 17, 2026 at the Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, organized by PMMI Media Group with Packaging World. Sessions centered on US recyclability challenges, small-format packaging pilots, flexible film recycling, and state-level recycled-content mandates, under the theme "Designing the Circular Future."

Is this event relevant to a US brand planning EU expansion?

Yes, as preparation. Packaging Recycling Summit 2026 is a US state-level EPR event with no EU or PPWR content on the agenda, but it shows packaging and EPR scrutiny rising on both sides of the Atlantic. Watching how US regulation develops gives a thriving domestic business an early feel for the scale of packaging compliance work waiting on the EU side too.

Does Expandly track this event going forward?

Yes. There is no confirmed 2027 edition date yet, and Expandly will watch for the next edition and for any sign that EU or PPWR content gets added to the program, since that would make it directly relevant to EU-bound brands.

What is EPR and does my brand need to register?

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) makes you financially responsible for the packaging and certain products you put on a market, paid through registration and fees. It applies per country, so Germany, France, and others each need separate registration. Selling without it risks marketplace suspension and fines, so it is part of the pre-launch setup.

How should a US brand handle European fulfillment and delivery?

Hold stock in an EU warehouse so orders ship locally, fast, and at lower cost than shipping each parcel from the US. A central location such as the Netherlands reaches Germany and neighboring markets within a day or two by road. Returns also need a local address, since cross-border returns are slow and expensive.

What are the main compliance requirements for selling in the EU?

The main pillars are: product safety and an EU or UK Responsible Person, packaging registration under Extended Producer Responsibility rules, VAT (value-added tax) registration, and correct labeling. Requirements vary by product category, so what applies to cosmetics differs from electronics or food. Getting the applicable set confirmed before launch avoids expensive corrections.

Make Your Move

US packaging rules just got harder.The EU rules already are.

Packaging Recycling Summit 2026 confirmed that state-level EPR and recycled-content compliance are now fixed costs of doing business in the US. For a brand with Europe on its roadmap, the real question is how to structure EU packaging compliance before it becomes a launch-day surprise.

Expandly builds the EU side of that answer using the Global Expansion Pathway (GEP™): country-by-country EPR registration, VAT, product safety, and fulfillment set up as one coordinated operation rather than a pile of separate vendors to manage. If US packaging rules are already on your radar, it is worth a conversation about what the EU equivalent actually requires before you commit to a launch date.