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Minnesota: sustainable packaging labelling
Minnesota requires material coding for covered plastic containers, tightly controls biodegradability and compostability labelling, and is implementing a statewide packaging producer-responsibility system. The EPR law imposes organisational and financing duties rather than a universal on-pack mark.
Executive summary
Minnesota regulates composition labels, environmental end-of-life claims and producer responsibility through three connected but distinct systems. Section 325E.044 requires covered plastic containers to comply with state labelling rules. Section 325E.046 conditions biodegradability and compostability language on technical standards, certification and consumer-facing wording. The Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act creates an extended producer-responsibility programme for packaging and paper products.
The compostability rules are now fully in their certification phase: from 1 January 2026, covered products carrying compostable or biodegradable language require certification by a qualifying nonprofit technical organisation unless a narrow statutory material route applies. The EPR system is also active in its institutional phase, but its producer registration, plan and financing requirements do not create an on-pack recycling claim.
Legal status at a glance
| Requirement | Status | Operational meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Plastic-container resin label | mandatory | Plastic bottles, cans and jars of at least 16 ounces must comply with state labelling rules aligned as practicable with national coding systems. |
| Biodegradable or degradation claim | conditional | A covered product may use the term only when an applicable ASTM specification exists and qualifying certification supports it. |
| Compostable claim and presentation | mandatory when claimed | The product meets ASTM D6400 or D6868 or a narrow uncoated wood/paper route, carries approved certification and states industrial or commercial composting. |
| Packaging EPR mark | none | The program requires producer participation, plans, fees and performance but does not prescribe one consumer-facing programme logo. |
Plastic-container labelling
Section 325E.044 defines a plastic container as an individual, separate plastic bottle, can or jar with a capacity of at least 16 ounces. A person may not manufacture or bring such a container into Minnesota for sale unless it complies with the labelling rules adopted under the statute. Those rules must be as consistent as practicable with nationwide industry coding systems and allow an appropriate method of attaching, embossing or printing the information.
The statute does not itself prescribe the chasing-arrows enclosure. Artwork teams should consult the current implementing rule and approved national coding system rather than importing another state's graphic. The resin label identifies material; it does not establish curbside acceptance or support an unqualified recyclable claim.
Biodegradable and degradation terminology
A manufacturer, distributor or wholesaler may not sell or offer a covered product labelled “biodegradable,” “degradable,” “decomposable” or a variation, or otherwise imply breakdown in a landfill or other environment, unless an ASTM standard specification has been adopted for the claimed term and the product is certified as meeting it under subdivision 2a. Other persons may not knowingly sell or offer the noncompliant product.
The rule reaches implications, not only exact words. Images, product names and disposal instructions that communicate decomposition should be reviewed. Evidence must match the claimed disposal environment and complete marketed article. A generic supplier statement that a resin eventually fragments is not sufficient.
Compostable claim, certification and wording
A covered product labelled compostable must meet ASTM D6400 or D6868, as applicable, and be labelled to reflect that standard. Products made solely from wood or solely from paper without coatings or additives have a statutory route outside the ASTM requirement. Since 1 January 2026, products using compostable or biodegradable language must be certified by an entity that is nonprofit, focused on appropriate end-of-life systems and technically capable of the required analysis.
The product or its smallest unit of sale must also state clearly and prominently that it is intended for an industrial or commercial compost facility. The text must be legible. A certification mark from an approved certifier can satisfy the standard-identification element, but the required facility statement and any necessary access qualification remain separate. Commercial compostability should not be presented as home compostability.
Who bears the labelling obligations
Section 325E.044 prohibits a person from manufacturing or bringing a noncompliant plastic container into Minnesota for sale and exposes manufacturers and distributors to enforcement after notice. Section 325E.046 expressly names manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers, and reaches another person who knowingly sells or offers the product.
Retailers should therefore obtain certification and approved artwork for claim-bearing products rather than assuming the brand owner alone carries the risk. Packaging suppliers should provide full construction data, including coatings, adhesives and inks, because those features can affect the applicable ASTM route.
Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act
The 2024 Act requires producers to implement and finance a statewide programme for covered packaging and paper products. Its producer hierarchy covers manufacturers, licensees, brand owners, importers, first distributors and e-commerce shipping packaging depending on the transaction. Producers were required to appoint a producer responsibility organisation, and the organisation's current registration milestone was 1 July 2026. Stewardship plans are due by 1 October 2028.
The statute phases market conditions through 2032. After January 2029, a producer may not introduce covered material without a written agreement to operate under an approved stewardship plan. After January 2032, covered material must satisfy the applicable reuse, refill, recyclable-list, compostable-list or exemption route. These are programme eligibility and performance controls; they do not authorise a universal EPR, recycling or compostability mark on the package.
Enforcement and penalties
A manufacturer or distributor that continues to violate the plastic-container rule after notice can face a civil penalty of $50 per violation up to $500 and an injunction. A violation of section 325E.046 can produce a civil or administrative penalty of $100 for each prepackaged saleable unit, up to $5,000, together with injunctive relief.
The EPR Act has a separate penalty structure. A producer or producer responsibility organisation can face up to $25,000 per day, escalating for repeated violations after plan approval. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency administers the environmental programmes, while the Attorney General has statutory enforcement roles. The relevant provision and phase date should be identified before stating a penalty.
Practical artwork checklist
Confirm whether the container is a covered bottle, can or jar and use the current state-compatible coding rule. Inventory every degradation or compostability implication. Match the complete product to D6400 or D6868 or the narrow wood/paper route, verify the certifier, display the applicable standard or certification mark and add the industrial-or-commercial-facility statement. Separately determine the EPR producer, organisation membership and milestone schedule without turning programme participation into a consumer claim.
Primary sources and verification
Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. Section 325E.044, plastic-container labelling. Official statute
Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. Section 325E.046, standards for bags, food or beverage products and packaging. Official statute
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Compostable product labelling. Official guidance
Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. Chapter 115A, Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act. Official consolidated chapter
Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. Section 115A.1462, EPR enforcement. Official statute
Federal Trade Commission. Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, 16 C.F.R. Part 260. Official Green Guides
Federal Trade Commission. Environmental Claims: Summary of the Green Guides. Business guidance
Certification status, EPR registration and the current statutory phase should be verified before release. Last verified: 21 August 2026.