The EPR Learning Exchange

Tuesday 15 September 2026 & Thursday 17 September 2026

In-person

Speakers

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The EPR Learning Exchange is a two-day working session where legislators, implementers, and the full packaging value chain tackle the practical questions raised by new packaging EPR laws and potential new deposit return system (“DRS”) laws and modernization efforts.

It's a neutral, cross-value-chain forum held within the annual See Change conference — built around facilitated dialogue rather than panels, and shaped by the top questions policymakers submit ahead of time.

In 2025, the inaugural Exchange brought elected officials from across the country together with producers, recyclers, NGOs, brands, and regulators for two days of candid dialogue on early EPR implementation — the kind of unlikely, in-the-room conversations that rarely happen anywhere else.

Where things stand

elected officials convened in 2025

states represented in the room

U.S. states with packaging EPR laws

responses to the Legislator Guide

What makes this track different

Ahead of the event, policymakers submit their top questions about EPR, DRS, and circular policy — and those questions become the agenda. Instead of prepared speeches, the two days run on facilitated, cross-stakeholder dialogue with the people implementing these systems today.

Bring the real questions

Policymakers’ top questions, gathered in advance, set the table.

Exchange across stakeholders

Interactive, cross-value-chain dialogue instead of prepared speeches.

Rotate through perspectives

Firsthand implementation experience from every part of the value chain.

Test ideas & tradeoffs

Explore design choices across different state contexts.

Build knowledge networks

Relationships and know-how that support future policy design.

The agenda

Circle synthesizes the submitted questions into thematic Discussion Forums under four themes that follow the lifecycle of EPR — from policy development through implementation and what comes next. Each Lab opens with a brief framing conversation, then participants rotate between forums, engaging directly with producers, PROs, recyclers, local governments, NGOs, and technical experts.

LAB 01

Setting the Scene

Framing, a candid policymaker × value-chain superpanel, and learning goals.

LAB 02

Considering & Building a Bill

How the policies relate, who belongs at the table, and adapting to state context.

LAB 03

Systems in Motion

The questions coming from implementation — and how states define recycling.

LAB 04

Ideation Hour

Workshopping legislator ideas on cross-border and sub-state circular policy.

Learning Exchange lab See Change programming Shared break

Tuesday, September 15 — plan to arrive. A small, informal gathering for attendees that evening, followed by two full days of programming.

WednesdaySeptember 16

8:00–9:00 AM · See Change

Welcome breakfasts & registration

9:15–10:30 AM · See Change

Introductions & WTF sessions

LAB 01

10:45 AM–12:45 PM · 2 hr · Circle track

Setting the SceneWhere each state actually stands, and what writing and implementing circular policy really takes. Framing, superpanel, and introductions — no Discussion Forums.

10:45–11:00 AM · 15 min

Framing the Moment: Circle × Atlantic Packaging

Leaders from Circle and Atlantic Packaging open the two days by framing the moment and the room itself: a rare, neutral space where the people writing circular policy and the people putting it into practice sit together to listen and shape what comes next.

11:00 AM–12:00 PM · 60 min

What We Wish You Knew: A Candid Exchange

A moderated “superpanel” you won’t find anywhere else, bringing three policymakers into dialogue with three leaders from across the packaging value chain. This session goes past talking points to the lived experience behind circular policy: what it actually takes to write it, and what it actually takes to make it real.

From the States (policymakers): the real story behind the policy, the pressures and priorities that drove it, the complexities unique to their state, and the questions they’re still working to answer.
From the Value Chain (brands & packaging companies): what implementation actually looks and feels like on the ground — the day-to-day realities, the friction, and what brands are learning in real time.

12:00–12:45 PM · 45 min

Introductions & Learning Goals

Participants introduce themselves and share where their state’s legislation currently stands and what they’re hoping to take away from the two days. Circle introduces how the Discussion Forum rotations will work.

12:45–1:45 PM · Break

Lunch (& brain) break

LAB 02

2:00–4:15 PM · 2 hr 15 min · Circle track

Considering & Building a BillThree Discussion Forums, three rotations — every participant attends all three.

Discussion Forums
#	Focus
1	Understanding the PoliciesHow packaging EPR, deposit return, and recycled content requirements relate to one another.Questions in play What’s the relationship between packaging EPR, deposit return, and recycled content requirements?
2	Stakeholders & InterestsWho needs to be at the table, and the interests in play.Questions in play Beyond environmental impacts, what matters to stakeholders weighing circular policy — domestic recycling markets and material reliance as a national security concern, jobs, litter and tourism, municipal costs? With so many stakeholders in play, how do I identify which state and national voices need to be brought to the table?
3	Adapting Policy to State ContextBorrowing structure from other states; consistency vs. local specificity.Questions in play How should legislation balance statewide consistency with state-specific priorities? How do states determine which existing EPR model is the best fit for their own context?

2:00–2:05 PM · 5 min

Welcome to the Miller Center

Alex Hernandez, President, Champlain College

2:05–2:10 PM · 5 min

Set the Stage

Frame the theme and introduce the three Discussion Forums.

2:10–2:45 PM · 35 min

Discussion Forum Rotation 1

Participants split into facilitated forums on the highest-priority questions.

2:45–3:20 PM · 35 min

Discussion Forum Rotation 2

Participants rotate to a second Discussion Forum.

3:20–3:55 PM · 35 min

Discussion Forum Rotation 3

Participants rotate to the third Discussion Forum.

3:55–4:10 PM · 15 min

Group Debrief

An open, moderated conversation connecting insights across stakeholder groups and highlighting any new questions that arose.

Facilitated by Circle

4:10–4:15 PM · 5 min

Experience Preview

A short introduction to the next day’s Experience to get the gears clicking and conversations starting.

Led by Dr. Marcus Eriksen

EXP

4:15–5:15 PM · Circle track

The Learning Exchange ExperienceAn interactive activity that puts participants inside the clocks governing circular policy: how long development actually takes, how long implementation actually takes, and what happens when those timelines don’t line up. Then a live demonstration of Circle Guide, Circle’s interactive policy tool, with time to test it firsthand — feedback gathered here goes directly into the build.

5:30–6:15 PM · See Change

Storytelling session

South End Arts and Innovation Block Party

6:30–9:30 PM · See Change

South End Arts & Innovation Block Party

ThursdaySeptember 17

8:00–9:00 AM · See Change

Drop-in experiencesOptional

LAB 03

9:15–11:00 AM · 1 hr 45 min · Circle track

Systems in MotionThe questions coming from implementation. Two Discussion Forums, two rotations — every participant attends both.

Discussion Forums
#	Focus
1	What We Know From ImplementationWhat belongs in statute vs. rulemaking, and which decisions are hardest to change once live.Questions in play What belongs in statute, and what decisions are best left to rulemaking and implementation? How can state government best support municipalities to implement EPR policies? What policy decisions are most difficult, or most costly, to change once implementation begins?
2	What Is Recycling?How states define responsible end markets today, and the impact for future legislation and rulemaking.Questions in play How are states defining responsible end markets today? What should future legislation and rulemaking require?

9:15–9:20 AM · 5 min