Circular Action Alliance Chief Executive Officer Fielkow is stepping down, the producer responsibility organization confirmed. Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Meyers will assume interim CEO duties later this year.

The change places the packaging EPR program's leadership transition in the hands of an internal executive. Meyers currently holds the chief strategy officer post at the organization, which producers established to fulfill extended producer responsibility obligations under state packaging laws.

Fielkow's departure removes the chief executive who has fronted the organization's rollout of producer responsibility compliance in the United States. Circular Action Alliance operates as the producer responsibility organization, or PRO, charged with implementing packaging EPR programs adopted by state legislatures.

What happens next?

Meyers takes interim charge as the PRO navigates deadlines set under state EPR statutes. Producer responsibility organizations face compliance milestones that states write into law, and leadership continuity matters for meeting them.

The organization has not announced a timeline for naming a permanent CEO. Meyers's interim appointment begins later this year.

The regulatory milestone to watch: the next state compliance deadlines under the packaging EPR statutes that Circular Action Alliance administers will test the new leadership structure.