Oregon's packaging law is live, litigation is ongoing, and most producers are already behind if they haven't registered. Here is what you need to know-and do-right now.
Oregon's Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (SB 582) began full implementation on July 1, 2025. As of mid-2026, most producers selling packaging, paper products, or food service ware into Oregon must already be registered with the state's approved producer responsibility organization, reporting data, and prepared to pay fees. A federal lawsuit has not paused obligations for the vast majority of companies.
A February 6, 2026 preliminary injunction temporarily blocks enforcement only against current members of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW). All other covered producers remain fully subject to registration, reporting, and fee obligations under Oregon's EPR law.
The law covers packaging, printing and writing paper, and food serviceware supplied into Oregon, tying directly to the state's goals of reducing plastic pollution and modernizing the recycling system, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
Immediate action items for producers: confirm your producer status, register with Circular Action Alliance (CAA) if covered, gather your 2024–2025 data, and prepare for eco-modulated fees that will shape your costs in 2026–2027.
Paper Tube Co. can help brands redesign packaging away from plastics and into recyclable and compostable paper-based formats that perform better under Oregon's extended producer responsibility (EPR) framework-potentially lowering fees and strengthening your sustainability story.
Oregon enacted the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act-also known as the Recycling Modernization Act or RMA-on August 6, 2021. The new law became effective January 1, 2022, but the major operational changes for producers, including extended producer responsibility epr for packaging, did not begin until July 1, 2025. Oregon's Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act implements extended producer responsibility effective that date, making it the first fully operational packaging EPR program in the United States.
At its core, Oregon's law is an extended producer responsibility program that shifts much of the cost of the recycling system away from local governments and ratepayers and onto the producers that place covered products on the Oregon market. Covered products include consumer-facing packaging materials, paper products, and single-use food serviceware. The law aims to improve recycling rates and reduce plastic pollution in Oregon by funding infrastructure upgrades, expanding curbside collection (especially in rural areas and multifamily housing), andstandardizing what recyclable materials Oregon accepts statewide. That statewide list of recyclable materials will reduce confusion among consumers about what belongs in the bin.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) oversees the entire program, from rulemaking to enforcement. Circular Action Alliance (CAA) serves as Oregon's approved Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO)-the state-approved organization responsible for administering registration, data collection, and fee payment on behalf of producers. Oregon's program is widely viewed as a leading model for packaging EPR laws in the U.S., and states including Colorado, California, Minnesota, Maine, and others are watching its rollout closely. The law also creates incentives for companies to design more sustainable packaging, which is a theme that runs through every section of this article.
On July 30, 2025-just weeks after Oregon's EPR program launched-the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) filed a federal lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality. NAW argued, among other things, that Oregon's EPR law may violate the dormant Commerce Clause by burdening interstate commerce, and raised concerns about due process and delegation of regulatory authority to a private entity. On February 6, 2026, the district court granted a preliminary injunction.
Here is what the injunction does and does not do. It temporarily prevents Oregon from enforcing the packaging EPR law against NAW itself and its current member companies only. It does not apply to non-members, future members, or producers outside the NAW plaintiff group. AsPaper Tube Co. previously analyzed, the vast majority of regulated entities in Oregon-CPG brands, food producers, e-commerce retailers, and smaller producers-are not NAW members and remain fully obligated to register, report data, and pay fees.
A "preliminary injunction" means enforcement is paused for a narrow group while the court evaluates the merits of the case. It is not a ruling that the law is unconstitutional. Oregon DEQ and CAA responded by increasing outreach and enforcement toward non-registered producers in spring 2026, including warning letters. Oregon's EPR law imposes fines up to $25,000 per day for noncompliance, and noncompliance can result in those penalties accumulating quickly.
The trial date for Oregon's EPR law challenge is set for July 13, 2026, focusing on due process, commerce clause, and delegation issues. Until a final ruling changes things, companies should assume full compliance obligations unless they are confirmed NAW members covered by the order.
If you are not sure whether your company is a NAW member covered by the injunction, consult internal counsel or trade association contacts. Do not assume you are exempt.
Oregon's packaging law defines "covered products" broadly. If you manufacture, brand, import, or distribute packaging, paper, or food serviceware for sale or distribution in Oregon, you are likely a covered producer. Here are the main categories of covered materials:
Consumer-facing packaging (primary, secondary, and some tertiary packaging), including plastic containers, glass bottles, metal cans, and paper-based formats.
Paper products such as printing and writing paper, and shredded paper in some contexts.
Single-use food serviceware: cups, lids, clamshells, trays, cutlery, and similar items.
The typical "producer hierarchy" used in EPR programs works like this: the brand owner is usually the responsible party. If no Oregon-based brand owner exists, responsibility may fall to the licensee, importer, or retailer (in private-label cases). Common business types likely to be covered include CPG brands, e-commerce sellers shipping into Oregon, food and beverage manufacturers, distributors with private labels, and B2B manufacturers whose packaging becomes consumer-facing at retail.
Smaller producers may qualify for exemptions based on certain criteria, including revenue and tonnage thresholds. However, businesses should verify their status with DEQ guidance or legal counsel rather than self-exempting casually. Producers must report data on their packaging as part of Oregon's EPR program regardless of size, unless a formal exemption applies.
For Paper Tube Co.'s customers, this matters directly: many sustainability-focused brands using custom paper tubes, rigid boxes, pouches, and envelopes are producers subject to the law because they place labeled consumer products into Oregon.
Even though Oregon's law "started" in July 2025, most 2024 packaging activity determines 2025–2026 obligations. Understanding key dates is essential for staying compliant and avoiding penalties. The EPR program officially started on July 1, 2025.
Here are the most important milestones:
March 31, 2025: deadline for producers to submit 2024 packaging, paper, and food serviceware data to CAA/DEQ-baseline reporting for Oregon's EPR program.
On or before July 1, 2025: formal start of Oregon's packaging EPR program. Producers must be registered with CAA and prepared for EPR fees. The Circular Action Alliance began invoicing producers in mid-2025.
September 1, 2025: first administrative fee remittance by CAA to DEQ, marking the start of PRO-funded program operations.
Fall 2025: window for producers to submit voluntary life-cycle assessments (LCAs) on up to 10 bills of materials to qualify for eco-modulation bonuses in 2026.
Ongoing annual cycles require producers to:
File yearly packaging data covering the prior calendar year.
Review invoices and EPR fees for accuracy.
Update registrations if brand portfolios or tonnages change.
Data reported by May 31 of each year (2025 onward) may influence what producers owe in fee cycles as far out as 2027. As Paper Tube Co. has noted, proactive design changes now can reduce future invoices. Missing any of these key deadlines can lead to late fees, enforcement actions, or loss of eligibility for eco-modulated fee reductions. Producers may face penalties for non-compliance with the EPR requirements at any stage.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality sets the regulatory framework and supervises the Recycling Modernization Act, while theCircular Action Alliance operates as the certified Producer Responsibility Organization handling registration, reporting, and fee collection from producers. PROs are private, non-profit entities approved by state authorities. CAA is a private entity authorized by DEQ to run Oregon's program.
DEQ's responsibilities include rulemaking, approving the program plan and budgets, overseeing grants for local governments, reviewing CAA's financial and quarterly reports (including a resubmitted 2023–2024 financial report in November 2025 with DEQ's response issued March 2026), and enforcing compliance through investigations and penalties. Recycling program improvements will aim to enhance public education about recyclables, and consumers may see improvements in recycling services and product sustainability as a result of the law.
CAA's functions as the approved pro include:
Maintaining producer registries.
Collecting and validating packaging data.
Calculating and invoicing EPR fees (including eco-modulated adjustments). PROs assess fees based on packaging weight and material type.
Funding system improvements-MRF upgrades, collection expansion, education campaigns-in line with DEQ-approved plans. PROs finance recycling infrastructure and consumer education.
Covered producers' core obligations include:
Determine if they are a "covered producer."
Register with CAA and sign required agreements. Producers must join a state-approved PRO to comply with EPR laws.
Report accurate tonnage and material data annually.
Pay fees by invoiced deadlines.
Keep records that support reported data in case of audits or disputes.
Oregon's model resembles EPR programs in Canada and the EU, where PROs sit between regulators and industry. Transparency and governance of PROs are central issues in the current NAW litigation. If you are reading this and are unsure whether you are registered, verify your company's status with CAA immediately.
EPR fees under Oregon's program are charges based on the amount and type of packaging materials, paper, and food serviceware a producer supplies into the state. Producers must pay fees based on packaging weight, and these fees fund the modernized recycling system-including infrastructure, education, and responsible end-market development. The fee structure is material-specific: harder-to-recycle formats cost more; simpler, recyclable formats cost less.
Eco-modulated fees are the adjustment mechanism at the heart of Oregon's law. Fee schedules raise charges on contamination-prone or toxic various materials (think multi-layer films, black plastics, mixed-material laminates) and lower them for packaging that is readily recyclable, reusable, compostable, or made from responsibly sourced materials. This is how packaging design directly affects what you pay.
Here are concrete examples relevant to packaging decisions:
Plastic pouches with multi-layer films and mixed materials likely attract higher fees.
Mono-material paper tubes with recyclable paper labels and water-based adhesives are more likely to qualify for lower fees.
Glass or metal with high recycling rates may be treated favorably but can be heavy, affecting total tonnage costs.
Oregon requires mandatorylife-cycle evaluations for the largest producers every two years, and optional LCAs for smaller producers can unlock eco-modulation bonuses-up to 10% off base fees, capped at $20,000 per SKU or batch, according to industry guidance shared by CAA. Fees may exceed product margins for some producers, especially those using high-cost-to-recycle formats. Brands should begin mapping which SKUs generate the highest fee assessments and prioritize redesign-for example, shifting from plastic containers to FSC-certified paper tubes or rigid paper boxes that are curbside-recyclable in Oregon. While specific fee tables are subject to change, producers should budget for epr fees as a recurring operating expense and explore fee-reduction design changes now for the 2027 cycle.
Oregon DEQ's stated rationale for the law is straightforward: plastic pollution, contamination in recycling streams, and the financial strain on local governments have pushed the state's recycling system to a breaking point. Oregon's law requires producers to help fix this by funding collection, sorting, processing, and education-and by redesigning packaging upstream to reduce waste and improve public health outcomes.
Problematic packaging-multi-layer plastics, black plastics, mixed-material food serviceware-currently drives contamination, landfill disposal, and higher system costs. These are the issues Oregon's EPR program intends to correct via fees and design incentives. Making producers financially responsible for end-of-life management encourages upstream design changes toward simpler, recyclable, or compostable formats. This is how extended producer responsibility works worldwide: connecting the cost of disposal to the entity that chose the packaging in the first place.
A concrete example: a plastic window on an otherwise recyclable paper box can downgrade recyclability and raise fees, whereas a fully paper-based tube or box maintains fiber value in Oregon's updated MRFs. Shifting from plastic to high-quality paper packaging aligns both with Oregon's recycling targets and with many brands' own climate and waste-reduction commitments. EPR does not replace waste-reduction and reuse strategies; it complements them by funding infrastructure while nudging the market toward less harmful packaging choices. Resources recycling investments funded by the program will help sort recyclables more effectively at the facility level
If your products reach Oregon consumers, you now have regulatory, financial, and design implications to manage under this packaging law. This applies whether you are a brand owner, distributor, marketing agency, or co-packer.
EPR obligations can affect:
Product P&L:a new line item for EPR fees that didn't exist before July 2025.
Pricing strategy: whether and how EPR costs are passed through to customers.
Packaging roadmaps:prioritizing low-fee, high-recyclability materials in your pipeline.
Contracts with suppliers and co-packers:data sharing and allocation of producer obligations.
Agencies and design studios now play a compliance-adjacent role. Recommended packaging solutions must consider Oregon's recyclability criteria and likely eco-modulated fee categories, not just aesthetics and cost. Distributors with private-label brands need to clarify whether they or their manufacturing partners are the "producer" under Oregon's hierarchy-and ensure someone in the chain is registered, reporting, and paying.
Common pitfalls to watch out for when navigating Oregon's EPR packaging law include:
Assuming the retailer is always responsible.
Underestimating the reporting burden for many SKUs across multiple states.
Delaying design changes even when packaging is clearly non-compliant or high-fee under multiple state law requirements.
Treat Oregon EPR as a catalyst for broader packaging simplification and harmonization across all markets, not as a one-off state requirement. The circular economy principles embedded in this program are showing up in every new state law.
Paper Tube Co. is a custom B2B manufacturer specializing in eco-friendly paper tubes, rigid boxes, pouches, envelopes, and select tin and glass formats. We have deep experience helping sustainability-focused brands reduce plastic use-and under Oregon's EPR program, that experience translates directly into lower compliance costs.
Our structural engineering and design services support Oregon EPR compliance goals by:
Engineering packaging to be mono-material and curbside-recyclable where possible.
Selecting FSC-certified papers, vegetable-based inks, and compostable liners or closures where appropriate.
Simplifying mixed-material components that might otherwise increase EPR fees.
Transitioning from plastic-heavy packaging to paper tubes and rigid boxes can move brands from a high-penalty fee bracket to a lower one under eco-modulated fees-while also improving the sustainability story you tell customers. Our in-house R&D and rapid prototyping capabilities let brands test new structures before locking in multi-year packaging plans that may not perform well under evolving packaging EPR laws.
For smaller brands still learning the details of Oregon's and other states' EPR requirements, our ready-made blank tubes (no minimums, fast shipping) offer a low-friction entry point into paper-based packaging. And for larger brands planning major format changes, we recommend involving Paper Tube Co. early-alongside legal and sustainability teams-so that your next packaging refresh directly targets lower Oregon EPR fees, stronger on-shelf differentiation, and a thoughtful unboxing experience that reflects your values.
Even if you are late, there are concrete steps you can take this quarter to reduce risk. AsPaper Tube Co.'s EPR packaging compliance checklist outlines, the priority is getting registered and reporting. Everything else flows from there.
Here is a simple, sequential checklist:
Confirm whether your company is a "producer" under Oregon's definitions and whether you are a NAW member covered by the preliminary injunction. If in doubt, assume you are covered and seek legal advice.
Register with Circular Action Alliance (CAA) if you have not already, completing all Oregon-specific addenda and agreements.
Gather and clean your 2024–2025 packaging data by SKU: materials, weights, formats, and destination markets, ensuring you can separate tonnage into Oregon versus other states.
File or update your 2024 data submissions as required, and prepare for upcoming reporting deadlines (e.g., March 31 and May 31 cycles).
Review your first EPR invoices for accuracy and flag anomalies early, building internal processes for approvals and recordkeeping.
Form a cross-functional team-sustainability, operations, finance, packaging design, and legal-to own EPR compliance and drive fee-reducing packaging changes. Document all decisions about producer responsibility allocation in contracts with co-packers, distributors, and licensees to avoid duplicated or missed obligations. Producers face fines up to $25,000 per day for noncompliance, so proactive compliance is much cheaper than retroactive penalties or rushed litigation-driven responses. Remember: key dates are not flexible, and Oregon DEQ has shown willingness to enforce against non-registered producers.
The data producers submit now-for 2024 through 2026-will influence EPR fees in 2027 and beyond. AsPaper Tube Co.'s guidance on reducing 2027 costs explains, waiting until invoices arrive is too late. The time to act is now.
Here are the strategic levers brands can pull over the next 12–18 months:
Redesign high-volume SKUs into lower-fee materials-for example, transition from multi-layer plastics to recyclable paper tubes or cardboard formats.
Consolidate packaging formats and materials to simplify reporting and move more tonnage into favorable fee categories.
Invest in LCAs for key products where eco-modulated fee bonuses or discounts are available, prioritizing SKUs with the largest Oregon sales.
Coordinate Oregon packaging strategy with parallel requirements in other states. Colorado's EPR law was enacted on June 3, 2022. California's EPR law was approved on May 1, 2026. Minnesota's EPR law was signed into law in May 2024. Maine's EPR program will fully operate by October 2027. Harmonizing across these programs avoids fragmented, state-by-state one-off solutions.
Packaging design timelines-creative, sampling, tooling, and production-often run 6–12 months, so decisions made in late 2026 may only influence the 2028 fee cycle. Start redesign projects now. Sustainability and finance teams should work together to model projected EPR fees under different design scenarios, using Paper Tube Co.'s material and weight estimates as inputs.
Even if Oregon's litigation alters some elements of Oregon's program, most U.S. packaging EPR laws are converging on the same fundamentals. Design choices that reduce Oregon fees will likely help in other states, too.
Below are answers to common questions that brands, agencies, and distributors ask when navigating Oregon's EPR requirements alongside packaging design and multi-state compliance.
No. The preliminary injunction only applies to the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) and its current members as identified in the court order. All other covered producers are still required to register, report, and pay fees under Oregon's packaging EPR law. The law requires producers outside the injunction's scope to maintain full compliance. If you are unsure whether your company is a current NAW member, consult legal counsel or NAW directly. Continue complying unless specifically advised otherwise by your attorney. Oregon's EPR program has not been paused for the broader market.
Yes. "Recyclable" is not a binary concept under Oregon's EPR law. The system differentiates between widely accepted, high-value recycled materials (like certain paperboard grades) and marginally recyclable items (like cartons with limited processing capacity). Even recyclable packaging can incur higher or lower fees based on design details-inks, coatings, closures, and contamination risk all factor in. Brands should review their materials against Oregon's specific criteria and consider optimization even if the base material is technically recyclable. The goal is to ensure your packaging aligns with the recycling materials acceptance list and minimizes system costs.
Oregon includes de minimis thresholds for very small producers, but many artisan brands selling online or through regional retailers still qualify as covered producers once sales or tonnage cross those thresholds. Smaller producers using Paper Tube Co.'s FSC-certified paper tubes or boxes may already be in a relatively favorable fee position under eco-modulated fees, but they still need to confirm registration, data reporting, and exemption status where applicable. Do not assume you are exempt without verifying with CAA or DEQ guidance.
While each state law has its own definitions and timelines, there is strong overlap around discouraging hard-to-recycle plastics and favoring recyclable, reusable, or compostable formats. Aiming for a high-recyclability, mono-material paper or glass solution is usually a good cross-state baseline and supports the circular economy goals shared across these programs. Paper Tube Co. can help engineer packaging systems with multi-state EPR alignment in mind-so you invest in one packaging design that performs well under multiple fee schedules rather than managing separate formats for each state.
What is a "global PRO," and why are brands so cautious? Explore how organizations like the Circular Action Alliance are shaping cross-border EPR laws and how to adapt your packaging.
Which States Are Next for EPR Packaging Laws? (New York, New Jersey & More) breaks down active legislative momentum, state needs assessments, key timelines, and compliance steps.
