NAW seeks preliminary injunction to halt Oregon’s EPR law

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to suspend enforcement of Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization ACT (RMA), which created the state’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) program.

Washington-based NAW argues that the law creates an opaque, privately controlled regulatory system that is driving “unexpected and unsustainable costs” for businesses across the interstate supply chain.

Oregon’s RMA went into effect July 1. On July 30, NAW sued the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Oregon Environmental Commission and Oregon Attorney General Daniel A. Rayfield, claiming the law violates the Dormant Commerce Clause and Due Process Clause by imposing burdens on interstate distributors and “delegating sweeping regulatory authority” to a private, third-party organization “dominated by large corporate interests.”

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According to NAW, the law requires distributors to sign a mandatory, nonnegotiable contract with that organization—Washington-based producer responsibility organization (PRO) Circular Action Alliance (CAA)—and pay retrospective fee assessments calculated under a “confidential methodology not subject to meaningful state oversight.”

NAW claims the first round of invoices issued in July revealed fees “significantly higher” than publicly projected, often exceeding product margins—especially for small- and midsized distributors. Businesses also face complex and unclear obligations within multistate supply chains, the NAW says, and risk penalties of up to $25,000 per day for noncompliance.

A second round of invoices is expected in January 2026 and NAW claims the DEQ was not required to approve the new assessments, while only CAA has seen the fee methodology.

“Rather than improve recycling outcomes, Oregon’s program operates as a closed regulatory system run by private interests, with binding financial consequences for businesses that have no control over packaging design or disposal,” NAW Chief Government Relations Officer Brian Wild says. “Our members’ July invoices show a system that is unpredictable, opaque and economically unsustainable. With January assessments approaching and no transparency into how fees are set, businesses are facing uncertainty, instability and costs they cannot absorb.”

NAW's injunction request asks the court to pause all obligations under the RMA, including reporting and payment requirements, pending final resolution of the case. The filing argues that NAW members face “imminent and irreparable harm,” including unrecoverable compliance costs, competitive distortions and the threat of substantial civil penalties.