Update: NAW secures injunction blocking enforcement of Oregon’s EPR law

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) has secured a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act (RMA), which establishes a statewide extended producer responsibility (EPR) program.

The injunction prevents Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) from enforcing the law on NAW members until the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon rules on its merits. The law took effect July 1, 2025, and remains active for all other stakeholders.

RELATED: NAW seeks preliminary injunction to halt Oregon’s EPR law | PPRC 2025: Tracking EPR’s progress

The NAW claims the Portland-based court agreed that the law’s “opaque regulatory scheme” raises serious questions about whether the act violates the due process and dormant commerce clauses in the United States Constitution.

“This ruling is a significant victory for NAW members, who face imminent and irreparable harm under the act, including unrecoverable compliance costs, competitive distortions and the risk of steep civil penalties,” NAW President and CEO Eric Hoplin says. “This is a major win for NAW member companies who have been dramatically impacted by the exorbitant fees imposed under the law by the Circular Action Alliance. NAW looks forward to presenting its case on the merits when the court hears our case on July 13.”

The Washington-based organization filed its motion for a preliminary injunction in November 2025, asking the court to pause all obligations under the RMA, including reporting and payment requirements, pending final resolution of the case. NAW initially filed suit against the DEQ, the Oregon Environmental Commission and Oregon Attorney General Daniel A. Rayfield July 30, 2025.

In a news release, the DEQ notes that the district court dismissed multiple claims against it regarding NAW's lawsuit, and two remaining claims will be decided the July trial. The department says that under the RMA, producers of packaging materials are required to pay fees to help cover the cost of those materials to Oregon's recycling system and fund improvements to modernize and expand recycling opportunities in the state. Those fees are collected by a nonprofit producer responsibility organization—the Circular Action Alliance (CAA)—that is charged with implementing the act under DEQ's oversight.

"Oregon is known as a leader in recycling and is the first in the nation to implement this approach to recycling that brings many parties together to share the costs of recycling improvements," DEQ Administrator Jen Parrott. "Extended producer responsibility programs that reduce the burden on consumers are prevalent in Oregon and around the world, and we're certain it can work for recycling."

When it announced its lawsuit, the NAW said the EPR law “misses the target” in terms of encouraging a circular economy and modernizing the state’s recycling program.

“While NAW supports the goal of a circular economy, the Oregon EPR law, as enacted, is unconstitutional, creates new mandates, inhibits interstate commerce and fails at its primary goal of encouraging circularity,” Hoplin said last July.

“Rather than encourage sustainability through a uniform and transparent system where compliance burdens are shared across industries, Oregon chose to shift the burden to the parts of the supply chain that have little to no control over decisions to design, reduce, reuse or recycle a product.”

Describing CAA, the lawsuit also alleges that Oregon’s EPR program “mandates producers sign contracts with a single approved private organization, giving up their economic freedom and due process rights.”

This post was updated Feb. 10 to include comments from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.