Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernisation Act, the first packaging Extended Producer Responsibility law, has been partially halted by a federal court in the US.
On 6 February, the US District Court for the District of Oregon granted a preliminary injunction to the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), blocking the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality from enforcing the law against NAW members pending the outcome of a full trial, currently scheduled for July 2026.
The court found serious constitutional questions under the Dormant Commerce Clause and the Due Process Clause — the first time a federal court has intervened in a US packaging EPR programme on constitutional grounds. The injunction does not extend to brand owners, manufacturers, importers, or other producer categories outside NAW membership, who remain subject to compliance obligations.
The ruling creates uncertainty for the broader US EPR landscape, with at least six other states, including California, Washington, Colorado, Minnesota, Maryland, and Maine, that are operating or developing their own programmes.
Read more at the Orgagon Department of Environmental Protection News Site
