Court Refuses to Pause Oregon's EPR Program Against Other Producers; California's EPR Program Moves Forward

Developments in Oregon’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) program, the Plastics Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (Act), continue to unfold, including an April 6 2026 order clarifying the limited scope of a February 6, 2026 preliminary injunction.

On February 6, 2026 the U.S. District Court issued a preliminary injunction pausing enforcement of the Act against National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) members, plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Act.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) subsequently announced that it would continue to enforce the program against other producers, refusing requests to stay enforcement against all producers pending resolution of the NAW case, scheduled for trial on July 13, 2026.  On March 5, 2026, the DEQ issued formal warning letters to producers identified as potentially non-compliant by the Circular Action Alliance (CAA), the designated Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) – a list that CAA was required to provide to the DEQ under the Act.

On April 1, 2026, the court denied motions by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) and the Northwest Grocery Retail Association (NWGRA) to intervene in the case and for the same temporary pause for their members that the court had already granted to NAW members. The court found that the parties' ability to proceed to trial by July 2026 was critical to its analysis in granting the NAW preliminary injunction, and determined that granting the AF&PA and NWGRA motions would delay that schedule.

On April 6, 2026, the court denied DEQ’s motion for reconsideration but clarified that the scope of its preliminary injunction applied only to NAW members who were members as of February 6, 2026, the date of the original preliminary injunction.

Thus, the high stakes trial scheduled for July 13, 2026 is expected to proceed on schedule and within a few months there will be a ruling on the court’s assessment of the constitutional challenges to Oregon’s EPR program.  There are several bases for the constitutional challenges and several possible outcomes – some of which may only affect NAW members and others which could impact the Oregon program more generally.

The temporary pause of Oregon’s program has not paused implementation of other EPR programs. Nor will the July trial have any legal effect on programs in other states. If the court, however, strikes down features of the Oregon program similar to features in other states, other programs may also face similar challenges. Meanwhile, in anticipation of such challenges, states may attempt to pass legislation or regulations designed to better survive any constitutional challenge. 

In conclusion, as it now stands, only NAW members as of February 6, 2026 are subject to the preliminary injunction staying enforcement of the Oregon program.  Other producers in Oregon, and producers in other states with EPR packaging programs, are still subject to the EPR programs in their states.

Meanwhile, California is moving ahead with its program, having submitted draft regulations to the Office of Administrative Law for approval, and asked for an early effective date. After approval, under the last working draft of the regulations (and based on Circular Action Alliance announcements), supply data and 2023 baseline data for source reduction purposes will be due to the CAA no later than thirty days after the effective date of the regulations – meaning they would be due no later than June 1, 2026 and possibly earlier (if OAL approves before May 1, 2026).