NAW Seeks Oregon EPR Law Pause While Court Debates Constitutionality

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) is asking a federal court to suspend enforcement of the state of Oregon’s newly implemented extended producer responsibility (EPR) law.

The law took effect in July, making Oregon the first state to require businesses that sell packaged products, including distributors, to pay new fees to support recycling and the end-of-life costs of products. The fees are paid to a producer responsibility organization (PRO), a private entity that oversees the end-of-life management of covered products. EPR laws are intended to promote waste reduction and incentivize product design, but are opposed by FEDA, NAW and several other trade associations because they impose burdensome and costly regulatory requirements on distributors that typically have little control over product packaging.

Earlier this year, NAW sued the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, claiming the EPR requirements violated the U.S. and Oregon constitutions because the law delegated sweeping regulatory authority to a private, third-party organization. According to NAW, the law requires distributors to sign a mandatory, non-negotiable contract with the PRO and pay retrospective fee assessments calculated under a confidential methodology that is not subject to meaningful state oversight.

The lawsuit continues to work its way through the court system. On Nov. 24, NAW filed a motion asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to grant a preliminary injunction that would pause all EPR obligations for companies doing business in the state, such as reporting and payment requirements, until the case is resolved. The filing argues that distributors face imminent and irreparable harm, including unrecoverable compliance costs, competitive distortions and the threat of substantial civil penalties.

“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,” said Brian Wild, NAW’s chief government relations officer. “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.”