The Trials And Tribulations Of Packaging EPR BY RACHEL KAGAN
Board Converting NEWS INTERNET DIRECTORY
One year after Oregon became the first U.S. state to imple- ment a packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) residential recycling program, another first emerged: the first U.S. EPR lawsuit has gone to trial. The case, National Association of Wholesaler-Distrib- utors (NAW) v. Feldon, challenges aspects of Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act (RMA). The NAW – a trade association representing the U.S. wholesale distribution industry – argues that the law gives too much authority to the Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO), Circular Action Alliance, and places unfair burdens on businesses operating across state lines. Oregon’s EPR program was implemented on July 1, 2025, and less than a month later the NAW filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Oregon’s recycling leg- islation, which enabled the development of the state’s EPR program. While NAW supports the goal of a circular econ- omy, the association said that the law as enacted inhibits interstate commerce. On February 6, 2026, the U.S. District Court for Oregon granted a preliminary injunction to temporarily pause en- forcement of the legislation against the NAW and its mem- bers while the case proceeds. On July 13, 2026, the 5-day trial began. EPR Trial Raises Broader Questions While the case is about Oregon, the questions it raises extend beyond one state’s program. Across North America, packaging EPR continues to expand. In Canada, Ontario and Québec, which together represent nearly three-quarters of Canada’s population, have now fully transitioned to EPR (100% industry operat- ed and funded) for packaging, while most other provinces have some form of recycling legislation or are transition- ing to full EPR. Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories do not currently have packaging EPR legislation. In the United States, seven states – Maine, Oregon, California, Colora- do, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington – have enacted packaging EPR legislation and are at different stages of plan development and implementation. PPEC is not a law firm, and we are not going to spec- ulate on how the Oregon case will be decided. But to us, the trial marks a new stage in the EPR conversation, draw- ing more attention to how packaging EPR functions once The conversation is no longer focused on whether pro- ducers should fund the management of packaging at end of life, it’s increasingly shifting to how these systems oper- ate in the real world. When Swedish academic Thomas Lindhqvist first intro- CONTINUED ON PAGE 34 it moves from legislation to the real world. The Evolution Of EPR And Packaging
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32 July 27, 2026
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