What to Know About Oregon’s EPR Enforcement Injunction
On February 6, 2026, the Oregon District Court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) from enforcing the state’s EPR law against members of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW). This is understandably causing a lot of confusion, so let’s clear up what happened and what it means for EPR producers in Oregon.
Download our one-page Fact Sheet for a quick overview of this critical development.
What Happened?
The NAW has objected to Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act (RMA) since the very beginning, saying that there is not enough clarity in the regulation and that it is unconstitutional per due process and dormant commerce clauses.
They claim that the law is unfair to its members because wholesalers and distributors have “little to no control over decisions to design, reduce, reuse or recycle a product” according to NAW President and CEO Eric Hoplin.
Dates to know are:
July 1, 2025: Oregon’s EPR program enforcement began.
July 30, 2025: The NAW filed suit against the DEQ, the Oregon Environmental Commission and Oregon Attorney General Daniel A. Rayfield.
November 25, 2025: The NAW filed a motion for a preliminary injunction suspending RMA enforcement.
February 6, 2026: Oregon District Court issued the preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the EPR law.
February 20, 2026: NAW’s deadline to replead dismissed claims.
Notably, the Court dismissed the majority of NAW’s claims, including:
Claims against the members of the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC), the rulemaking board that oversees DEQ.
Claims citing "Unconstitutional Conditions".
Claims citing “Dormant Commerce Clause and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment”.
The NAW may replead all dismissed claims by February 20th. You can read the Court Order here.
Who Does the Oregon EPR Enforcement Injunction Apply To?
The Court’s enforcement injunction extends only to members of the NAW.
Producers outside of NAW are not covered by the Oregon EPR enforcement suspension. While DEQ has not yet commented on this development, this situation is unique because the injunction only applies to a subset of producers and is only a temporary pause on enforcement rather than any indication of the law’s future.
The DEQ is likely to continue enforcement as scheduled with producers not covered by the injunction.
What Oregon Producers Should Do Now
EPR producers that are not members of the NAW should proceed as planned with reporting and paying invoices that were sent out in January as the injunction doesn’t affect non-NAW members.
NAW members are temporarily shielded from DEQ enforcement while the Court makes its decision, and there’s no set timeline for when that decision will be made. However, dropping compliance measures entirely is not advisable because a decision in favor of RMA may result in very short lead times for enforcement to resume.
As always, communication with CAA and preparedness for rapidly changing regulations is paramount.