EPR – Oregon

The Recycling Modernization Act (Senate Bill 582) was signed into law on Aug. 6, 2021 and became effective on Jan. 1, 2022. The law establishes a producer responsibility program for packaging, printing and writing paper and food service-ware, requiring producers of covered products to join producer responsibility organization(s) (PRO) to implement a program plan approved by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

The DEQ is responsible for overseeing the EPR program.  The Oregon Recycling System Advisory Council, which is comprised of 17 voting members plus one non-voting member of the House of Representative and one from the Senate, is staffed by DEQ and makes recommendations to the DEQ and the PRO and submits a report to the legislature biennially.

While Oregon’s laws allow for more than one PRO, Circular Action Alliance (CAA) was the only prospective PRO to submit a program plan to DEQ by the deadline. CAA is currently preparing to be the PRO in Oregon.

Resources:

• SB 582 (Recycling Modernization Act)
• DEQ Recycling Modernization Act Information Materials
• Circular Action Alliance (CAA)
• First Rulemaking  – Recycling 2023 rulemaking page
• Second Rulemaking – Recycling 2024 rulemaking page
• Webinar Series: Preparing Producers for Oregon Packaging EPR – Product Stewardship Institute

The effective date is Jan. 1, 2022.

Resources: 

• Implementation Timeline 

Date to Join PRO:

• The deadline for producers to register with the PRO is July 1, 2025.

The producer of a covered product shall be determined as follows:

For items sold in packaging at a physical retail location in this state:

• (A) If the item is sold in packaging under the manufacturer’s own brand or is sold in packaging that lacks identification of a brand, the producer of the packaging is the person that manufactures the packaged item;
• (B) If the item is manufactured by a person other than the brand owner, the producer of the packaging is the person that is the licensee of a brand or trademark under which a packaged item is used in a commercial enterprise, sold, offered for sale or distributed in or into this state, whether or not the trademark is registered in this state; or
• (C) If there is no person described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph within the United States, the producer of the packaging is the person that imports the packaged item into the US for use in a commercial enterprise that sells, offers for sale or distributes the item in this state.

For items sold or distributed in packaging in or into this state via remote sale or distribution:

• A) The producer of packaging used to directly protect or contain the item is the same as the producer for purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection.
• (B) The producer of packaging used to ship the item to a consumer is the person that packages and ships the item to the consumer.

For all other packaging that is a covered product, the producer of the packaging is the person that first distributes the packaged item in or into this state.

For printing and writing paper that is not a magazine, newspaper, catalog of similar publication, the producer is:

• (A) The person that manufactures the printing and writing paper under the manufacturer’s own brand;
• (B) If the printing and writing paper is manufactured by a person other than the brand owner, the person that the owner or licensee of a brand or trademark under which the printing and writing paper is used in a commercial enterprise, sold, offered for sale or distributed in or into this state, whether or not the trademark is registered in this state; or
• (C) If there is no person described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph within the United States, the person that imports the printing and writing paper into the United States for use in a commercial enterprise that sells, offers for sale or distributes the printing and writing paper in this state.

Resources: 

• Determining Producer Obligations and Definitions (Decision Tree)
• DEQ – Summary of Producer Obligations and Definitions
• CAA Guidance: Covered Materials & Producer Definitions

Covered Products includes: 

• “Covered product” means: packaging; printing and writing paper; and food serviceware.
• “Packaging” means: Materials used for the containment or protection of products, including but not limited to paper, plastic, glass or metal or a mixture thereof; Single-use bags, including but not limited to shopping bags; and Nondurable materials used in storage, shipping or moving, including but not limited to packing materials, moving boxes, file boxes and folders.

Covered Products does NOT include:

• Containers that are included in Oregon’s bottle bill (container deposit law).

Resources:

• CAA Guidance: Covered Materials & Producer Definitions

How will the PRO determine fees to members?

The material base rates set by PROs must be:

• designed to differentiate between types of covered products and the materials and formats that comprise those covered products;
• proportional to the costs to the PRO for that covered product type, material or format;
• calculated by multiplying the material-specific base fee rate by the total amount of covered products of each material sold or distributed by the producer in or into this state;
• designed to incentivize producers to continually reduce the environmental and human health impacts of covered products by offering fee adjustments to producers that make or have made changes to the ways in which they produce, use and market covered products.

Graduated fee factors (eco-modulation) include, but are not limited to:

• The post-consumer content of the material, if the use of post-consumer content in the covered product is not prohibited by federal law;
• The product-to-package ratio;
• The producer’s choice of material;
• Life cycle environmental impacts,; and
• The recycling rate of the material relative to the recycling rate of other covered products.

In addition, if the material IS NOT recyclable:

• The average base fee rates must be higher than the average for recyclable materials; and
• The base fee rate shall be approximately proportional to the material’s relative contribution to the financial obligations of the producer responsibility organization.
• Eco-modulation may be considered when setting the rate for these materials.

Are dates established as to when fees must be paid?

• The PRO will provide final fee schedules in June of 2025. The first payment is due in July of 2025.

Is there a bottle deposit law exemption in the EPR law? 

• Yes

Does Oregon currently have a bottle deposit law?

• Yes

Is wine currently included in the bottle deposit law?

• No
• Wine and wine products packaged in cans are added into the bottle bill program, effective 2025.

Are there efforts to pass a bottle deposit law that would add wine and wine products packaged in glass containers into the existing bottle bill program?

• Yes

Is there a small producer exemption?

• Yes

A small producer is exempt from the requirement to be a member of a PRO, is defined as a producer that: 

• has a worldwide gross revenue of less than $5 million in its most recent fiscal year (lumped across associated producers) or
• sold in or into Oregon less than one metric ton of covered products for use in this state in the most recent calendar year (lumped across associated producers).
• operated a single retail sales establishment, has no online sales and is not supplied or operated as part of a franchise or a chain.

Will a Needs Assessment be conducted?

• Yes.  This was completed by DEQ on July 1, 2023.

Are there Post Consumer Recycled Content (PCRC) requirements in law?

• Not specified required targets for packaging but the PRO membership fee schedule must consider the post-consumer content of the material (if the use of post-consumer content in the covered product is not prohibited by federal law).

What are the dates and percentages when the PCRC reductions take effect?

• Not Applicable

Are there reusability requirements in the law?

• No

Are there packaging reduction requirements in the law?

• No specific targets but the PRO membership fee schedule is required to consider the product-to-package ratio as well as the recycling rate of the material relative to the recycling rate of other covered products.

Are there recycling rate targets included in the law?

• Yes

The law establishes recycling goals for plastic packaging and food serviceware:

• 25% by 2028,
• 50% by 2040, and
• 70% by 2050.

The goal for 2050 is not enforceable. On or after 1/1/38, the statewide plastic recycling goal may be adjusted after consideration of environmental, technical, and economic conditions. An adjustment may not change the goal to less than 35% or more than 70%.

Are Large Producer Life Cycle Assessments required?

• Yes

“Large producer” is defined as a producer that is among the 25 largest producers of covered products based on market share. “Market share” means a producer’s percentage of all covered products sold based on weight in or into OR during a specified time period, as calculated in accordance with methods established by DEQ’s rulemaking #1.

These producers are required to disclose impacts for 1% of their products once every 2 years. Rules for establishing the methodology, procedures and requirements to be used by producers when conducting these assessments have not been finalized.

What are the dates large producer life cycle assessments take effect?

• The effective date is July 1, 2025.
• The first such assessment is required to be submitted in December of 2026.

Resources: 

• See pages 66- 67 on Market Share – DEQ rulemaking #1

Maximum Penalty Allowed:

• $25,000 per day

The actual penalty amount would be determined based on factors including violator size, history, impact, intent and efforts to correct as a part of an administrative that is under consideration.  Economic benefit of non-compliance would also be a factor.

It also allows DOJ to bring an action seeking to prohibit the sale of any covered products sold by a producer in violation of ORS 459A.869.

Are any materials completely banned from use under the law?

• No