Several states have enacted Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation, which is intended to increase recycling and sustainability, and to reduce waste by making producers responsible for end-of-life management of the covered products they produce. Specific requirements and dates vary from state to state. Though the deadline for Colorado’s requirement for producers to join a producer responsibility organization (PRO) was October 1, 2024, Oregon’s March 31st deadline is quickly approaching. In addition to the requirement to join a PRO, Oregon requires that initial producer reporting be submitted by March 31, 2025.

Pursuant to Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (RMA) as chaptered in Oregon Revised Statutes 459A.860-975, producers of covered products sold, offered for sale, or distributed in Oregon must comply with the Producer Responsibility Program. Producer requirements under the Program include registration with a PRO, reporting of specific information for each covered product, and payment of fees to manage respective covered products. The producer-funded PRO represents producers and is responsible for implementing the extended producer responsibility program in the state.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING!

If your company has not yet done so, it must quickly familiarize itself with these requirements. First and foremost, producer status must be determined. Unless exempted, a producer of a “covered product” sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state of Oregon is subject to these requirements.

Steps to determine if you are the producer of a “covered product”

  1. Determine if you are a “producer”
    • For items sold in packaging at a physical retail location in this state:
      • 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;
      • 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 the state, whether or not the trademark is registered in the state; or
      • If there is no person described in either bullet listed above, within the United States, the producer of the packaging is the person that imports the packaged item into the United States for use in a commercial enterprise that sells, offers for sale or distributes the item in the state
    • For items sold or distributed in packaging in or into this state via remote sale or distribution:
      • 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
      • 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 a magazine, newspaper, catalog, telephone directory or similar publication:
      • The producer is the publisher
    • For printing and writing paper not described in the row above:
      • The producer is:
        • The person that manufactures the printing and writing paper under the manufacturer’s own brand;
        • If the printing and writing paper is manufactured by a person other than the brand owner, the person that is 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
        • If there is no person described in either bullet listed above, 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
    • For food serviceware:
      • The producer of food serviceware is the person that first sells the food serviceware in or into the state
Reference: ORS 459A.866

2. If you’re company is considered a “producer” in accordance with the table above, determine whether you are the producer of a “covered product”

A “covered product” means:

  • Packaging;
  • Printing and writing paper
  • Food serviceware
    • paper or plastic plates, wraps, cups, bowls, pizza boxes, cutlery, straws, lids, bags, aluminum foil or clamshells or similar containers:
      • That are generally intended for single use; and
      • That are sold to a retailer or a dine-in food establishment or a take-out food establishment, regardless of whether the item is used to prepackage food for resale, is filled on site for food ordered by a customer or is resold as is

 “Covered Product” does not include:

  • A beverage container, as defined in ORS 459A.700
  • Bound books
  • Napkins, paper towels or other paper intended to be used for cleaning or the absorption of liquids
  • Rigid pallets used as the structural foundation for transporting goods lifted by a forklift, pallet jack or similar device
  • Specialty packaging items that are used exclusively in industrial or manufacturing processes, including but not limited to:
    • Cores and wraps for rolls of packaging sold by a mill to a packaging converter or food processor; and
    • Trays, whether designed for a single use or multiple uses, used for the transport of component parts from a parts supplier to a manufacturer that assembles those parts
  • Liquified petroleum gas containers that are designed to be refilled
  • A material that the producer demonstrates is exempt
  • Pallet wrap or similar packaging used to secure a palletized load if added by a person that is not the producer of the palletized covered products
  • Packaging related to containers for architectural paint, as defined in ORS 459A.822, that has been collected by a producer responsibility organization under the program established under ORS 459A.820 to 459A.855
  • Any item that is not ultimately discarded inside this state, whether for purposes of recovery or disposal
  • Items sold on a farm or used on a farm, including items used for farm use, as defined in ORS 215.203, or for processing on a farm, provided that an item used on a farm is not subsequently sold at a retail establishment that is not located on a farm
  • Items used by a nursery licensed under ORS 571.055 that generates the majority of the nursery’s revenue through the sale of nursery stock, as defined in ORS 571.005, provided that the items are not sold through retail sales
  • Packaging and paper products sold or supplied in connection with:
    • Prescription drugs as defined in ORS 689.005;
    • Nonprescription drugs as defined in ORS 689.005;
    • Drugs marketed under a brand name as defined in ORS 689.515; or
    • Drugs marketed under a generic name as defined in ORS 689.515
  • Packaging and paper products sold or supplied in connection with drugs that are used for animal medicines, including but not limited to parasiticide drugs for animals
  • Packaging and paper products sold or supplied in connection with:
    • Infant formula as defined in 21 U.S.C. 321(z);
    • Medical food as defined in 21 U.S.C. 360ee(b)(3); or
    • Fortified oral nutritional supplements used for individuals who require supplemental or sole source nutrition to meet nutritional needs due to special dietary needs directly related to cancer, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, malnutrition, or failure to thrive, as those terms are defined as by the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, or other medical conditions as determined by the commission
  • Wine and spirit containers for which a refund value is established under Oregon law
  • Packaging for products:
    • That are required under 40 C.F.R. 156.140, or other federal regulation pertaining to toxic or hazardous materials, to state on the label or container that the packaging should not be recycled or should be disposed of in a manner other than recycling; or
    • Identified by the commission by rule as product that is required by law to state on the label or container that the packaging should not be recycled or should be disposed of in a manner other than recycling

Any other material, as determined by the commission by rule, after consultation with the Oregon Recycling System Advisory Council

Reference: ORS 459A.833(6)

Producer exemptions

A small producer is exempt from the requirement to be a member of a producer responsibility organization. A “small producer” means a producer that:

  • Is a nonprofit organization;
  • Is a public body (as defined in ORS 174.109);
  • Has a gross revenue <$5 million for the most recent fiscal year;
  • In the organization’s most recent fiscal year, sold <1 metric ton of covered products in/into Oregon for use in the state;
  • Is a manufacturer of a beverage sold in a beverage container (as defined in ORS 459A.700), that sold <5 metric tons of covered products (including but not limited to secondary and tertiary packaging for beverage containers) in/into Oregon for use in the state, in the most recent calendar year;
  • Is a restaurant, food cart or similar business establishment that primarily sells to members of the public, food that is generally intended to be consumed immediately and without the need for further preparation, either on or off the premises; and is not a producer of food serviceware; or
  • Operates a single retail sales establishment, has no online sales, and is not supplied or operated as part of a franchise or a chain
Reference: ORS 459A.863(32)

Product Exemptions

A producer may demonstrate to the department that a material is exempt from the requirements for a covered product if the material:

  • Is collected through a recycling collection service not provided under the opportunity to recycle;
  • Does not undergo separation from other materials at a commingled recycling processing facility; and
  • Is recycled at a responsible end market.

If only a portion of the material sold in or into this state by a producer meets the criteria above, only the portion that meets the criteria is exempt. The portion that does not meet the criteria is considered a covered product.

Reference: ORS 459A.869(13)

What if my Company is a Producer of a Covered Product?

By March 31, 2025, Producers of covered products must:

  • Register with a PRO
    • Circular Action Alliance (CAA) is the approved PRO in Oregon
    • Producers may register with CAA through the Producer Registration Page
  • Once registered with CAA, sign the Participant Producer Agreement (PPA)
  • Once the PPA is signed, access the CAA Producer Portal and:
    • Sign the state addenda
    • Report information for covered products for the calendar year 2024

Fees will be assessed once the program commences in July 2025. While the fee schedule has not yet been finalized, estimates are included in CAA’s December 2024 Program Plan submission, posted on their website.

Looking Ahead

Take note of the following upcoming deadlines and requirements for other states with EPR laws:

  • Minnesota’s registration deadline is July 1, 2025
  • The proposed deadline for Colorado reporting is July 31, 2025
  • The proposed deadline for California reporting is August 31, 2025
  • The registration and reporting deadline for Maine is May 1, 2026

Please contact your SRC consultant with any question on how to comply with these requirements.

 

Jamie Venable

Principal Regulatory Consultant

Posted on: 03/12/2024