Oregon EPR Law Doesn’t Violate Constitution, Judge Rules

A federal judge upheld Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act, which created the state’s extended producer responsibility for packaging program, ruling that it is not unconstitutional. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Director Leah Feldon was the defendant in a suit challenging the law. Judge Michael H. Simon determined that Oregon’s EPR law program did not violate either the dormant Commerce Cause or the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution, as alleged by plaintiff National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. In the 71-page ruling, Simon said Oregon has been a “pioneer in waste prevention, reuse, and recycling legislation” for more than 50 years, and that the state’s EPR law shows “innovative leadership” in its design to shift end-of-life product and recycling costs away from governments and onto producers.

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