Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act has been upheld by a federal court following the first constitutional challenge to a state extended producer responsibility law in US history.
The ruling in National Ass’n of Wholesale Distributers v. Feldon came after a five-day bench trial in which industry participants sought to strike down the law on two separate constitutional grounds.
The court rejected arguments that Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act violates the dormant Commerce Clause of the US Constitution, dismissing each of the industry’s theories in turn.
The National Association of Wholesale Distributers had argued the law discriminates against interstate commerce, imposes an unreasonable user fee, and places an undue burden on interstate trade.
All three dormant Commerce Clause theories were rejected by the court, which found the Act does not unlawfully interfere with the flow of commerce across state lines.
A second challenge alleged the RMA constituted an unconstitutional delegation of authority to the Circular Action Alliance, the producer responsibility organisation tasked with implementing much of the programme.
The court dismissed this due process argument, finding that the Circular Action Alliance functions more as a reporting and compliance body operating under state oversight rather than an autonomous regulatory authority.
The decision was authored by attorneys Robert M. Smith, Natalie J. Reid, and Maureen O’Dea Brill of K&L Gates LLP and represents a significant moment in the evolution of US environmental compliance law.
For companies subject to Oregon’s EPR regulations, the ruling clarifies that the RMA’s registration, fee, and compliance requirements remain fully in effect with no immediate relief for industry participants.
The case is expected to have broad implications for similar litigation unfolding in other early-adopter states, including California and Colorado, where comparable legal challenges have been raised.
While each case will ultimately turn on its own text, facts, and record, the Feldon decision provides the first judicial framework for analysing the constitutional limits of state-level extended producer responsibility legislation.
The ruling signals that courts are prepared to uphold ambitious state recycling and plastic pollution laws against industry constitutional challenges, at least where oversight mechanisms remain clearly rooted in state authority.