The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a list of companies that are allegedly noncompliant “producers” under Oregon’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) law for packaging and paper products, known as the Recycling Modernization Act (RMA). The list appeared on the Circular Action Alliance’s (CAA) website on April 10, 2026. The CAA is the “Producer Responsibility Organization” that is charged with implementing EPR programs in Oregon, Colorado, and California.
The lengthy list includes companies from a broad range of sectors, from food and beverage manufacturers to fishing gear suppliers. According to DEQ and CAA, each listed producer was first contacted by CAA regarding alleged noncompliance and given 90 days to respond. When those producers did not respond, DEQ issued a formal notice and provided an additional 30‑day window to come into compliance. Companies that still failed to act after this second opportunity now appear on the published list.
Noncompliance under Oregon’s RMA carries potentially significant exposure of up to $25,000 per day, per violation. Since the program is new, however, key enforcement questions remain unanswered. For example:
- Will a single day of failing to report to the CAA be treated as one violation, or could it be counted multiple times as a failure to meet several distinct obligations under the law?
- Will selling products into Oregon without complying with the RMA be considered one violation per day, per sale, or even per product?
- How will DEQ treat good-faith efforts — such as a “producer,” that registers but miscalculates its “covered materials” — as compared to a producer that fails to register at all?
The timing of DEQ’s list is also notable. The list was released shortly after the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon upheld and clarified the scope of a preliminary injunction in the litigation challenging the RMA, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors v. Feldon, et al. The court’s April 6 order clarified that the state is barred from enforcing the RMA only against the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) and entities that were NAW members as of February 6, 2026.
Companies that are not NAW members, or that joined NAW after February 6, 2026, remain fully subject to RMA enforcement. For those producers, DEQ’s new list is a clear signal that Oregon intends to move from program design to active enforcement, and that now is the time to assess compliance status and potential risk.