Oregon's packaging EPR law is SB 582, the Recycling Modernization Act of 2021, codified at ORS 459A.860 to 459A.975 and administered by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. It was the first US packaging EPR program to launch, and the first built on the producer-run producer responsibility organization model (Maine's 2021 law was enacted a few weeks earlier but uses a state-contracted stewardship organization instead), and its program went live on July 1, 2025, so producers are already registering, reporting, and paying fees through the Circular Action Alliance. Oregon is distinctive for adding a uniform statewide collection list, a truth-in-labeling task-force process, and a responsible-end-markets requirement on top of the core EPR obligations.
Oregon's packaging EPR law is SB 582, the Recycling Modernization Act of 2021, codified at ORS 459A.860 to 459A.975 and administered by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. It introduced the producer responsibility organization model in the United States, and its program has been operating since July 1, 2025. This guide covers what SB 582 requires, who is obligated, the reporting deadlines, and the features that distinguish Oregon from the other state programs.
The law and the administrator
SB 582, the Recycling Modernization Act, was enacted in 2021 and is administered by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. It runs through a producer responsibility organization, and the Circular Action Alliance serves as the PRO. The program began operating on July 1, 2025, when the first producer fee payments came due, so Oregon is past the build-out stage the other states are still in.
Who is an obligated producer
Under SB 582, the producer is defined through a hierarchy that generally lands on the brand owner of the covered material, shifting to the importer or distributor where there is no in-state brand owner, and small producers below the statutory thresholds are exempt (ORS 459A.872: under $5 million in gross revenue in the most recent fiscal year, or under one metric ton of covered products into Oregon in the most recent calendar year, with nonprofits and public bodies also exempt). Because the program is operating rather than phasing in, an obligated producer that has not registered is out of compliance.
The deadlines
With the program operating, producers register and report on a recurring cycle. The supply report covering 2025 data was due by May 31, 2026 — Oregon's second annual supply report (the first, covering 2024 data, was due March 31, 2025) and the first filed on the harmonized May 31 cycle the PRO now runs across its states — and fees follow from the reported tonnage, with payment on the 2026 report due in January 2027. A producer entering the Oregon market has to register before it can sell covered packaging there.
Features distinct to Oregon
Three requirements of SB 582 sit on top of the core registration, reporting, and fee obligations.
- Uniform statewide collection list. Oregon standardizes what can be recycled across the state, replacing the patchwork of local lists, which changes what counts as recyclable for fee and design purposes.
- Responsible end markets. The law requires that collected material go to markets that handle it in an environmentally sound way, not merely be collected, which raises the bar on what genuine recycling means.
- Truth in labeling. SB 582 created a Truth in Labeling Task Force (uncodified session law, Or. Laws 2021, ch. 681), which recommended in 2022 that Oregon restrict recyclability claims that do not match what the state's system actually recycles. The recommendations have not been enacted, so Oregon statute does not currently prohibit such claims — that model is California's SB 343, not ORS chapter 459A.
For the multistate picture, see the US packaging EPR compliance guide; to determine obligated-producer status, see the US packaging EPR producer obligation assessment.
Primary sources
- Oregon SB 582 (2021), the Recycling Modernization Act: Oregon's packaging EPR law, which uses the producer responsibility organization model; first producer fee payments came due July 1, 2025.
- Circular Action Alliance: The producer responsibility organization designated or selected to run the program in most US packaging EPR states; producers register, report, and pay fees through it.