Back in April, I wrote about the pending legal challenge facing Colorado’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) law. At the time, I noted that this case could have impacts outside of Colorado and serve as a blueprint for industry groups challenging EPR laws in other states. Now, California and Oregon are facing challenges to their EPR programs. A recent Vory’s memo discusses the state of the lawsuits:
“Seventeen State Attorneys’ General and the National Associate of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) filed a challenge to California’s packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law, known as SB 54. NAW is currently challenging a nearly identical law in Oregon federal court over Oregon’s packaging EPR law. In Oregon, NAW was granted a preliminary stay of enforcement of Oregon’s law to its members until a final decision is made – trial is scheduled for July 13, 2026. The plaintiffs’ in California make similar arguments that state packaging EPR laws have broad and unconstitutional requirements, largely due to the fees, nationwide impact, and structure of relying on a private, third-party organization to implement large aspects of the program.”
These legal challenges will determine the fate of EPR laws in the US. If the plaintiffs succeed, then lawmakers will have to go back to the drawing board.
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