The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) succeeded on the afternoon of Feb. 6 in securing a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act, widely known as the EPR act.
The injunction prevents Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality from enforcing the Act against NAW Members until the court rules on the merits. The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon agreed with NAW that the law’s opaque regulatory scheme raises serious questions about whether the Act violates the Due Process and Dormant Commerce Clauses in the United States Constitution.
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“This ruling is a significant victory for NAW members, who face imminent and irreparable harm under the Act, including unrecoverable compliance costs, competitive distortions, and the risk of steep civil penalties,” said Eric Hoplin, President and CEO of NAW. “This is a major win for NAW member companies who have been dramatically impacted by the exorbitant fees imposed under the law by the Circular Action Alliance, NAW looks forward to presenting its case on the merits when the Court hears our case on July 13.”
NAW filed a motion for a preliminary injunction back on Nov. 25, 2025, asking the court to pause all obligations under the EPR Act, including reporting and payment requirements. The filing argued that NAW members face imminent and irreperable harm, including unrecoverable compliance costs, competitive distortions and the threat of substantial civil penalties. In that November filing, NAW stressed that the first round of EPR invoices issued in July 2025 revealed fees significantly higher than publicly projected, alongside complex and unclear obligations within multistate supply chains and risks of penalties of up to $25,000 per day for noncompliance.
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