Sidley Secures Preliminary Injunction Against Oregon Packaging EPR Law

On February 6, 2026, Sidley prevailed on behalf of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) in securing a preliminary injunction against Oregon’s first-of-its-kind plastic packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) law.

Oregon’s EPR law seeks to modernize its recycling infrastructure, but it does so by delegating vast authority to a private entity to set and impose fees on virtually all products that use packaging in connection with their sale or packaging — in other words, virtually all products in commerce. What’s worse, the private entity sets fees pursuant to a confidential methodology that is not publicly disclosed, and businesses have been receiving exorbitant invoices that, in many cases, exceed the margins associated with the product.

The district court agreed with NAW that the scheme raises serious questions about whether the Act violates the Due Process and Dormant Commerce Clauses in the United States Constitution, and it entered a preliminary injunction prevents Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality from enforcing the Act against NAW members until the court rules on the merits following a trial this coming July.

The ruling comes at a significant time, when Colorado, California, and other states have similar EPR laws that are or soon will be coming into effect.

David Carpenter (Regulatory Litigation) argued the motion, and led the team that also included Gordon Todd (Regulatory Litigation), Caleb Bowers (Environmental, Health, and Safety), Christopher Healy (Regulatory Litigation), Victor Hiltner (Supreme Court, Appellate, and Litigation Strategies), and Dominique Hall (Commercial Litigation and Disputes), as well as alumna Alexandra Mushka, with additional support from Maureen Gorsen (Environmental, Health, and Safety) and Richard Smith (Commercial Litigation and Disputes).