Aug. 28, 2026
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon on Aug. 27 released his ruling in the NAW v. Feldon case challenging the constitutionality of Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (RMA).
The gist, as Simon writes: “For the reasons stated in these Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, after a five-day court-trial, the Court concludes that Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act does not violate either the dormant Commerce Clause or the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution.”
OBI is, of course, disappointed by this decision and will talk with partners and stakeholders about appropriate next steps, including further legal options.
For years, OBI has raised serious concerns about the RMA and its implementation, particularly with respect to the program’s lack of transparency, its deep compliance complexity, its exorbitant costs for businesses and consumers, and issues of confusion and possible double regulation across jurisdictions.
Notwithstanding this ruling, it remains clear that the program as implemented extends well beyond the Legislature’s stated objective of improving the recyclability of plastic packaging. The RMA already has increased costs substantially, and often prohibitively. In some cases, the program even has resulted in fewer recyclable materials entering the supply chain.
In the meantime, regardless of the ruling, significant policy questions remain unresolved, and OBI urges policymakers to take those up during the 2027 legislative session.
As a goal, achieving measurable improvements in recycling and packaging recovery is good. But the current program goes far beyond that.
OBI will continue to advocate for a recycling system that is focused on the problem it is intended to solve, transparent about its costs, sensitive to regional differences and fair to the businesses and consumers who ultimately pay for it.
Read the ruling here and a story in The Oregonian about the ruling here.