Oregon’s landmark Recycling Modernization Act clears legal hurdle

Oregon lawmakers passed the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (RMA) in 2021. It was the first law of its kind, putting much of the responsibility to reduce waste on producers and manufacturers. California, Washington, Colorado and a handful of other states have now passed similar laws. The Oregon law took effect July 1, 2025 and the state began collecting fees from producers to expand recycling infrastructure. A recent report highlighted Oregon’s progress in the first year, including dozens of new producer-funded collection sites, 36,000 new recycling carts and $30 million dollars to improve and modernize recycling facilities. The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors sued the state to block the law shortly after it went into effect, but a federal judge has now rejected those arguments and upheld the constitutionality of Oregon’s law. We talk about what’s next with Dan Leif, policy implementation director at The Recycling Partnership, a nonprofit helping municipalities all over the country create and implement these kinds of laws.