One week after a federal judge ruled on the American Forest & Paper Association’s (AF&PA’s) bid to join a lawsuit challenging Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act, the group is sharing its response.
The AF&PA said it was disappointed by the court’s decision, which denied its members the ability to seek temporary relief from enforcement of the state’s EPR law. The organization is the national trade association representing companies that produce roughly 87% of US pulp, paper, paper-based packaging and tissue products, as well as wood building materials manufacturers.
“As Oregon’s program moves into implementation, it is becoming clear that the law imposes significant and unnecessary burdens on paper products that are already among the most successfully recycled materials in the United States,” AF&PA CEO Heidi Brock said in response.
Despite the setback, Brock said the organization remains committed to pursuing its legal and strategic options to protect members’ interests.
The AF&PA wasn’t alone in its disappointment. US District Judge Michael H. Simon also rejected intervention bids from Oregon Business and Industry, Northwest Grocery Retail Association and Food Northwest.
Judge Simon noted that AF&PA’s petition came too late, as a preliminary injunction currently only covers National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) members who joined prior to Feb. 6, 2026. The broader question of who is covered under the law heads to trial July 13.
“The addition of a new party…will necessarily expand the scope of the case,” which would either prejudice DEQ’s ability to litigate on the current timeline “or require the Court to move the trial date,” the judge wrote in his ruling.
AF&PA argues that Oregon’s EPR framework as written places unnecessary burdens, mainly higher-than-anticipated fees, expanded reporting and compliance obligations and policy design choices. These burdens place costs onto paper manufacturers “without meaningfully improving recycling outcomes.”
The organization says it will keep working with partners and legal counsel to find relief for its members and push for recycling policies that are, in Brock’s words, “workable, fact-based and mindful of costs across the supply chain.”
