Beginning this summer, Oregonians across the state will begin receiving a standardized list of what can and cannot be recycled statewide, and owners and managers of apartment complexes and multifamily housing must prepare to offer recycling to residents, the Oregon Chronicle has announced.
These measures are part of new recycling rules that were finalized Friday by the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission after four years of negotiations and planning. The Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act will take effect July 1, 2025, making recycling easier for Oregonians. The law will establish new packaging fees for businesses selling products in Oregon, based on the weight and recyclability of the materials.
Materials that are difficult to recycle, such as plastics, will involve higher fees for companies compared to easily recyclable products, with the aim of incentivizing producers to choose lighter and more sustainable materials.
The rules also grant authority to collect and invest some of the new baling fees to the Circular Action Alliance (CCA), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization. Local governments and the alliance will be responsible for reinvesting the fees in projects that improve Oregon’s recycling infrastructure. The alliance was formed in 2022 by 20 multinational corporations from the food, beverage, retail and consumer goods industries, including Amazon, CocaCola and Nestlé. It oversees similar recycling programs being implemented as a result of new policies in California, Colorado, Maine and Maryland.
Under new Oregon rules, environmental authorities will publish a standardized list of recyclable items statewide starting this summer. Owners and managers of multifamily buildings, such as duplexes and apartment complexes, will also eventually be required to provide recycling services to residents.
In addition, two laws passed in Oregon in 2023 will require manufacturers to label products to indicate whether and where they can be recycled in Oregon, and will ban the use of polystyrene takeout food containers.
The latter, Senate Bill 543, will go into effect in January. Rules under Senate Bill 123, known as the Smart Labeling Act, are to be finalized by 2027. The nonprofit Environment Oregon tested 30 rivers and lakes in the state in 2021 and found detectable levels of microplastics in all of them.
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