At some point in the last year, someone at your company probably said "we need to figure out this EPR thing." Maybe it got added to a list. Maybe a consultant mentioned it. Maybe it came up in a sustainability meeting and got tabled.

Oregon just published what happens when “figuring out that EPR thing” never happens. 

Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) just publicly named every producer out of compliance with the state's packaging EPR law. The lengthy list includes companies from a broad range of sectors, from food and beverage manufacturers to fishing gear suppliers. See the full list here.

Each of those companies received formal notice. The Producer Responsibility Organization (CAA) issued a 90-day warning window, and DEQ followed with enforcement letters. 

One might technically ignore it. But that doesn’t change what happens next.

What's the real cost of being on that list?

Oregon’s penalties per statute can reach $25,000 per day, per violation. 

But here's what I think gets underestimated: the reputational piece. Oregon made this list public. Anyone from retailers, buyers, investors, sustainability leads at your biggest accounts — can look up whether your brand is playing by the rules. Two years ago this kind of accountability infrastructure didn't exist for packaging. Now it does.

And for those wondering if we’ve avoided the first payment cycle, that’s not entirely true. If you join the program late, there is no upside as you would need to submit historical reports and back pay for all the years you did not pay into the program

What does Oregon actually require? The plain-English version.

Oregon's program has been live since July 2025, which makes it the first mover in the U.S. on packaging EPR. If you're selling packaged goods or paper products into the state, there’s a good chance you’re obligated. Here’s what matters in 2026:

• Annual Supply Reporting (due May 31, 2026) using 2025 data
  → Requires detailed material reports  across 62 material categories 
• Annual or Semi-annual fees (January + July 2027)
  → Based on prior-year reporting
• New material categories added this year
  → Including molded pulp food service ware and specific caps/lids/handles
• Ecomodulation credits are active
  → If you made sustainable packaging changes and can demonstrate those through LCAs, you can apply for bonuses that help reduce fees
• Portal is open and active
  → Registration and reporting are ongoing, including late submissions

Why are 300+ brands on the list?

Honestly, I get it. EPR went from "a thing sustainability people talk about at conferences" to "active enforcement with real penalties" surprisingly fast. But saying "it's complicated" doesn’t help anyone, so let’s get more specific. 

A few patterns keep showing up, and they're worth exploring. 

They didn't know they were obligated. This is more common than you'd think. EPR obligation isn't based on where your company is headquartered — it's based on where your packaged products are sold. A brand based in Georgia selling into Oregon grocery chains? Obligated. A DTC company shipping nationally? Almost certainly obligated in multiple states. The jurisdictional logic trips people up, and a lot of companies assumed someone else — their distributor, their retailer, their 3PL — was handling it. They weren't. If you are unsure of your obligations, check out the helpful producer definition and covered material guides issued by CAA and have conversations with your supply chain partners to determine who is ultimately responsible for reporting obligated packaging.

They registered and thought that was enough. Registration is step one of several. You still have to report your supply data, and in Oregon that means a detailed material-level breakdown, — not a rough estimate. A lot of brands checked the registration box and moved on. The DEQ list suggests the follow-through didn't happen.

They didn't realize the fees were real yet. There's a mindset problem here. Early-stage regulatory programs often have soft enforcement while they find their footing. Brands that internalized that assumption about EPR are now finding out Oregon isn't in the soft-enforcement phase anymore. The invoices, deadlines, and penalties are real. 

Their compliance team was stretched thin — or didn't exist. EPR landed in a weird organizational gap for most companies. It's too technical for marketing to own, too sustainability-adjacent for legal to prioritize, and too new for ops to have built a process around. 

They were waiting to see what would actually happen. Let's just say it plainly. Some brands made a calculated bet that enforcement would be slow and the downside of waiting was low. Oregon just answered that question. The downside is a public list, a formal warning letter, late fees, and  $25,000 a day in potential penalties. The waiting strategy is no longer a strategy.

Here's the other thing worth knowing: Oregon doesn't exist in a vacuum. If you're behind there, there's a good chance you're behind in Colorado, California, or one of the other states converging on May 31. The compliance gap that landed 300 brands on a DEQ list in Oregon is almost certainly replicated across other programs. Oregon was first to publish. The rest of the states are watching.

What to actually do right now

1. Check if you're on the DEQ list. If you are, move today, not next week.
2. Register if you haven't. The CAA portal is open and still accepting late submissions. Register here
3. Start pulling your 2024 (for late reporting) and 2025 (for current reporting) supply data. May 31 feels far away until it doesn't. If you don't know what data you need, that's the first thing to figure out.
4. Don't leave money on the table. If you've made sustainability investments in your packaging, make sure your report actually reflects them.
5. Think multi-state. Colorado, California, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington all have May 31 deadlines too. If you're going to do the work, do it once and do it right across all of them.

What’s next: This doesn’t stop in Oregon

Oregon just gave the rest of the industry a preview of what enforcement looks like: public disclosure, formal letters, penalties. And it's not staying in Oregon — we're already hearing from brands that have received enforcement letters out of Colorado too. The producers that build compliance into how they operate — who know what they're obligated to, who file before the warning letters show up — are going to be in a much better spot when this expands. 

That's the problem rePurpose is built to solve. We centralize your supply data, keep you current across every active EPR state, and handle the reporting so your team doesn't have to become accidental regulatory specialists. Not sure where you stand? Take our free 5-minute assessment or book a call.

May 31 is sooner than it feels. Let's get you ready.

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Questions about your EPR obligations? Book a demo and we'll walk through exactly where you stand.