(1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section and ORS § 459A.872, each producer must register with and be a member of a producer responsibility organization that administers a producer responsibility program.

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(2) A producer is required to pay an annual membership fee to a producer responsibility organization as described in ORS § 459A.884. Fees established under ORS § 459A.860 to 459A.975 that are charged to a producer responsibility organization must be paid by the producer responsibility organization.

(3) A producer is not required to pay membership fees to a producer responsibility organization for any covered product if another person has registered with a producer responsibility organization as the producer responsible for that covered product under ORS § 459A.860 to 459A.975.

(4) A producer is not required to be a member of a producer responsibility organization if, for all covered product the producer sells, offers to sell or distributes in or into this state, another person has registered with a producer responsibility organization as the producer responsible for that covered product under ORS § 459A.860 to 459A.975.

(5) A producer that is registered with a producer responsibility organization must:

(a) Pay the membership fee calculated under the schedule established by the producer responsibility organization pursuant to ORS § 459A.884; and

(b) Upon request, provide the producer responsibility organization with records or other information necessary for the organization to meet the organization’s obligations under ORS § 459A.860 to 459A.975.

(6) A person that sells a covered product in or into this state via remote means and that is only the producer of the packaging used to ship the covered product, as determined under ORS § 459A.866 (1)(b)(B), must notify the producer of the covered product, as determined under ORS § 459A.866 (1)(a), and the seller’s producer responsibility organization of the sale of a packaged product in or into this state.

(7) A producer responsibility organization’s obligations under ORS § 459A.860 to 459A.975 to work with recycling system participants in order to ensure, to the extent practicable, that covered products collected by a recycling collection service are recycled by responsible end markets apply to covered products that are:

(a) Collected for recycling pursuant to ORS § 459A.896;

(b) Identified on the uniform statewide collection list and collected pursuant to a collection program providing the opportunity to recycle;

(c) Identified on the list of specifically identified materials; or

(d) Recycled in an effort to achieve the statewide plastic recycling goal established under ORS § 459A.926.

(8) A producer responsibility organization shall make available on the organization’s website and update at least once per calendar quarter:

(a) A searchable registry of the organization’s compliant members; and

(b) The identity of any members that are currently not in compliance with ORS § 459A.860 to 459A.975 and the reason for noncompliance.

(9)(a) If the Department of Environmental Quality approves more than one producer responsibility program, the producer responsibility organizations with approved programs shall establish a producer responsibility organization coordinating body and submit a coordination plan to the department for approval. If requested by the producer responsibility organizations, the department may serve as the coordinating body or may form or oversee the coordinating body.

(b) The Environmental Quality Commission shall establish by rule:

(A) Methods for calculating market share;

(B) Standards and requirements for coordination plans and coordination between producer responsibility organizations;

(C) A process for submittal, review, approval or rejection and revocation of coordination plans; and

(D) A process for the department to issue an order requiring a coordination plan.

(c) A coordination plan approved or ordered by the department shall be implemented by all producer responsibility organizations. If the coordination plan conflicts with an approved program plan, the details of the coordination plan prevail.

(d) A coordination plan approved or ordered by the department is valid until revoked or a new coordination plan is approved by the department.

(e) The producer responsibility organization coordinating body shall submit for approval a new coordination plan on a schedule that coincides with the schedule for producer responsibility organizations to submit new producer responsibility program plans.

(10) A producer responsibility organization must ensure that each member of its organization complies with subsection (5) of this section. The organization shall notify the department within 30 days of:

(a) The end of a three-month period in which the organization unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a membership fee or records or information from a producer under subsection (5) of this section; or

(b) The date a producer member leaves the organization for any reason.

(11) A producer responsibility organization must provide contact information for any of the organization’s registered members to the department upon request.

(12) No later than December 31 of each year in which an approved producer responsibility program plan is required to be operated in this state, a producer responsibility organization must have members with a combined market share, calculated in accordance with rules established in this section, that is at least 10 percent of the total combined market share of all producers of covered products.

(13)(a) A producer may demonstrate to the department that a material is exempt from the requirements for a covered product if the material:

(A) Is collected through a recycling collection service not provided under the opportunity to recycle;

(B) Does not undergo separation from other materials at a commingled recycling processing facility; and

(C) Is recycled at a responsible end market.

(b) If only a portion of the material sold in or into this state by a producer meets the criteria of paragraph (a) of this subsection, the portion that meets the criteria is exempt and the portion that does not meet the criteria is a covered product. [2021 c.681 § 4]

Section 60, chapter 681, Oregon Laws 2021, provides:

The provisions of section 4 of this 2021 Act [459A.869] requiring a producer to be a member of a producer responsibility organization apply to producers that sell, offer for sale or distribute in or into this state covered products on or after July 1, 2025. [2021 c.681 § 60]