January 24, 2023

10am – 11:25am PST

Nicole Portley, nicole.portley@deq.oregon.gov

Plastic Pollution and Recycling 

Modernization Act

A presentation from Oregon DEQ to the NIST virtual workshop
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• Shared responsibility

• New responsibilities on 

local governments, 

processing facilities, 

producers

• Comprehensive reform 

and modernization

Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling 

Modernization Act (Senate Bill 582, 2021)
Challenges

Unstable markets and unfavorable economic 

signals

Inequities throughout the recycling system

No assurance of responsible recycling

More waste and less recycling over time

Solutions

STATEWIDE COLLECTION LIST

COMMODITY RISK FEE PROTECTS RATEPAYERS

SOCIAL EQUITY ELEMENTS

RESPONSIBLE END 

MARKETS

Recycling increases as it becomes 

easier and more accessible

PROCESSOR 

PERMITTING

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Public confusion over what can be recycled.

Recycling
Challenges

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Solutions

Plastic pollution

Lack of reduction goals, accountability

WASTE PREVENTION PROGRAMS

REDUCING LIFECYCLE IMPACTS

PLASTIC PACKAGING RECYCLING 

GOALS

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Increasing plastic pollution and waste

Increasing production and consumption of 

single-use plastic
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MATERIAL 

PROCESSING

PRODUCER 

RESPONSIBILITY 

ORGANIZATION

PRO

PRODUCERS STATEWIDE 

COLLECTION 

LIST & PRO 

DEPOT LIST

RESPONSIBLE 

END 

MARKETS

EDUCATION 

AND 

CONTAMINATION 

REDUCTION

How it will work

LOCAL 

EXPANSION OF 

RECYCLING 

SERVICES

OVERSIGHT AND INTEGRATION

ADVISORY 

COUNCIL

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2021: 

• DEQ implementation 

planning

2022:

• Jan. 1: Law goes into effect

• DEQ hiring

• Advisory Council appointed

• Labeling Task Force report due

2023: • First rulemaking

• Collection needs assessment

• Pilots for contamination reduction

• Studies for processor fees

2024: • Second rulemaking

• First PRO program plans due

• Purchasing assessment due

• First equity study due

• First multifamily study due

July 1, 2025: 

• Producers join a PRO and pay fees

• PROs implement approved plans

• Local collection program changes 

begin

• Processors obtain permit 

or certification

Stakeholder engagement, project planning and research extend throughout implementation.

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Start-up timeline
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MRF permitting

• Under ORS 459A.955, a person 

may not establish or operate a 

commingled recycling processing 

facility in this state unless the 

person obtains a disposal site 

permit issued by DEQ under ORS 

459.205. 

Pic courtesy of Justin Gast
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MRF permitting and reporting requirements

Likely permit requirements

 Sort materials / manage contaminants

 Market materials to responsible end markets

 No public nuisance or health hazards

 Limit pollution

 Meet outbound performance standards (purity, 

contamination, and capture rate targets)

Likely reporting requirements

 Inbound material quality and contamination

 Capture rates

 Outbound contamination levels 

 Final end markets of materials

o may be fulfilled through third-party 

certification Pic courtesy of Justin Gast
All materials Definition (ORS 459A.863(29)):

“a materials market in which the recycling 

or recovery of materials or the disposal of 

contaminants is conducted in a way that 

benefits the environment and minimizes 

risks to public health and worker health 

and safety.”

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Responsible end markets
Material-specific definitions for “end market”

All materials

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• Glass: user of the recyclate to make a new product

• Metal: producer of the recyclate, e.g. of ingots, sheet, coil 

etc. by smelting

• Paper: facilities that re-pulp recycled material

• Plastic for food and beverage packaging and children’s 

toys: user of the recyclate to make a new product

• Plastic for all other applications: last handler of the 

recyclate (typically flakes or pellets) before sold to a 

producer.
Standard for “responsible”

All materials

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• Compliant

• Transparent

• Environmentally-sound

• Achieves adequate yields
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PRO

PRODUCER 

RESPONSIBILITY 

ORGANIZATIONS

MATERIAL PROCESSORS

(quarterly disposition reports) (anonymized, 

consolidated 

version)

(PROs add

their disposition

info)

PRO (contacts if a non-responsible

market identified) 

(pursues practicable solution)

PRO ANNUAL 

REPORT

(documents 

solution, 

annual 

auditing)

ADVISORY 

COUNCIL

Responsible end market reporting
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Oregon’s “materials management” hierarchy

All materials

Pre-RMA

“Solid waste management”

• Reduce amount of waste generated, then

• Reuse materials, then

• Recycle material, then

• . . . and etc.

Post-RMA

“Materials management”

Minimize the net negative impacts of materials across their full life 

cycle . . .

Reduce the amount of materials used . . .

If information on impacts is unavailable or highly uncertain, then: • Reduce amount of waste generated, then

• Reuse materials, then

• Recycle materials, with preference given to pathways that result 

in the greatest reduction of negative impacts on well-being and 

environmental health. Where impacts are not known, 

preference is given to:

 Displacement of more impactful materials, and

 Processes that best preserve value and molecular structure
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Extra reporting for non-mechanical recycling

ORS 459A.875(2)(I)(iv)

In association with a requirement that materials are managed in accordance 

with Oregon’s hierarchy of materials management, when intending to send 

materials to non-mechanical recycling, the PRO must first submit a 

comparative evaluation of the environmental impacts for DEQ 

review/approval.
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Evaluation and disclosure of life cycle impacts

ORS 459A.944

To obtain eco-modulation incentives 

(reduced fees), producers must 

evaluate products’ life cycle impacts 

using standards and methods approved 

by the Environmental Quality 

Commission. 

• The top 25 producers in the state 

must make evaluations for at least 

1% of their products available to the 

public.
USCL

commingled collected 

on-route and at depots

OTS

glass collected on-the-side 

(on-route)

Glass-only PRO depots

producer-funded depots 

collecting only glass

PRO depots

producer-funded depots 

collecting several materials 

(may also collect glass)

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Formulating material acceptance lists

ORS 459A.914(3)

“In determining whether a 

material should be included 

on [the Uniform Statewide 

Collection List or the PRO 

depot list]......the commission 

shall consider:

h) economic factors

i) environmental factors from 

a life cycle perspective”

All materials

Medium density

Low density

High density

Modeling Parameters
More information

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Rulemaking webpage - oregon.gov/deq/rulemaking/Pages/Recycling2023.aspx