Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act

If you live in the Portland area, your recycling routine won’t change much at first. 

In the first few years, many improvements will happen behind the scenes, like upgrades to recycling facilities and expanded recycling access in rural parts of Oregon.

But you will see a few changes:

• July 1, 2025: Small additions to the accepted recycling list include screw-on plastic caps on plastic bottles and clean pizza boxes.
• In the next few years: New drop-off locations and collection events for items like block Styrofoam^TM and plastic bags.
• Looking ahead: More items are expected to be added to the recycling list as the system improves.

See the current recycling acceptance list

Yes, as long as you’re putting accepted items in your bin. 

A key part of Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act is making sure that the items we collect for recycling actually get recycled—and that it’s done the right way. This ensures that plastic and other trash are kept out of our waterways and communities, both domestically and overseas. 

Some items, like plastic bags, cause problems at our recycling sorting facilities but can be recycled if collected separately from other materials. These items are not accepted in your home or work recycling bins, but there will soon be more drop-off recycling locations. 

After your recycling gets picked up, it goes through multiple steps to be sorted, processed, and turned into something new. 

Oregon’s new law requires the companies involved in these steps to meet high standards to be considered responsible. They must manage recyclable materials in ways that protect the environment and reduce risks to public health.

For example, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will permit, certify, and audit the facilities that sort recyclables. To meet new performance standards, these facilities must:

• Sort materials effectively.
• Remove items that can’t be recycled.
• Report where materials are sent to be processed and made into new products.
• Pay workers a living wage and provide supportive benefits.

These changes help ensure your recycling is handled responsibly from start to finish.

The new statewide recycling accepted list is almost identical to the recycling list the Portland area has been using for years. 

However, there are a few changes that started on July 1, 2025.

New accepted items

Plastic screw-on caps are allowed on plastic bottles, jars, and jugs – if they’re screwed on (no loose caps). 

• Replace plastic screw-on caps on empty plastic containers before recycling:
  • Plastic bottles (soda, etc.)
  • Plastic jugs (milk or laundry jugs)
  • Plastic jars (peanut butter jars)
• Still not allowed: Plastic caps on paper cartons or glass. Please continue to remove and throw away plastic caps from things like milk, creamer, and orange juice cartons as well as glass bottles.

Pizza delivery boxes with minimal grease and no food residue.

• Empty pizza delivery boxes are allowed in your recycling bin.
• If the cardboard is a little greasy that's ok, but cheese, sauce, or other food is not.
• If the pizza box has a paper liner, remove the liner and put it in the trash.
• Still not allowed: Pizza delivery boxes with cheese, sauce, or other food on them cannot go in your recycling bin. These can go in your compost bin if you have residential curbside compost service. Otherwise, they should go in the trash.
• Option to remove lid: If the bottom of the pizza box is covered in food but the lid isn't, you can tear off the lid and put it in the recycling bin.

No longer accepted

• Shredded paper

Other changes

• Smaller size limits for scrap metal: Scrap metal must be less than 10 pounds and 18 inches. (Previously, the guidelines allowed up to 30 inches and 30 pounds.)
• Minimum sizes for plastic bottles, round containers, and jugs: The new guidelines say plastic bottles and tubs must be larger than 2 inches by 2 inches. (Previously, the guidelines were 6 ounces or larger.)

See the current recycling guidelines

Oregon’s recycling list could grow to include more items in the coming years. Here’s why:

• Facility upgrades: As part of Oregon’s new recycling law, local sorting centers are getting upgrades that could make it possible to recycle materials that aren’t currently accepted.
• Materials will be reviewed regularly: State regulators will review materials based on their environmental impact. If a material can be recycled in a way that meets Oregon’s strong environmental standards and has a reliable, responsible end market, it could get added to the list.

In the next few years, you'll see more free drop-off sites and special collection events for items you can’t put in your recycling bin at home or work:

• Block Styrofoam^TM
• Plastic bags and plastic wrap
• Hard plastic 6-pack and 4-pack beverage carriers that snap onto the tops of drink cans

Note: Some recycling drop-off locations already exist for these items. Visit Metro's Find a Recycler look-up tool to find the nearest one.

Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act:

Reduces plastic, waste, and pollution by making the companies that produce packaging materials more responsible for what they sell in Oregon. The law encourages companies to design more sustainable packaging by charging lower fees when they use less packaging, make it from recycled materials, or design it to be easy to recycle. 

Improves tracking and transparency: Recycling facilities will provide clearer information about what happens to materials after sorting. This helps ensure recyclables are sent to businesses that turn them into new products in ways that are safe for people and the environment.

Holds companies accountable for responsible recycling: Producer responsibility is a big part of what makes the Recycling Modernization Act so impactful. The law requires companies that make, sell, or distribute packaging, paper products, and food serviceware to pay fees that help ensure their products are recycled responsibly. These fees fund facility upgrades, expanded recycling services, fair wages for workers, and public education programs.

Upgrades recycling facilities: Oregon recycling facilities will be upgraded to handle and sort materials more efficiently and responsibly. Watch a three-minute video showing the Future of Recycling Processors in Oregon (en español).

Expands recycling outside of the Portland metro area: The new law will provide recycling services to Oregonians who haven’t had them before, including rural communities and apartment buildings. In the next few years, over 150,000 more Oregon households will get recycling at their homes and workplaces. And over 100 new recycling drop-off sites will be added across the state, making drop-off service more convenient.

Creates one statewide list of what can be recycled. A new statewide recycling collection list will provide clarity to households and businesses about what can be recycled.

The statewide list as of July 2025 is almost identical to the current Portland-area recycling accepted list. More items may be added over time after the system improves and items have been vetted to ensure they can be recycled responsibly.

The Recycling Modernization Act was passed by the Oregon State Legislature in 2021, and recycling program changes began in July 2025. 

The changes will take time to implement, and some will not go into effect until 2026 or later. 

The companies that make and sell packaging, paper products, and food serviceware are responsible for paying for these improvements. 

This approach is called producer responsibility. It means that companies that make or sell products must help cover the costs of managing them after people have used them.

Will this make things I buy more expensive?

This law isn’t expected to raise prices for everyday shoppers. A study by Oregon DEQ looked at similar laws in places like Canada and Europe. It found that prices stayed the same for most products.

Will small businesses have to pay fees?

Most small businesses are exempt. If a business earns less than $5 million in annual revenue or sells less than one ton of packaging, paper products, or food serviceware in Oregon each year, it won’t have to pay fees.

Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act is a type of law called Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR.

Extended Producer Responsibility means that companies (sometimes called “producers” or “brands”) that make or sell a product must take more responsibility for what happens to their products after people use them.

Oregon’s law requires companies that make or sell packaging, paper products, and food serviceware to contribute to the cost of the recycling system instead of leaving all the costs to cities and residents.

That includes paying fees to help make sure their packaging and paper can be collected and recycled properly.

A Producer Responsibility Organization, or PRO, is a non-profit that producers join to meet their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements. The PRO:

• Collects and manages the fees paid by producers.
• Works with local governments and recycling companies to improve the recycling system.
• Ensures producers follow the rules.

Circular Action Alliance is the approved PRO for Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act. It collects fees from companies that make and sell paper and packaging, then uses that money to:

• Upgrade recycling facilities.
• Buy new recycling trucks and carts for areas that need them.
• Support statewide recycling education.

Watch a 2-minute video about how manufacturers and producers of packaging pay into our system (en español)