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title: Oregon Packaging EPR Turns One: What One Annual Report Reveals About Fees, Recycling, and the Fine Print for Taiwanese Suppliers Winning Orders
lang: en
source: https://mindsprt.dev/en/knowledge/oregon-packaging-epr-first-year-takeaways/
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# Oregon Packaging EPR Turns One: What One Annual Report Reveals About Fees, Recycling, and the Fine Print for Taiwanese Suppliers Winning Orders

*Industry Insights · 6 min read · 2026-07-09*

> Oregon EPR has completed its first year, and the first full annual report in the U.S. is out. Recycling rates, reimbursement rates, and the number of registered producers are all on the table. This article translates the numbers into the compliance details that printers and brands actually need to understand, and connects them with the EU PPWR and the U.K. folding carton timeline to show which missing pieces Taiwanese SMEs should fill in now

**Quick answer:** Oregon EPR has completed its first year, and the first full annual report in the U.S. is out

## Oregon EPR Turns One: What Do Recycling Rates and Reimbursements Look Like?

Oregon is among the first U.S. states to start charging packaging EPR fees. The program launched in 2025, and Circular Action Alliance (CAA) released its first annual report midyear. For Taiwan's printing and packaging manufacturers, this report matters for two reasons:

・First, it is the first fully public U.S. scorecard on EPR fees and recycling performance. The EU PPWR and the U.K. folding carton reforms are still in progress, so Oregon is the only place where we can work from actual numbers

・Second, it will directly affect whether Taiwanese suppliers can win orders from international brands in the next few years

In plain language, EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) shifts the money and responsibility for packaging recycling away from local governments and consumers and back to manufacturers and brands. Whoever places packaging on the market pays according to material and weight, and those fees flow back into the recycling system as reimbursements. Oregon's annual report puts this chain in the open for the first time

## Which Numbers Should Taiwanese Suppliers Watch Most Closely?

Among the key indicators released in the annual report, I would highlight three that directly affect quotations and order intake:

・Number of registered producers: this is the denominator. The more companies paying in, the more reasonable the unit fee becomes. If too few participate, early payers lose out while latecomers get a free ride

・Source-separated recycling rates for the three major material groups: paper, plastic, and metal. These directly determine how reimbursement rates are calculated. Paper has a mature recycling chain and the lowest rates; plastic and multilayer composites lack a well-built recycling chain, so their rates are the highest

・Recycling reimbursement rate per pound or per kilogram: this is the number brands care about most, and it is also the new line item printers will need to add to future RFQ quotations

In practice, the international brand clients I have been speaking with have already started requiring "material documentation plus EPR reporting data" as mandatory quotation attachments over the past month or two. Without them, suppliers do not even get to the negotiation stage. This is not future tense. It is happening now

## How Does the Fee Mechanism Work, and Why Has Material Documentation Become Standard in Quotes?

Oregon's logic is "price by volume, charge by material." Brands or importers first report the packaging they place on the Oregon market by material and weight. CAA converts that data into fees, and the recycling system uses the money to reimburse sorting facilities and reprocessors. The clearer the material classification and the more mature the recycling chain, the lower the rate. If the material cannot be clearly classified, or if it falls into plastics, multilayer composites, or composite paper-plastic structures, the rate will be pushed higher

For printers, the impact has three layers:

・Quotation forms need a new "EPR reporting data" field: this includes material codes, weight, and whether recycled content is included. Customers rarely asked for this in the past. Now they will

・Material documentation must be built into quality control: whether inks, lamination, coatings, and post-processing still leave the material classified as "paper" directly affects the customer's fee rate. Data that printers used to ignore is now becoming part of pricing

・Multilayer composites, such as paper-plastic lamination and foil lamination, need to be reassessed: an immature recycling chain pushes rates up. Designers will be asked to redesign packaging, and this is pressure that printers and designers will have to face together

## Which Four Missing Pieces Should Taiwanese SME Printers Fill In Now?

EPR is not a single-country game. It is a compliance red line advancing across Europe, the U.S., the U.K., and Canada at the same time. Export-oriented Taiwanese printers serve international brand orders, so preparing four months early is far easier than scrambling for data after an order arrives. I have organized the work into four pieces, in the order they should be executed:

・Piece 1: a material dictionary and QC traceability. Every order needs material codes and processing records for paper, lamination, coating, and ink layers, exported in a format the customer can directly use for reporting

・Piece 2: a recyclability feedback mechanism for the design side. Before artwork reaches the printer, it should be able to indicate material layers, composite material ratios, and whether the structure is easy to separate. The earlier this happens, the better, because redesigning is far cheaper than changing production processes

・Piece 3: a local counterpart to CAA. Taiwan does not have a single organization like CAA, but brands will require suppliers to support reporting. Printers should at least be able to answer questions such as, "Which fee tier does this package fall into in Oregon, California, the EU, and the U.K.?"

・Piece 4: a crosswalk to the EU PPWR and U.K. folding carton reforms. Oregon is already live; the EU PPWR and the U.K. folding carton timeline are the next exam questions. Suppliers need one comparison table covering material definitions, reporting fields, and fee logic across the three markets, so they can respond when customers ask

In practice, I would suggest that SME suppliers start with "Piece 1" and "Piece 4." These two are the threshold for winning orders; the other two create consulting value

## Three Traps Taiwanese Suppliers Are Most Likely to Step Into Over the Next Six Months

・Thinking EPR only concerns brands: wrong. Brands will shift reporting responsibility to packaging suppliers through contract clauses. If printers are not ready with material data, they may not even make it into the contract

・Assuming a higher recycled content ratio always saves money: not necessarily. Recycled content can affect the brand's fee tier, but it may also raise the printer's processing cost. The right lens is total cost of ownership, not a single data point

・Thinking the EU PPWR is still far away: 2026 is the transition year, and 2030 is the hard target. Build the material dictionary early, and European orders will not have to start from zero later

When it is time to turn this into production-line workflows, customer-facing quotation tables, material dictionaries, and contract clauses, the Max Knowledge Academy consulting team can work through the details together. For budgets at the mid- to high-end fully customized commercial printing level, and for companies that want to understand which fee tier their materials fall into under European and U.S. EPR systems, they can contact Max Printing (MS) directly for a production-line assessment

## Key Takeaways

Oregon's first EPR annual report is the starting model for EPR in the U.S., and Taiwanese suppliers still have time to act

EPR turns material documentation from optional to standard, and printers need to add one more field to quotation forms

Paper carries lower rates, while plastic and composite materials carry higher rates, so designers will be pushed to redesign

Multilayer composites are a risk point; immature recycling chains will drive rates higher

The EU PPWR and the U.K. folding carton reforms are the next tests, so material dictionaries should be built early

## Further Thinking

For print manufacturing: build the material dictionary and QC traceability into the MES layer. When European or U.S. brand orders arrive, quotations can directly include an "EPR reporting data" field instead of being pieced together at the last minute

For design teams: bring recyclability indicators, including material layering, composite ratios, and ease of disassembly, into the artwork review process. The earlier the intervention, the more money is saved. Do not wait until the printer sends the job back

For brand clients: clarify EPR reporting responsibility clauses at the RFQ stage to avoid contract disputes caused by shifting responsibility after the fact

For AI and SaaS applications: automatic material recognition, automatic reporting data generation, and cross-border fee simulation will be among the most commercially valuable use cases over the next year. There are not many ready-made tools yet, so this is worth investing in

Next step: inventory the material data fields your production line can currently export, list the gaps against Oregon, the EU PPWR, and the U.K. folding carton requirements, and close them within six months

## Further Reading

・[Oregon Packaging EPR Turns One: Data from the Circular Action Alliance Annual Report](https://www.packagingdive.com/news/by-the-numbers-oregon-packaging-epr-circular-action-alliance-annual-report-2025/824646/)

## FAQ

### Oregon packaging EPR has turned one. How are recycling rates performing?

Oregon's program launched in 2025, and Circular Action Alliance released the first annual report. It covers the number of registered producers, source-separated recycling rates for paper, plastic, and metal, and reimbursement rates per pound, making it the first fully public EPR scorecard in the U.S.

### What is the most direct impact of EPR on Taiwanese printers?

International brand clients are starting to require material documentation and EPR reporting data as mandatory quotation attachments. Without them, suppliers may not even enter price negotiations. Quotation forms must add fields such as material codes, weight, and recycled content ratio

### Which material has the highest fee rate: paper, plastic, or metal?

Paper has a mature recycling chain and the lowest rates. Plastic and multilayer composites still lack a well-built recycling chain, so their rates are the highest. This is also the main reason designers will be asked to redesign packaging

### How do the EU PPWR and U.K. folding carton reform timelines affect Taiwanese suppliers?

The PPWR has a transition period in 2026 and a hard target in 2030, while U.K. folding carton reforms are moving forward in parallel. Because material definitions and reporting fields differ across the three markets, printers need a comparison table to support European and U.S. brand orders

### What should SME printers do first right now?

Start by building a material dictionary and QC traceability so data can be exported in a format customers can report directly. Next, create a comparison table for materials and fee tiers across Oregon, the EU PPWR, and the U.K. folding carton framework. These two items are the threshold for winning orders


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