Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act

Have you heard that what you can recycle is going to change? Perhaps you’ve heard that Oregon’s recycling system is improving? The murmurs are true! These changes are coming from Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (RMA), which went into effect on July 1st, 2025.

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What is the RMA?

The RMA (Senate Bill 582) was passed during Oregon’s 2021 legislative session. After years of preparation, the program launched on July 1, 2025. Oregon became the first state in the nation to launch an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system for packaging – making producers responsible for their products.
The RMA will, over the coming months and years:

• Standardize what is recyclable across the state.
• Expand recycling services to rural parts of the state.
• Improve recycling education so it is easier to understand what is recyclable and how to recycle correctly, reducing contamination and increasing recovery rates.
• Improve the transparency of our recycling system, making it easier for the public to see the end-market of recycled items (if you’ve ever wondered where your recycling actually ends up, you are not alone!)
• Create an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system: Making producers of packaging, paper, and food serviceware share responsibility for effective management of their products after use.
• Make funding available for contamination reduction, waste prevention, and reuse efforts.

Here is DEQ’s Fact Sheet that covers the key benefits and how it will work. Among the changes, we’re especially excited about making producers financially responsible (thereby incentivizing change) and using some of the funding for the Material Impact Reduction and Reuse (MIRROR) Program.

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Does it change what we can recycle in Deschutes County?

While we’re glad to share that we’re already starting ahead in Deschutes County compared to other areas across the state, yes, there’s a few new items we can recycle here!

Now Recyclable

Food and beverage cartons

“Aseptic and gable-top cartons”, also referred to as food and beverage cartons (or by one of the brand names, Tetrapaks), can now go in your curbside commingled recycling bin – this includes things like milk cartons, juice boxes, boxed wines, cartons of soup, etc.

Empty pizza boxes

While we’ve previously shared that you can recycle empty pizza boxes in Deschutes County, this is now an official change. Please make sure they are completely empty and free of any food or liners, before tossing them in the recycling bin. The unavoidable grease and oil residue? That’s okay. Basically, a normal amount of grease doesn’t impact recyclability.

“[The industry study] concluded that pizza boxes in the recycling stream contain an average grease level of 1-2% by weight, and concentrations below 10% only cause low levels of fiber strength loss. Grease only significantly interferes with fiber recycling when the level reaches 20% […] so fiber strength loss should be minimal for boxes with average grease levels.”

Note: Frozen pizza boxes, like all frozen food packaging, are still not recyclable.

Pots and pans

You can also now recycle scrap metal, including pots and pans! Any scrap metal 10 pounds or less and 18 inches or less in length can be recycled in your curbside commingled recycling bin. Items like bike chains or electric wiring that can tangle with other materials are not allowed. What’s considered scrap metal? Here’s the official definition from DEQ:

“Scrap metal” means ferrous and non-ferrous waste metal, metallic material, electrical wiring and any product that contains at least 50 percent metal by weight and that is capable of being recycled. Scrap metal includes major appliances that contain refrigerants.

This means pots and pans of different types of materials, including with handles, are okay!

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Updated Recycling Guide

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How can I stay up to date on these changes?

• RecycleOn.org/Oregon – the go-to website statewide for all things RMA.
• Deschutes County – What Can I Recycle? – this is Deschutes County Solid Waste’s page, an up-to-date source on what is recyclable within the County. It has handy links to all supporting documents.
• Circular Action Alliance – CAA is the only Producer Responsibility Organization for Oregon and has some helpful information and a FAQ section on their Oregon website.
• Oregon DEQ RMA – This page has some information and videos that folks might find helpful, but we wish it were organized better and was easier to browse.
• Recycling Guides:
  • Cascade Disposal: English | Spanish
  • Republic Services: English | Spanish
  • Sisters (Republic Services): English | Spanish
• If you want to get really in the weeds, you can read the full program plan here.
• As always, the Rethink Waste Project serves as a resource for the community here in Central Oregon. We’ll be updating our website with updated information in the coming weeks and months. Questions? Email naomi@envirocenter.org.

A final note: Remember the order of the 3 R’s

While there’s a lot to be excited about, and we’re glad for this much needed update to our recycling system and all the other improvements that it’ll bring to managing our materials more sustainably, we would be amiss to not take this opportunity to once again remind folks that it’s best to reduce, reuse, then recycle. For example: While it’s great that we can recycle milk cartons now, let’s also work towards switching our systems to reuse and refill, so that we can avoid needing to recycle entirely!