The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) has started a federal court case against Colorado’s Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act (House Bill 22-1355), which created the US state’s extended producer responsibility rules for packaging.
The trade group submitted a request for a preliminary injunction, seeking to stop the law from being enforced until the case is decided.
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Andrew Morris and Jacob Huebert of the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) represent NAW, the only plaintiff in this case.
At the centre of the challenge is Colorado’s use of the Circular Action Alliance (CAA), a private organisation based in Washington, DC, to set and collect charges on packaging such as glass, aluminium, paper, cardboard and plastic.
NAW says the pricing system used by CAA is confidential.
The complaint states that companies covered by the charges cannot contest the assessments in court. Instead, disputes are limited to binding arbitration administered by CAA.
NAW says the statute breaches the US Constitution in several ways. It argues the state handed fee-setting powers to a private body without sufficient limits or supervision, while denying businesses court review, which it says conflicts with the 14th Amendment’s Due Process clause.
The group says the law forces companies to join and fund CAA to operate in Colorado, which it claims violates the First Amendment.
It further argues that businesses are barred from telling customers about required state-imposed charges, and that compulsory dues can be used by CAA to support policy or political positions that members may not share.
NAW draws a comparison with California’s SB 54, saying Colorado likewise prevents businesses from informing customers about the fees they must pay.
The association pointed to a February 2026 ruling in Oregon, where a federal court granted preliminary injunctive relief to NAW members challenging a similar EPR regime.
NAW has also joined a 17-state coalition, as the only business plaintiff, in a separate federal challenge to California’s SB 54.
NAW president and CEO Eric Hoplin said: “This is now the third EPR lawsuit we’ve been involved with filing. While each state law has its own idiosyncratic differences, our overarching challenge remains the same.
“No state should limit interstate commerce, nor should they delegate power to set and collect fees to a third party outside the scope of public scrutiny. NAW and its members support the goal of a circular economy, but Colorado’s EPR law does not get us closer to advancing that goal.”
