WASHINGTON, July 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) has filed a federal lawsuit, NAW v. Ryan (Case No. 1:26-cv-03460), challenging Colorado's Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act (House Bill 22-1355), the state's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging law. A motion for preliminary injunction was filed along with the lawsuit.

NAW is the sole plaintiff in this case and is represented by Andrew Morris and Jacob Huebert of the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA). NAW has also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, asking the court to block enforcement of the law while the case proceeds.

Colorado's law authorizes the Circular Action Alliance (CAA)–a private, D.C.-based entity with a founding board composed of many of the world's largest consumer goods companies–to set and collect fees on packaging materials including glass, aluminum, paper, cardboard, and plastic, using a fee methodology CAA has designated confidential. Businesses subject to those fees have no way to challenge an assessment in court. Their only recourse is binding arbitration run by CAA itself.

In its complaint, NAW argues Colorado's law violates the U.S. Constitution by:

• Delegating government fee-setting authority to CAA, a private organization, without adequate standards or oversight, and stripping businesses of any ability to challenge its decisions in court–in violation of the 14th Amendment's Due Process clause
• Compelling businesses to join and financially support CAA as a condition of doing business in the state–in violation of the First Amendment
• Prohibiting businesses from disclosing government-mandated fees to their own customers–in violation of the First Amendment
• Allowing CAA to use mandatory member dues to promote its own political and policy positions, compelling businesses to fund speech they may not agree with–in violation of the First Amendment

“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,” said Eric Hoplin, President and CEO, NAW. “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.”

Like California's SB 54, Colorado's law also bars businesses from telling their own customers about the fees they're required to pay. NAW argues this compounds the underlying problem, forcing companies to fund a private regulator while also silencing them about what it costs.

“Manufacturers and brands get to choose what materials go into their packaging, but distributors do not,” said Brian Wild, Chief Government Relations Officer, NAW. “Yet Colorado's law still pulls some distributors into its fee structure as 'producers,' and those costs flow through the supply chain to businesses and consumers beyond Colorado's borders.”

In February 2026, a federal court in Oregon granted NAW members preliminary injunctive relief over enforcement of Oregon's structurally similar EPR law, finding it raised serious constitutional questions under the Due Process Clause and the Dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the first time a court had blocked a state EPR law. The case went to trial July 13–17, 2026, in Portland, OR, and post-trial briefing is underway. NAW also joined a 17-state coalition, as the sole business plaintiff, to challenge California's SB 54 in federal court.

Colorado producers have been required to participate in the program since July 1, 2025, and began paying mandatory fees under it in January 2026.

About the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW):
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) is one of America’s leading trade associations, representing the $8.7 trillion wholesale distribution industry. Founded in 1946, NAW includes national, regional, and state employers of all sizes, as well as industry trade associations and stakeholders across every distribution sector. The industry employs over six million workers nationwide and accounts for nearly one-third of U.S. GDP. 

Press Contact: Matt Clarke | 301.467.7332