Oregon shares E-Cycles modernization timeline

Ahead of the start of Oregon’s updated e-scrap recycling program in 2026, the state Department of Environmental Quality published a timeline of important dates.

With HB 3220 signed into law in 2023, the modernized Oregon E-Cycles program is set to roll out on Jan. 1, 2026. There are a handful of deadlines for manufacturers, producer responsibility organizations and the state to meet.

The modernized program will take more types of electronic devices and has stronger convenience requirements. The state also recently updated its Manufacturer Compliance List. 

The original Oregon E-Cycles program covered computers, TVs, monitors, printers, keyboards and mice, and the new covered device list includes fax machines, VCRs, portable digital music players, DVD players and recorders, video game consoles, digital converter boxes, cable and satellite receivers, scanners, small-scale servers, routers and modems.

HB 3220 also ended the state contractor program that carried out the collection and recycling responsibilities on behalf of many OEMs, instead allowing for multiple PROs to be set up. 

The original convenience standards were at least one collection site in each county and one site for each city of 10,000 or more residents. Starting in 2026, PROs must ensure that 95% of residents are within 15 miles of a collection site, that there is one site in each county and that each city provides a minimum number of sites according to its population. 

Dates to know

To start, program plans from prospective PROs are due by July 1 of this year for the 2026 program year, along with the plan review fee that DEQ charges PROs. DEQ gets five months to review the program plans. 

If the state approves multiple PRO plans, it will assign a coordinating body by December 2025.

Obligated manufacturers have to register with DEQ and declare which PRO they will be part of for the 2026 program year before the end of 2025. 

After the modernized E-Cycles program officially begins on Jan. 1, 2026, manufacturers have to submit 2025 sales data to DEQ by March 2026. DEQ will use that data to calculate market share by May, and PROs with an approved plan must pay the annual fee to DEQ for the 2026 program year by June 1. 

The cycle then starts again for the 2027 program year, with 2027 program plans due by July 1, 2026.