CHAPTER 4. Reporting [14550. - 14556.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 4.

in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 14550. Section 14550.

(a) (1) Every processor shall report to the department for each month the amount of empty beverage containers, by material type and weight of container or material, excluding refillable beverage containers, received from recycling centers and curbside programs for recycling, and the scrap value paid for glass, PET, and bimetal containers and any beverage container that is assessed a processing fee. Every processor shall also report to the department for each month the amount of other postfilled aluminum, glass, and plastic food and drink packaging materials sold filled to consumers in this state and returned for recycling. These reports shall be submitted within 10 days after each month, in the form and manner that the department may prescribe, which may include electronic submittal. (2) The department shall treat all information reported pursuant to this section by a processor as commercial or financial information subject to the procedures established pursuant to Section 14554. (b) Every distributor who sells or offers for sale in this state beverages in aluminum beverage containers, nonaluminum metal beverage containers, glass beverage containers, plastic beverage containers, or other beverage containers, including refillable beverage containers of these types, shall report to the department for each month the number of beverages sold in these beverage containers in this state that are labeled pursuant to Section 14561, by material type and size and weight of container or any other method as the department may prescribe. These reports shall be submitted by the day when payment is due, consistent with the applicable payment schedule specified in subdivision (a) of Section 14574, in the form and manner that the department may prescribe, which may include electronic submittal. (c) Every distributor who sells or offers for sale in this state beverages in refillable beverage containers and who pays a refund value to distributors, dealers, or consumers who return these containers for refilling, shall report to the department for each month the number of these beverage containers returned empty to be refilled, by material type and size of container or any other method that the department may prescribe. These reports shall be submitted by the day when payment is due, consistent with the schedule specified in subdivision (a) of Section 14574, in the form and manner that the department may prescribe, which may include electronic submittal. (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a distributor who elects to make an annual payment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14574 may, upon department approval, submit the reports required by this section annually to the department. The reports shall accompany the annual payment submitted pursuant to Section 14574.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 14551. Section 14551.

(a) The department shall establish reporting periods for the reporting of redemption rates and recycling rates. Each reporting period shall be six months. The department shall determine all of the following for each reporting period and shall issue a report on its determinations, within 130 days of the end of each reporting period: (1) Sales of beverages in aluminum beverage containers, bimetal beverage containers, glass beverage containers, plastic beverage containers, and other beverage containers in this state, including refillable beverage containers. (2) Returns for recycling, and returns not for recycling, of empty aluminum beverage containers, bimetal beverage containers, glass beverage containers, plastic beverage containers, and other beverage containers in this state, including refillable beverage containers returned to distributors pursuant to Section 14572.5. These numbers shall be calculated using the average current weights of beverage containers, as determined and reported by the department. To these numbers shall be added and separately reported the following, if greater than, or equal to, zero: (A) All empty postfilled aluminum, glass, and plastic food or drink packaging materials sold in the state, returned for recycling, and reported by weight to the department which do not have a refund value less the number specified in subparagraph (B). (B) The number of beverage containers which comprise the first five percentage points of the redemption rate without including the empty postfilled aluminum, glass, and plastic food or drink packaging materials sold in the state, returned for recycling and reported by weight to the department which do not have a refund value. (3) An aluminum beverage container redemption rate, the numerator of which shall be the number of empty aluminum beverage containers returned, including refillable aluminum beverage containers and empty postfilled aluminum food or drink packaging material included in paragraph (2), and the denominator of which shall be the number of aluminum beverage containers sold in this state. (4) An aluminum beverage container recycling rate, the numerator of which shall be the number of empty aluminum beverage containers returned for recycling, including refillable aluminum beverage containers, and the denominator of which shall be the number of aluminum beverage containers sold in this state. (5) A bimetal beverage container redemption rate, the numerator of which shall be the number of empty bimetal beverage containers returned, and the denominator of which shall be the number of bimetal beverage containers sold in this state. (6) A bimetal beverage container recycling rate, the numerator of which shall be the number of empty bimetal containers returned for recycling, including refillable bimetal beverage containers, and the denominator of which shall be the number of bimetal beverage containers sold in this state. (7) A glass beverage container redemption rate, the numerator of which shall be the number of empty glass beverage containers returned, including refillable glass beverage containers and empty postfilled food or drink packaging materials included in paragraph (2), and the denominator of which shall be the number of glass beverage containers sold in this state. (8) A glass beverage container recycling rate, the numerator of which shall be the number of empty glass beverage containers returned for recycling, including refillable glass beverage containers, and the denominator of which shall be the number of glass beverage containers sold in this state. (9) A plastic beverage container redemption rate, the numerator of which shall be the number of empty plastic beverage containers returned, including refillable plastic beverage containers and empty postfilled food or drink packaging materials included in paragraph (2), and the denominator of which shall be the number of plastic beverage containers sold in this state. (10) A plastic beverage container recycling rate, the numerator of which shall be the number of empty plastic beverage containers returned for recycling, including refillable plastic beverage containers, and the denominator of which shall be the number of plastic beverage containers sold in this state. (11) A redemption rate for other beverage containers, the numerator of which shall be the number of empty beverage containers other than those containers specified in paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive, returned, and the denominator of which shall be the number of beverage containers, other than those containers specified in paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive, sold in this state. (12) A recycling rate for other beverage containers, the numerator of which shall be the number of empty beverage containers other than those containers specified in paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive, returned for recycling, and the denominator of which shall be the number of beverage containers, other than those containers specified in paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive, sold in this state. (13) The department may define categories of other beverage containers, and report a redemption rate and a recycling rate for each such category of other beverage containers. (14) The volumes of materials collected from certified recycling centers, by city or county, as requested by the city or county, if the reporting is consistent with the procedures established pursuant to Section 14554 to protect proprietary information. (b) The department shall determine the manner of collecting the information for the reports specified in subdivision (a), including establishing procedures, to protect any proprietary information concerning the sales and purchases.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 14551.4. Section 14551.4.

The department shall make available the information collected pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 14551, concerning the volumes of materials collected from certified recycling centers, only to a governmental agency that requests the information, including a city or county, or an entity specifically designated by the city or county to receive the information if the entity requests the information, if all of the following conditions are met: (a) The request is made in writing. (b) All information provided by the department is provided using the aggregate amounts collected in the city or county unless the city or county, or an entity specifically designated by the city or county to receive the information, requests the information provided by each individual certified recycling center. (c) All information provided to the governmental agency, including a city or county, or an entity specifically designated by the city or county to receive the information, is considered proprietary and confidential in nature and protected in accordance with the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 14551 of the Public Resources Code, Section 14554 of the Public Resources Code, and paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 7921.505 of the Government Code.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 14551.5. Section 14551.5.

(a) The department shall register the operators of curbside programs pursuant to this section. (b) Each curbside program that receives refund values and administrative fees from certified processors, or that receives refund values from certified recycling centers, shall register with the department for an identification number. No curbside program may receive refund values or administrative fees without a valid identification number. (c) The director shall adopt, by regulation, a procedure for the registration of curbside programs. This procedure shall include standards and requirements for registration. These regulations shall require that all information be submitted to the department under penalty of perjury. A curbside program shall meet all of the standards and requirements contained in the regulations for registration. (d) The department shall require that the identification numbers received pursuant to this section be used on shipping reports for material collected by curbside programs pursuant to Sections 14538 and 14539 and on all other reports or documentation required by the department to administer this division. (e) An operator of a curbside program registered pursuant to this section shall be deemed a certificate holder for purposes of this division.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 14552. Section 14552.

(a) The department shall establish and implement an auditing system to ensure that the information collected, and refund values and redemption payments paid pursuant to this division, comply with the purposes of this division. Notwithstanding Sections 14573 and 14573.5, the auditing system adopted by the department may include prepayment or postpayment controls. (b) (1) The department may audit or investigate any action taken up to five years before the onset of the audit or investigation and may determine if there was compliance with this division and the regulations adopted pursuant to this division, during that period. (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law establishing a shorter statute of limitation, the department may take an enforcement action, including, but not limited to, an action for restitution or to impose penalties, at any time within five years after the department discovers, or with reasonable diligence, should have discovered, a violation of this division or the regulations adopted pursuant to this division. (c) During the conduct of any inspection, including, but not limited to, an inspection conducted as part of an audit or investigation, the entity that is the subject of the inspection shall, during its normal business hours, provide the department with immediate access to its facilities, operations, and any relevant record, that, in the department’s judgment, the department determines are necessary to carry out this section to verify compliance with this division and the regulations adopted pursuant to this division. (1) The department may take disciplinary action pursuant to Section 14591.2 against any person who fails to provide the department with access pursuant to this subdivision including, but not limited to, imposing penalties and the immediate suspension or termination of any certificate or registration held by the operator. (2) The department shall protect any information obtained pursuant to this section in accordance with Section 14554, except that this section does not prohibit the department from releasing any information that the department determines to be necessary in the course of an enforcement action. (d) The auditing system adopted by the department shall allow for reasonable shrinkage in material due to moisture, dirt, and foreign material. The department, after an audit by a qualified auditing firm and a hearing, shall adopt a standard to be used to account for shrinkage and shall incorporate this standard in the audit process. (e) If the department prevails against an entity in a civil or administrative action brought pursuant to this division, and money is owed to the department as a result of the action, the department may offset the amount against amounts claimed by the entity to be due to it from the department. The department may take this offset by withholding payments from the entity or by authorizing all processors to withhold payment to a certified recycling center. (f) If the department determines, pursuant to an audit or investigation, that a distributor or beverage manufacturer has overpaid the redemption payment or processing fee, the department may do either of the following: (1) Offset the overpayment against future payments. (2) Refund the payment pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 13140) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 14552.5. Section 14552.5.

(a) The department shall supply all certified processors with a standardized rejection form that shall include, but not be limited to, the names of the parties rejecting the postfilled beverage container material, the date of the rejections, the reasons for the rejections, the amount of rejected material, and a detailed accounting of the steps taken by the processor and container manufacturer to avert landfilling or disposal of the material, as required by subdivision (c) of Section 14552.51. (b) Every container manufacturer shall fill out the standardized rejection form specified in subdivision (a) whenever that container manufacturer rejects a load of redeemed beverage container materials physically delivered to the manufacturer’s place of business and offered for sale by a certified processor. The rejection form shall be filled out by the container manufacturer at the time of the rejection and immediately given to the certified processor for submittal to the department. Any container manufacturer who refuses to fill out the standardized rejection form required by this subdivision is in violation of this division and is subject to the fines and penalties in Sections 14591 and 14591.1. (c) If a processor has made a good faith effort, as determined by the department, to locate a willing purchaser and is unsuccessful, the processor may fill out the standardized rejection form specified in subdivision (a) and submit it to the department. The processor rejection form shall include, but is not limited to, the name of the processor, the container manufacturers and other potential purchasers contacted, a detailed accounting of the methods used to contact the potential buyers, the date of the rejections, the reasons given for the rejections, the amount of postfilled beverage container material rejected, and any other steps taken to avert landfilling or disposal of the material. (d) If a container manufacturer rejects a load of postfilled containers by telephone, written correspondence of any kind, or other similar method, the container manufacturer shall, in a manner prescribed by the department, keep accurate logbooks of the offer of loads by the certified processor, and make that logbook available for inspection by the department upon demand. The logbook shall contain, but is not limited to, the same information required in the rejection form pursuant to subdivision (a). (e) The standardized rejection form specified in subdivision (a) shall be submitted to the department by the certified processor with the written request to dispose of the redeemed material submitted pursuant to Section 14552.51. This material shall not be disposed of without a written authorization to do so by the department pursuant to Section 14552.51. (f) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to lessen certified processors’ and container manufacturers’ responsibilities relating to beverage container recycling, or diminish in any way the department’s authority to carry out the intent and goals of this division.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 14552.51. Section 14552.51.

(a) A certified processor seeking to dispose of rejected postfilled containers may not dispose of rejected postfilled containers unless the certified processor first submits to the department, in writing, a request to dispose of the rejected material. No certified processor shall dispose of the rejected material prior to obtaining written permission from the department. If the department fails to respond to a written request to dispose of rejected postfilled beverage container materials within 10 days of receipt of the request, the processor’s request for disposal is deemed approved by the department. (b) All rejected loads of postfilled containers shall be available and subject to inspection by the department. (c) All possible steps to avert the disposal of the loads of postfilled containers, as determined by the department, shall be taken by all container manufacturers and processors. All transactions or attempted transactions involving rejecting postfilled containers shall be thoroughly documented on the standardized rejection form pursuant to Section 14552.5. The container manufacturer and the certified processor are jointly and severally responsible for this effort.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 14553. Section 14553.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), all reports, claims, and other information required pursuant to this division and submitted to the department shall be complete, legible, and accurate, as determined by the department by regulation, and shall be signed, by an officer, director, managing employee, or owner of the certified recycling center, processor, distributor, beverage manufacturer, container manufacturer, or other entity. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person submitting the reports, claims, and other information specified in subdivision (a) shall use the Division of Recycling Integrated Information System (DORIIS) or other system designated by the department for reporting, making, or claiming payments, or providing other information required pursuant to this division. (c) The department may inspect the operations, processes, and records of an entity required to submit a report to the department pursuant to this division to determine the accuracy of the report and compliance with the requirements of this division. (d) (1) A violation of this section is subject to the penalties specified in Section 14591.1. (2) The department may take an enforcement action against a certified recycling center or processor that fails to comply with this section, including, but not limited to, imposing penalties, denying claims for payment, or terminating the certification of the certified recycling center or processor.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 14554. Section 14554.

The department shall establish procedures to protect any privileged, confidential, commercial, or financial information obtained while collecting information for carrying out the requirements of this division. Any privileged, confidential, commercial, or financial information obtained in confidence by the department is not a public record for purposes of Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 14555. Section 14555.

(a) On or before July 1, 2025, the department shall provide to the Legislature, and post on its internet website, a report as it relates to appropriations made pursuant to the Budget Act of 2022 for purposes of the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, including, but not limited to all of the following information: (1) Whether and how recycling opportunities and rates in underserved areas improved. (2) A list of funding recipients. (3) Locations, including counties, in which funding was provided. (b) The report shall be submitted pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 14556. Section 14556.

(a) Not less than once every six months, the department shall post on its internet website, at a minimum, all of the following information for the current fiscal year and the budget year: (1) An updated fund condition statement that includes the revenues, transfers, and expenditures into and out of the fund. (2) The recycling rate, by beverage container material type, that is inferred using the revenues. (3) An explanation of significant changes to the fund condition statement from the prior report and significant changes to the methodology used for forecasting the fund condition statement. (4) Projected sales, which include all actual data available since the last reporting period, by beverage container material type and size, and actual or projected returns, which include all actual data available since the last reporting period, by beverage container material type, including an explanation in any case where the actual returns are more than 100 percent of actual sales. (5) Projected handling fee payments, which include all actual data available since the last reporting period, the per beverage container handling fee amount, and the number of beverage containers projected to be eligible for a handling fee payment. (6) Projected processing payments, which include all actual data available since the last reporting period, by beverage container material type, showing the total processing fee offsets, processing fees, and processing payments for each type of beverage container material. (7) Total grants awarded during the current fiscal year. (b) The department shall notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Assembly and Senate when it makes a posting on its internet website pursuant to subdivision (a). (c) The department shall review the information included in the fund condition statement frequently, but not less than once every three months, to determine if adequate funds exist to pay the disbursements required pursuant to this division and to make the determinations required pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14581.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026