ARTICLE 2. Producer Responsibility [42050. - 42057.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 2.

in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42050. Section 42050.

Consistent with the policy goal established in Section 41780.01 and consistent with the waste hierarchy established in Section 40051, producers of covered material sold, offered for sale, imported, or distributed in the state shall achieve all of the following with respect to the materials for which they are the producers: (a) All plastic covered material is source reduced pursuant to the requirements established in Section 42057 and paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 42060. (b) Ensure that all covered material offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the state on or after January 1, 2032, is recyclable in the state or eligible for being labeled “compostable” in accordance with Chapter 5.7 (commencing with Section 42355). (c) Ensure that all plastic covered material offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the state achieves the following recycling rates: (1) Not less than 30 percent of covered material on and after January 1, 2028. (2) Not less than 40 percent of covered material on and after January 1, 2030. (3) Not less than 65 percent of covered material on and after January 1, 2032.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42051. Section 42051.

(a) By January 1, 2024, producers of covered material shall form and join a PRO for the purposes of complying with this chapter. The governing body of the PRO shall submit an application to the department describing how the PRO meets the requirements to be an approved PRO pursuant to this chapter, as described in Section 42061.5. If the department approves the PRO, the PRO shall proceed to carry out the requirements of this chapter. If applications for more than one PRO are submitted to the department by January 1, 2024, the department shall determine which proposed PRO can most effectively implement this chapter. (b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), upon approval of a plan pursuant to Section 42063, or commencing January 1, 2027, whichever is sooner, a producer shall not sell, offer for sale, import, or distribute covered materials in the state unless the producer is approved to participate in the plan of a PRO that is approved by the department for the source reduction, collection, processing, and recycling of covered material to meet the requirements of this chapter. If an entity does not qualify as a producer and is not subject to this chapter before January 1, 2027, but, after January 1, 2027, becomes a producer by beginning to sell, offer for sale, import, or distribute covered material in the state, the producer shall, within six months, become a participant of the PRO and comply with this chapter. (2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a producer may comply with this chapter individually without participating in a PRO’s plan if the producer can demonstrate to the department, and the department determines at its sole discretion, that the producer meets all of the following criteria or can demonstrate a recycling rate of 65 percent for three consecutive years prior to January 1, 2027, and on and after that date demonstrates a recycling rate at or over 70 percent annually: (i) From the 2013 calendar year to the 2022 calendar year, inclusive, the producer achieved a net 5 percent or greater source reduction of its covered materials through shifting to refill, reuse, or elimination. (ii) From the 2013 calendar year to the 2022 calendar year, inclusive, the producer achieved a net 8 percent or greater source reduction of its covered materials through optimization, concentration, right-sizing, bulking, shifting to a nonplastic packaging, or lightweighting, or increasing the number of consumer uses. (iii) Seventy-five percent of the producer’s covered material sold, offered for sale, distributed, or imported into the state is in a covered material category that meets a 30-percent recycling rate as of January 1, 2023. (B) A producer who chooses to comply with this chapter individually shall assume individual responsibility for complying with this chapter, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (i) Develop and implement a plan that meets all of the applicable requirements of a producer responsibility plan, including, but not limited to, the review, update, and approval process. The plan shall include a producer source reduction plan that meets all of the applicable requirements of a PRO source reduction plan prepared in accordance with subdivision (d) of Section 42057, including, but not limited to, the review, update, and approval process. (ii) Fully cover the costs associated with implementing this chapter to the same extent as any other producer participating in a PRO based on the producer’s share of covered material. (iii) Annually report sales, recycling, composting, and source reduction data to the department pursuant to Sections 42052 and 42057 in a manner determined by the department. (c) Regardless of whether a producer participates in a PRO plan, each producer in the state shall file its primary business address with the department in a manner prescribed by regulation pursuant to this chapter. Each producer shall notify the department of any change in their business address within 30 days. A PRO may satisfy the requirements of this subdivision on behalf of a producer by including the producer’s primary business address in a plan, update, or annual report pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 42051.3 or otherwise notifying the department of the address and any changes of address. (d) Each participant of a PRO with an approved plan shall comply with the requirements of this chapter. The PRO shall notify the department within 30 calendar days of any of the following: (1) The end of any three-month period in which the PRO unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a fee, records, or information from a participant producer, or received incomplete or incorrect records or information pursuant to Section 42052 or 42053. (2) The date a producer no longer participates in the PRO’s approved plan. (3) Any instance of noncompliance by a participant producer. (e) The PRO may organize itself into subcommittees or some other similar structure, including delineation by covered material category, to ensure sufficient focus on each covered material category to better enable each category to meet the recycling rates required in subdivision (c) of Section 42050.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42051.1. Section 42051.1.

(a) As a condition of producer responsibility plan approval, the PRO plan shall comply with the regulations adopted by the department pursuant to Section 42060. The PRO shall submit a plan and budget that includes the provisions necessary for the department to ensure producers covered under the plan comply with this chapter. (b) The plan shall include all of the following: (1) Actions and investments that the PRO will implement in order to meet the requirements of this chapter and address the needs and investments identified in the needs assessment. (2) The source reduction plan required pursuant to Section 42057. For any covered material that is not reasonably anticipated by the PRO to achieve the requirements of this chapter, the PRO shall include in the plan a timeline and actions to discontinue use of the covered material category. (3) Technologies and means that will be utilized to achieve recycling requirements, including demonstration that the means and technologies meet the conditions specified in subdivision (aa) of Section 42041. (c) The plan shall include objective and measurable criteria whenever possible, and describe all of the following: (1) How the PRO will meet the requirements of this chapter, including, but not limited to, how it will, in an economically efficient and practical manner, provide for the necessary infrastructure and viable responsible end markets to ensure the covered material will achieve the requirements of Section 42050 based on the needs assessments. (2) How the PRO will support and achieve, and how the budget will fund, the collection, processing, recycling, or composting of, and the development of viable responsible end markets for, covered materials to meet the requirements of this chapter. This includes, but is not limited to, actions necessary to sort, segregate, break or flake, and process material to specifications for sale to a responsible end market. For purposes of this paragraph, “specifications” means the third-party purchasing specifications issued by a buyer or buyers of recycled materials for reprocessing into a new product. (3) (A) How the plan is supplemental to, and not in conflict with, disruptive of, or adversely affecting, the performance of the solid waste network providing services in accordance with local solid waste handling requirements and the intent described in Section 40004, and how the PRO will leverage and utilize existing collection programs and recycling, composting, sorting, and processing infrastructure. (B) Except as specified in subdivisions (b), (c), (d), and (e) of Section 42060.5, how the plan will be implemented in a manner utilizing solid waste collection programs and solid waste facilities as the designated system for the collection and processing of covered material. (4) In accordance with Section 40059, how the plan and the activities undertaken pursuant to the plan will be implemented in compliance with state and local laws, rules, and regulations applicable to solid waste handling and in a manner that does not violate existing franchise agreements. (5) How covered material will be collected, processed, and managed, and recycled, remanufactured, or composted, consistent with the goals, standards, and practices required by this chapter, including ensuring covered material collected for recycling will be transferred to viable responsible end markets for processing into new packaging or products, including, but not limited to, how the plan will enhance or expand viable responsible end markets in California including manufacturing. (6) Arrangements with processors or recyclers to ensure that covered materials that are not collected through a curbside collection program or other local collection program are collected and recycled at a viable responsible end market, including any investment that will be made to cover the cost of the covered material being processed or recycled by processors or recyclers. (7) Arrangements to establish and fund reuse or refill infrastructure, fund facility retrofits, or other needed infrastructure to eliminate plastic covered material, shift covered material from plastic to a nonplastic covered material category, or any other actions taken, or that will be taken, to implement the source reduction requirements pursuant to Section 42057. (8) How postconsumer recycled content will be incorporated into covered material, including the amounts of postconsumer recycled content. (9) How the plan will be implemented in a manner consistent with the waste hierarchy established in Section 40051. (d) (1) The plan shall include a fee for participants of the PRO consistent with the provisions of Section 42053, set forth the calculation of the fee, and describe the process through which the PRO will collect the fee from producers that are participants of the PRO’s approved plan. (2) The plan shall include a description of the fee structure and a schedule of the fees actually charged to producers who are participants of a PRO’s approved plan. (e) The plan shall include efforts to use education and promotion to encourage proper participation in recycling and composting collection and reuse and refill systems. The PRO shall ensure coordination between these efforts and existing educational and promotional efforts. These may include, but are not limited to, all of the following: (1) Education and engagement to reduce the rate of inbound contamination or unwanted materials. (2) Outreach to obtain consistently high levels of public participation in and use of collection services and reuse and refill systems. (3) Education and engagement with residents on proper recycling, composting, and reuse and refill behaviors. (4) Support for increased statewide and local outreach needed to achieve the plan’s goals. (f) The plan shall include a closure or transfer plan to settle the affairs of the PRO that ensures that producers who are participants of the PRO’s approved plan will continue to meet their obligations in the event of dissolution of the organization or revocation of a plan by the department and that describes a process for notifying the department, the advisory board, local jurisdictions, and any contractors of the dissolution. The closure or transfer plan shall provide for sufficient reserve funds in the trust fund or escrow account established pursuant to Section 42056 to allow the PRO to satisfy all obligations in the event of dissolution of the PRO until the participants of the PRO’s approved plan have become a participant of a different PRO’s approved plan. (g) (1) The plan shall include a process for determining the costs that will be incurred by local jurisdictions, recycling service providers, alternative collection systems, and others under this chapter and shall include a mechanism and schedule for transferring the portion of the fee required by paragraph (7) of subdivision (c) of Section 42053 to local jurisdictions. The PRO shall determine the costs based on information provided by local jurisdictions, recycling service providers, and others under this chapter. Payment of these costs shall be reflected in the budget pursuant to subdivision (j). (2) The plan shall include a process to resolve disputes for determining and paying the reasonable costs pursuant to paragraph (1) that arise between the PRO and a local jurisdiction or a recycling service provider. This process shall be reviewed by the advisory board to ensure the PRO covers costs related to this chapter and shall become effective upon plan approval by the department. (h) The plan shall include the source reduction data specified in subdivision (c) of Section 42057. (i) (1) The plan shall include consideration of the needs assessment and any recommended investments to meet the needs identified in the needs assessments and inform the budget. (2) The budget shall not propose investing in activities in violation of Section 40004 or an agreement entered into pursuant to Section 40059 and shall include a mechanism to disburse funds for identified activities. (3) The budget may include, but shall not be limited to, elements that will accomplish all of the following: (A) Expanding access to or improvement of curbside collection services wherever feasible. (B) Expanding access to dropoff recycling services or other mechanisms where curbside collection services are not feasible, or as necessary in order to supplement curbside collection services to achieve the requirements of this chapter. (C) Expanding access to collection services in public spaces. (D) Providing or facilitating deployment of innovative enhanced collection, composting, and recycling systems and innovative recycling systems within a recycling center or MRF that utilizes advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence and robotics, to improve the identification and sorting of covered materials, where feasible. (E) Creation of on-premises access to recycling or composting services for multifamily residences. (F) Funding, providing, or facilitating the efficient transport of materials from remote or rural areas to centralized sorting facilities, brokers, or viable responsible end markets. (G) Enhancing existing materials recycling or composting infrastructure by developing a quality incentive payment, grants, and other mechanisms sufficient to cover the cost of separating, processing, baling, recycling, composting, remanufacturing, and transporting desired materials that meet viable responsible end market quality specifications, or for reducing the rate of inbound contamination to composting facilities. (H) Infrastructure or other mechanisms needed to implement a source reduction plan, including, but not limited to, investments in reuse, refill, and composting infrastructure. (I) Infrastructure or other activities needed to achieve recycling rates for all covered material under the plan and ensure covered material is recyclable or compostable. (4) In developing the budget, the PRO may delineate investments the PRO will make based on covered material categories. (j) (1) The plan shall include a budget designed to fully fund the costs necessary to implement this chapter. The budget shall include, but not be limited to, fully funding the plan and all other costs associated with implementing the plan, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (A) Actions and investments identified in the plan to fund the budget and needs and investments identified in the needs assessments. (B) Costs associated with this chapter incurred by local jurisdictions, recycling service providers, and other collection programs, and costs related to consumer outreach and education; the transportation of covered materials to a materials recovery facility, broker, or viable responsible end market; cleaning, sorting, aggregating, and baling covered materials as necessary to bring those materials to a viable responsible end market; waste stream sampling and reporting required by this chapter for local governments; costs incurred to educate ratepayers to improve the preparation and sorting of covered material; and improvements to collection, sorting, decontamination, remanufacturing, and other infrastructure necessary to achieve recycling rates. These costs include costs related to both curbside and noncurbside collection programs and may be varied based on population density, distance to a viable responsible end market, and other relevant factors. (C) Reimbursing costs incurred by the department and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. (D) Administering the PRO. (E) Environmental mitigation activities associated with Section 42064. (F) Investments to develop and sustain viable responsible end markets for each covered material category. (G) Other investments necessary to implement the plan and achieve the source reduction, recyclability and compostability, recycling rate, and other requirements of this chapter, including, but not limited to, ensuring that plan implementation avoids and minimizes negative environmental or public health impacts on disadvantaged or low-income communities or rural areas. (H) If reasonable and able to be discretely directed, funding derived from a material type may be spent on investments needed for that specific material type. (2) A producer or PRO shall not expend revenue collected for implementation of the plan for any of the following purposes: (A) To pay an administrative civil penalty pursuant to Section 42081. (B) To pay costs associated with litigation between the producer or organization and the state. (C) To compensate a person whose position is primarily representing the PRO relative to the passage, defeat, approval, or modification of legislation that is being considered by a local, state, or federal government body, nor shall the PRO use or permit the use of these funds for paid advertisement 30 calendar days prior to or during a legislative session for the purposes of encouraging the passage, defeat, approval, or modification of legislation that is being considered, or was considered during the previous legislative session. (D) To subsidize, incentivize, or otherwise support incineration, engineered municipal solid waste conversion, the production of energy or fuels, except for fuels produced using anaerobic digestion of source separated organic materials, or other disposal activities. (3) (A) A PRO shall not maintain total program reserves exceeding 60 percent of its annual operating expenses, consistent with the requirements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Accounting Standards Update 2016-14, Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958), and any future updates to that standard. (B) The department, in approving the annual PRO budget, may authorize the total reserves to be increased to up to 75 percent of the PRO’s annual operating expenses if the department determines the increase is necessary to implement the requirements of this chapter. (C) If a PRO’s reserves exceed the amount specified in subparagraph (A) or (B), the department may require the PRO or a participant producer to increase spending on implementing the requirements of this chapter. (k) Consistent with subdivision ( l ), as part of the plan, the PRO or a participant producer may rely on a range of means to collect and recycle or compost various categories of covered materials that are not collected and recycled or composted through a curbside collection program or other local collection program, including, but not limited to, dropoff recycling services and retailer take-back. ( l ) (1) A plan shall include curbside recycling and composting collection for covered materials under any of the following circumstances: (A) The category of covered materials can be made suitable for curbside collection and can be effectively sorted by the facilities receiving the curbside collected material for recycling or composting. (B) The recycling facility providing processing and sorting service, in consultation with the local jurisdiction, agrees to include the category of covered materials as an accepted material for recycling or composting and agrees to collect and sort the material in a manner that achieves the quality necessary for recycling and remanufacturing or composting. (C) The provider of the curbside collection and recycling or composting service agrees to the costs arrangement. (2) If a MRF chooses to send material to another sorting facility for additional sorting and recycling of covered materials, the PRO shall provide the initial MRF a rebate based on criteria the PRO shall develop to cover transportation costs of the covered materials provided the covered material is free of toxic or hazardous materials. (m) The plan shall include specific measures to ensure that producers participating in the plan comply with the requirements of the plan and this chapter. Those measures shall include, at a minimum, all of the following elements: (1) Adequate incentives for compliance, including, but not limited to, fees for failing to provide accurate and timely information required to be provided to the PRO or otherwise materially violating requirements of the plan or this chapter. Notwithstanding the PRO’s assessment of a fee, the department may take enforcement action pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 42080) against individual producers or the PRO in violation of this chapter. (2) Protocols to ensure that the PRO becomes aware, within a reasonable time, of producers’ violations of the requirements of the plan or this chapter. (3) Criteria for determining when a producer’s performance merits terminating the producer’s participation in the PRO’s plan, and a process for making that determination. (4) Record maintenance protocols requiring the PRO to maintain records sufficient to demonstrate whether each producer participating in the plan has complied with the requirements of the plan and this chapter for at least the previous three years. Those protocols shall ensure that all records remain reasonably accessible by the department upon request. (5) The plan shall include the specific data information required under subdivision (c) of Section 42057. (n) The PRO shall ensure that the plan implementation avoids or minimizes negative environmental or public health impacts on disadvantaged or low-income communities or rural areas and vulnerable communities outside the state.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42051.2. Section 42051.2.

(a) Before submitting the plan to the department for approval, the PRO shall submit a proposed plan to the advisory board for review and comment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 42070. The advisory board may provide written comments within 60 calendar days. The PRO shall consider the comments, along with any public comments, and may incorporate these comments into the plan. (b) (1) The PRO shall submit the plan to the department with revisions, if any, in response to comments by the advisory board or public within 120 calendar days of receipt of the advisory board’s comments. (2) The department shall review the plan for compliance with this chapter. Within 90 calendar days of receipt of the plan from the PRO, the department shall, in accordance with Section 42063, respond with an approval, disapproval, conditional approval, request for additional information, or timeline for a decision on approval or disapproval. (3) If the department conditionally approves the plan pursuant to paragraph (2), the department shall explain, in writing, how the plan or parts of the plan does not comply with this chapter, and the PRO shall ensure the conditions are met and resubmit a revised plan within 12 months. (4) If the department disapproves the plan pursuant to paragraph (2), the department shall explain, in writing, how the plan does not comply with this chapter, and the PRO shall resubmit a plan to the department. If the department finds that the plan resubmitted by the PRO does not comply with the requirements of this chapter, the PRO shall not be deemed in compliance with this chapter until the organization submits a plan that the department finds complies with the requirements of this chapter. (5) The approved plan shall be a public record, except that financial, production, or sales data reported to the department by the PRO is not a public record for purposes of the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code) and shall not be open to public inspection. The department shall release financial, production, or sales data in summary form only so the information cannot be attributable to a specific producer, retailer, or wholesaler, or to any other entity. (c) Within 90 calendar days after approval or conditional approval of the plan by the department, the PRO shall implement the approved plan and post the plan on the PRO’s internet website. (d) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (e), a plan approved by the department under this section is valid for five years. (2) No less than 180 calendar days before a plan’s five-year expiration date, the PRO shall submit a proposed updated plan to be reviewed by the advisory board and approved by the department for an additional five years. An updated plan submitted for approval under this paragraph shall satisfy the requirements of this chapter, including Section 42051.1, and describe any changes from the previously approved plan. The department may allow for an extension of a previously approved plan until a plan submitted under this paragraph is approved or rejected. (e) (1) An amendment to the plan that modifies actions to meet the obligations set forth in Section 42050, modifies the setting and collection of fees, changes the implementation of this chapter with respect to costs incurred by local governments or recycling service providers, or changes the funding of costs to implement the plan, including costs to source reduce covered material, shall not be made to an approved plan unless the proposed amendment is submitted to the advisory board for comment, and approved by the department. That submission and review shall be conducted according to the same process set forth in subdivision (d). (2) The department’s rejection or revocation of a plan or plan amendment submitted for approval under this section does not relieve the PRO or a participant producer from its obligations pursuant to the previously approved plan or the requirements of this chapter. (3) The submission of a plan amendment for approval under this section does not relieve the PRO or a participant producer from its obligations pursuant to the approved plan prior to action by the department on the plan amendment. (4) The department may approve or disapprove a proposed plan amendment based on a determination of whether the amendment is sufficient to result in actions reasonably likely to meet the requirements of this chapter.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42051.3. Section 42051.3.

(a) (1) A PRO shall annually submit to the department and make publicly available on its internet website an annual report and budget that describes how the PRO is implementing the approved plan and how the PRO has complied with the requirements of this chapter and its implementing regulations. (2) The annual report shall describe in detail progress made toward meeting or exceeding the requirements in Section 42050 and shall include an evaluation of whether the PRO is reasonably likely to meet those requirements. If the PRO is not reasonably likely to meet those requirements, the PRO shall submit to the department an amendment to the plan to include additional measures to be implemented to ensure the requirements are met. (3) The annual report shall include all of the following: (A) The PRO’s cost and revenues, including an updated budget and any updates to the fee schedule necessary to ensure the revenues are sufficient to cover the full costs of implementing this chapter in the upcoming year. (B) An updated list of the names and contact information of each participant of the plan. (C) A description of outreach efforts and education to consumers. (D) A report on activities the PRO has taken to implement each provision of the plan, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (i) A description of the methods used to collect, transport, process, and recycle or compost covered material. (ii) The recycling technologies and means that will be utilized to achieve recycling requirements, including demonstration that the means and technologies meet the conditions specified in subdivision (aa) of Section 42041. (iii) Progress made in meeting source reduction goals. (iv) Current recycling rates and progress made in meeting recycling rates and any investments made to achieve recycling rate requirements. (E) The source reduction data specified in subdivision (c) of Section 42057. (b) (1) Within 90 calendar days of receiving an annual report, the department shall, in accordance with Section 42063, review the report and notify the PRO of any deficiencies in the annual report. No later than 60 calendar days after receiving this notice from the department, the PRO shall provide additional information, modifications, or corrections in response to the department’s notification. (2) Within 90 calendar days of receipt of an annual report deemed complete, the department shall review the report for compliance with this chapter and shall approve, disapprove, or conditionally approve the annual report. As part of this review, the department shall evaluate the annual report to determine whether the PRO, in light of its implementation of the plan and any amendments or pending amendments to the plan pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 42051.2, is reasonably likely to meet the requirements of the plan and this chapter. (3) (A) If the department conditionally approves or disapproves the annual report, the PRO shall resubmit a revised annual report addressing the department’s written reasons for its decision within 30 calendar days of the conditional approval or disapproval. (B) The department, within 60 calendar days from the date a PRO resubmits a revised annual report, shall approve or disapprove a final annual report. (4) If the department disapproves a revised annual report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3), the PRO may submit only one additional final annual report, subject to review in accordance with subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3), which shall include the revisions necessary for approval by the department. (5) If a PRO fails to submit an annual report that obtains approval by the department, the department may deem the PRO no longer in compliance with this chapter.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42052. Section 42052.

(a) A PRO shall register in the department’s Recycling and Disposal Reporting System, or an alternative reporting system established by the department, and annually submit to the system all of the following information on behalf of each producer who participates in the PRO’s approved plan: (1) The aggregate quantities in total weight and the number of plastic components of covered material, by covered material category and by type of plastic component, manufactured, sold, distributed, or imported in or into the state, as the department deems necessary to determine compliance with this chapter in a form, manner, and frequency determined by the department pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 42060. (2) The aggregate quantities in total weight and number of plastic components, of covered material by covered material category recycled as the department deems necessary to determine compliance with this chapter in a form and manner determined by the department pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 42060. (3) For covered material not collected through a curbside collection program, the PRO shall collect, validate, and submit to the system data demonstrating take-back and dropoff and alternative collection and recycling program performance, including the amount and type of covered materials collected. (4) Any additional information deemed necessary by the department to collect and report data pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 42060. (b) A PRO shall not require a producer who is a participant of the PRO’s approved plan to report to the PRO covered materials that the producer is required to report pursuant to another PRO’s plan or to another department-authorized stewardship organization’s plan, or that the producer directly reports to the department. (c) A producer or PRO shall respond within 14 calendar days to a request by the department for additional data. The department may grant additional time for responding that shall not exceed 60 calendar days. To determine if an extension of time is warranted, the department shall take into account, at a minimum, all of the following considerations: (1) The amount of data requested. (2) Whether the producer or PRO has the data readily available. (3) Whether the data is necessary to ensure compliance with Section 42050. (4) Whether the producer or PRO needs to obtain the data from a third party. (5) The producer’s or PRO’s timely compliance with any previous data requests. (d) A producer or PRO shall maintain records of covered materials offered for sale, sold, distributed, or imported in or into the state in a form and manner established by the department that the department determines is necessary to determine if a producer is in compliance with this chapter during an audit. (e) Data provided by producers and collected under this section shall only be used by the PRO for the purposes of this chapter. The PRO shall consider all information provided to it by producers in compliance with this chapter to be confidential and shall not disclose the information to other producers or the public or allow the use of the information for commercial purposes. This section does not prohibit the PRO from providing data requested by the department or from releasing aggregated data that does not identify data in connection with a specific responsible entity. (f) A PRO shall provide contact information for any of the PRO’s registered participants to the department upon request.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42053. Section 42053.

(a) (1) As part of its producer responsibility plan pursuant to Section 42051.1, a PRO shall establish a fee for its participants sufficient to ensure the requirements of this chapter are met by the PRO and the plan is fully implemented. The fee shall be based on a fee schedule to be developed by the PRO pursuant to subdivision (c). Development of the fee schedule shall ensure that the PRO budget included in the plan is fully funded. The fee shall not be passed on to consumers as a separate item on a receipt or invoice. (2) The PRO shall adjust any fee schedules at least every year or more frequently if needed in order to fully cover the expenses in the approved budget. (3) A producer that is a participant of a PRO’s approved plan shall pay the fee required by this section and, upon request, provide the PRO with records or other information necessary for the PRO to meet the PRO’s requirements under this chapter. (b) During the first two years of operation and during the preparation of the plan developed pursuant to Section 42051.1, the PRO shall determine the fee schedule for each producer based on estimated costs of implementing the plan, operating costs, the cost of completing the needs assessment, and the costs to reimburse the department. In the third year and each successive year of operation, each producer shall pay an annual fee as established in the PRO plan based on the factors described in subdivision (d). (c) The fee schedule required pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include all of the following: (1) Individual assessments imposed on a producer due to unique characteristics of their covered material, as described in subdivision (d). (2) Any adjustments pursuant to subdivision (e). (3) The California circular economy administrative fee. (4) Reimbursing the department for costs to administer the advisory board. (5) Any fees associated with environmental mitigation activities associated with Section 42064. (6) The costs of the PRO, including, but not limited to, staff and the costs associated with the development and implementation of the producer responsibility plan. (7) Any other costs described in subdivision (j) of Section 42051.1. (d) A PRO shall structure the fee schedule required pursuant to subdivision (a), delineated by covered material category and based on the following factors: (1) The costs to ensure each covered material category meets the requirements of this chapter. Covered material that is easier and less expensive to recycle or compost or that is designed to be recycled into a similar covered material or a material that is easier to be composted shall be subject to lower fees. The costs may include all of the following: (A) Costs to develop and sustain viable responsible end markets for each covered material category. (B) Costs to collect, sort, avoid or remove contamination, aggregate, and transport the covered material into defined streams to support the viable responsible end markets for the remanufacturing of the covered material either through curbside collection or other means. (C) Costs incurred by local jurisdictions or recycling service providers to process and transport covered materials in a manner and quality sufficient for acceptance by viable responsible end markets. This includes costs incurred by local jurisdictions or recycling service providers to reduce or mitigate the rate of inbound contamination by noncertified compostable products at composting facilities. These costs may vary by local jurisdiction. (D) Other costs necessary to implement the plan and achieve the source reduction, recyclability and compostability, recycling rate, and other requirements of this chapter, including, but not limited to, ensuring that plan implementation avoids and minimizes negative environmental or public health impacts on disadvantaged or low-income communities or rural areas. (E) Costs incurred by local jurisdictions or recycling service providers for any waste stream sampling and reporting required by this chapter and for any costs incurred to educate ratepayers to improve the preparation and sorting, as needed, of covered material. (2) If recycling or composting of the covered material is made more difficult by the incorporation of specific elements, including, but not limited to, inks, labels, and adhesives that may be detrimental to recycling or composting according to the Association of Plastic Recyclers design guide or other relevant industry association, or criteria established by the department, the fee for that covered material shall be sufficient to account for the increased cost to manage that covered material. (3) The commodity value of the covered material based on an independent index or the reported commodity value of materials of equivalent quality of the covered material. (4) Costs incurred by the PRO to assist producers to meet the source reduction requirements pursuant to Section 42057. (e) The fee required pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be adjusted using malus fees or credits for participant producers, with those adjustments based on any of the following, as applicable: (1) The percentage of postconsumer recycled content in the participant producer’s covered materials. The percentage of postconsumer recycled content shall be validated through an independent third party approved by the department to perform validation services to ensure that the percentage exceeds the minimum requirements for the covered material, as long as the recycled content does not disrupt the potential for future recycling. (2) Source reduction related to right-sizing, optimization, and bulking of packaging, or concentrating the product packaged to reduce packaging. (3) Standardization of packaging materials that simplifies the processing, marketing, sorting, and recycling or composting of covered materials. (4) Presence of hazardous material as identified by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, or the department. (5) Actions taken by the producer, including clear and accurate disposal, recycling or composting, or reuse and refill labeling and instructions, that comply with Chapter 5.7 (commencing with Section 42355), including paragraph (6) of subdivision (d) of Section 42355.51, that improve consumer behavior related to sorting and proper disposal. (6) Actions taken by the producer to accelerate source reduction and to invest in sustained and robust reuse and refill systems. The PRO may create a mechanism to allow producers to receive a credit for achieving source reduction beyond what producers of similar covered material are achieving. The revenue for that credit shall be paid for by charging producers not achieving source reduction for similar products a malus fee. (7) Plastic covered materials derived from renewable materials shall be subject to a reduced fee relative to plastic covered material derived from a nonrenewable material. (8) Certified compostable covered materials that do not contain toxic additives shall be subject to a reduced fee, as determined by the PRO. (9) Covered material that contains toxic heavy metals, pathogens, or additives shall be subject to an increased fee. (f) In addition to the annual schedule of fees approved in the plan, the PRO fee schedule may include a special assessment, charged to the participant producers of a particular covered material category, to be imposed on that particular category of covered material at the request of those producers if the nature of the covered material imposes unusual costs in collection or processing or requires special actions to address effective access to recycling, composting, or successful processing. The revenue from the special assessment shall be used to make system improvements for the specific covered materials or products on which the special assessment was applied. (g) Fees paid to the PRO pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be used to implement the plan and fund the budget.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42053.5. Section 42053.5.

(a) (1) On or before the end of the 2026–27 fiscal year, and once every three months thereafter, a PRO shall pay to the department the California circular economy administrative fee. The department shall set the fee at an amount adequate to cover the department’s and any other state agency’s full costs of implementing and enforcing this chapter. The total amount of fees collected shall not exceed the state’s actual and reasonable costs to implement and enforce this chapter. These costs may include the actual and reasonable costs associated with regulatory activities pursuant to this chapter before submission of producer responsibility plans pursuant to Section 42051.1 and annual reports pursuant to Section 42051.3. (2) For a PRO, the administrative fee paid pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be funded by the producers that make up the PRO. (b) The department shall deposit administrative fees paid by a PRO pursuant to subdivision (a) into the California Circular Economy Fund, which is hereby established in the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the fund may be expended by the department for the department’s activities pursuant to this chapter and to reimburse any outstanding loans made from other funds used to finance the initial costs of the department’s activities pursuant to this chapter. Moneys in the fund shall not be expended for any purpose not enumerated in this chapter.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42054. Section 42054.

(a) A PRO shall keep minutes, books, and records that clearly reflect the activities and transactions of the PRO. (b) The accounting books of the PRO shall be audited at least once per calendar year at the PRO’s expense by an independent public accountant certified in the United States and retained by the PRO. (c) The PRO shall provide the audit to the department with the annual report required pursuant to Section 42051.3. The department shall review the audit for compliance with this chapter and consistency with the plan adopted pursuant to Section 42051.1 and shall post the audit publicly on its internet website. The department shall notify the PRO of any compliance issues or inconsistencies. (d) (1) The department may conduct its own audit. (2) The PRO shall reimburse the department for the costs of the department’s audit. (3) The PRO may obtain copies of the department’s audit upon request. (e) The department shall hold its audit confidentially to the extent described in subdivision (e) of Section 42080.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42055. Section 42055.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), an action specified in subdivision (b) that is taken by a PRO or its participants is not a violation of the Cartwright Act (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 16700) of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code), the Unfair Practices Act (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 17000) of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code), or the Unfair Competition Law (Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code). (b) Subdivision (a) shall apply to all of the following actions taken by a PRO or its participants: (1) The creation, implementation, or management of a plan approved by the department pursuant to this chapter and the types or quantities of covered material managed pursuant to an approved plan. (2) The cost and structure of an approved plan. (3) The establishment, administration, collection, or disbursement of any fees associated with funding the implementation of this chapter. (c) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to an agreement that does any of the following: (1) Fixes a price of or for covered material, except for an agreement related to costs or fees associated with participation in a plan approved or conditionally approved by the department and otherwise in accordance with this chapter. (2) Fixes the output or production of covered material. (3) Restricts the geographic area in which, or customers to whom, covered material will be sold, or where or by whom covered material may be purchased.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42056. Section 42056.

(a) A PRO, as part of its producer responsibility plan, shall set up a trust fund or an escrow account in California, into which it shall deposit all unexpended funds for use in accordance with this section if the plan terminates or is revoked or the PRO dissolves in accordance with the closure or transfer plan required pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 42051.1. (b) If a plan terminates or is revoked, the trustee or escrow agent of a trust fund or escrow account set up pursuant to subdivision (a) shall do both of the following, starting within 30 calendar days: (1) Accept payments directly from producers into the trust fund or escrow account that would have been made to the PRO before the plan’s termination or revocation. (2) Make payments from the trust fund or escrow account as the department shall direct, in writing, to implement the most recently approved plan. (c) If a new plan has not been approved by the department within one year after termination or revocation, the department may make modifications to the previously approved plan, as it deems necessary, and continue to direct payments from the trust fund or escrow account in accordance with paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) to implement the modified plan. (d) A trustee or escrow agent in possession of PRO funds shall, as directed by the department, transfer those funds to a successor PRO with an approved plan.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42057. Section 42057.

(a) (1) By January 1, 2032, a PRO acting on behalf of participants of the PRO’s approved plan shall develop and implement a plan to achieve the 25-percent reduction by weight and 25 percent by plastic component source reduction requirement for covered material sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state. The PRO shall establish enforceable agreements with each of its approved plan participants to implement this section. (2) Source reduction shall be achieved by a PRO in the following manner: (A) At least 10 percent of the plastic covered material sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state by its participant producers shall be source reduced through shifting a plastic covered material to refillable or reusable packaging or food service ware or through eliminating a plastic component. (B) (i) The remaining source reduction of the plastic covered material sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state by its participant producers not achieved pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be source reduced through concentration, right-sizing, lightweighting, or shifting to bulk or large format packaging that allows consumers to refill home or commercial reusable containers, or shifting from a plastic covered material to a nonplastic covered material. No more than 8 percent of the plastic covered material sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state by its participant producers shall be source reduced through an alternative compliance formula developed by the PRO, subject to approval by the department, that offers source reduction credit on a sliding scale based on the ratio of virgin plastic to postconsumer recycled content plastic to producers who incorporate postconsumer recycled content into plastic covered material. A producer shall only receive this alternative source reduction credit if the postconsumer recycled content is able to be validated and is validated by a third party, such as the Association of Plastic Recyclers, through its APR Postconsumer Resin Certification Program, or a similar third party approved by the department, and the content does not contain intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. (ii) The resulting source reduction of each action taken to optimize, eliminate, right-size, concentrate, shift to bulk or large format packaging, or switch to a nonplastic covered material shall be counted once for the purposes of meeting the source reduction requirements. (C) By January 1, 2027, the PRO shall source reduce no less than 10 percent of plastic covered material sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state by its participant producers, with no less than 2 percent of plastic covered material sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state by its participant producers source reduced through shifting to reusable or refillable packaging and food service ware systems. (D) By January 1, 2030, the PRO shall source reduce no less than 20 percent of plastic covered material sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state by its participant producers, with no less than 4 percent of plastic covered material sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state by its participant producers source reduced through shifting to reusable or refillable packaging and food service ware systems. (b) By January 1, 2025, the department shall establish a baseline for the 25-percent reduction required in subdivision (a) based on the amount of plastic covered material, including the number of products packaged in covered material, that was sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state in the 2023 calendar year. (c) As part of any producer responsibility plan, plan update, or annual report submitted to the department, the PRO shall report the following data, disaggregated by each participant producer: (1) The amount of plastic covered material and products sold in plastic covered material, including the number of plastic components and weight of plastic covered material, sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state. (2) The number of plastic components and the weight of plastic covered material shifted to a refillable or reusable packaging or food service ware. (3) The number of plastic components and the weight of plastic covered material eliminated. (4) The number of plastic components and the weight of plastic covered material shifted from a plastic covered material to a nonplastic covered material. (5) The number of plastic components and the weight of plastic covered material reduced through concentration, right-sizing, and shifting to bulk or large format packaging that allows consumers to refill home or commercial reusable containers. (6) The amount of postconsumer recycled content used compared to virgin plastic in covered material. (d) Producers who are members of the PRO shall submit to the PRO individual source reduction plans that include both of the following: (1) In the first individual producer source reduction plan, the producer shall include any amount of covered material, by number of plastic components and weight of covered material, the producer source reduced since January 1, 2013. (2) The amount of plastic covered material, by number of plastic components and weight of plastic covered material, the producer plans to source reduce by January 1, 2027, January 1, 2030, and January 1, 2032. The producer shall describe how much will be source reduced in each of the following ways: (A) The number of plastic components and the weight of plastic covered material shifted to a refillable or reusable package. (B) The number of plastic components and the weight of plastic covered material eliminated. (C) The number of plastic components and the weight of plastic covered material shifted from a plastic covered material to a nonplastic material. (D) The number of plastic components and the weight of covered material source reduced through concentration, right-sizing, lightweighting, and shifting to bulk or large format packaging that allows consumers to refill home or commercial reusable containers. (E) The amount of postconsumer recycled content used compared to virgin plastic in covered material. (e) The PRO shall require producers that are participants of the PRO’s approved plan to submit to the PRO the data necessary for the PRO to report the information required pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d). (f) As part of the producer responsibility plan, the PRO shall include a source reduction plan designed to meet the requirements of this section. The source reduction plan shall be disaggregated based on the individual producer source reduction plans and shall meet both of the following requirements: (1) In the source reduction plan, the PRO shall give producers credit for source reduction achieved from the 2013 calendar year to the 2022 calendar year, inclusive. This amount shall not count toward the requirements of subdivision (a). Allocation of this amount, and the requirement for the PRO source reduction plan to meet the requirements of subdivision (a), may require the PRO to require a producer to revise its individual producer source reduction plan. (2) The PRO may identify material types in the source reduction plan that face significant recycling or end market challenges and would require significant investment to bring into compliance with this chapter by January 1, 2032. Switching an entire identified covered material category to a reusable, refillable, or nonplastic alternative shall be considered source reduction for the purpose of subdivision (a). The PRO may report this source reduction in an aggregated form. (g) To ensure equity in the market, the PRO shall require a producer with a covered material new to the producer subsequent to the approval of the PRO to optimize packaging and not include unnecessary covered material. The PRO shall assess a malus fee on any producer with a new covered material that is not optimized, as determined by the PRO and approved by the department pursuant to subdivision (j) of Section 42051.1. (h) To ensure source reductions achieved by January 1, 2032, are not lost after January 1, 2032, while still allowing for businesses to grow, the department shall, beginning in the 2030 calendar year and every five years thereafter, conduct an evaluation of the plastic covered material subject to this section to determine if actions to secure greater source reductions are necessary. If the number of plastic components or weight of plastic covered material has increased, the department shall make this determination. If the department determines that there has been an increase in the number of plastic components or the overall weight of plastic covered material, the department shall take the following actions to secure greater source reductions: (1) Require the PRO to ensure participant producers increase the rate of source reduction through shifting a plastic covered material to reusable or refillable packaging or food service ware or through eliminating plastic components. In requiring these higher source reduction rates, the department shall consider all of the following: (A) The feasibility of increased source reduction rates, as determined by evaluating consumer adoption and acceptance, potential impacts to food safety, and infrastructure availability. (B) The use of postconsumer recycled content. (C) The degree to which reuse and refill infrastructure investments were made to improve consumer convenience and adoption. (D) Examples of reuse and refill systems and elimination requirements in other jurisdictions. (E) Reductions achieved through the other tools implemented by the PRO, including fees and required optimization. (F) The percentage of growth in the number of plastic components and the overall weight of covered material. (2) Determine if new packaging types are optimized and, if not, develop optimization requirements through regulations. (i) Producers of expanded polystyrene food service ware shall not sell, offer for sale, distribute, or import in or into the state expanded polystyrene food service ware unless the producer demonstrates to the department that all expanded polystyrene meets the following recycling rates: (1) Not less than 25 percent on and after January 1, 2025. (2) Not less than 30 percent on and after January 1, 2028. (3) Not less than 50 percent on and after January 1, 2030. (4) Not less than 65 percent on and after January 1, 2032, and annually thereafter. (j) The department may adopt regulations to implement this section, including, but not limited to, reporting and collection requirements.

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