Solid waste: products: recycled content claims., the official text

An act to amend Section 42357.6 of the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law requires a manufacturer or supplier making an environmental marketing claim relating to the recycled content of a plastic food container product to maintain specified information and documentation in written form in its records in support of that claim. Existing law requires the maintained information to include that the recycled content for materials has been diverted from the solid waste stream either during the manufacturing process (preconsumer) or after consumer use (postconsumer) and that the recycled content claim conforms to the uniform standards for recycled content contained in the Federal Trade Commission Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims. Existing law provides for the imposition of a civil penalty by a city, county, or the state for a violation of these provisions.
This bill would expand the application of those provisions from plastic food container products to all products making recycled content claims. The bill would revise the reference to the Federal Trade Commission Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims to specifically refer to those guides as they read on January 1, 2026. The bill would additionally require documentation in written form that the recycled content material claimed does not exceed the amount of third-party certified recycled content introduced into the manufacturer’s or supplier’s overall supply stream for the material used in that product line. The bill would require the recycled content claim to be based on the actual recycled content used in the production of the material used in the product line using specified methods.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Section 42357.6 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
42357.6.
(a) A manufacturer or supplier making a voluntary recycled content claim on a physical product label or on digital product labeling for products sold online relating to the recycled content of a product shall maintain information and documentation, which shall be in written form in its records, of all of the following in support of that claim:
(1) The recycled content for materials has been recovered or otherwise diverted from the solid waste stream either during the manufacturing process (preconsumer) or after consumer use (postconsumer).
(2) The recycled content claim conforms to the uniform standards for recycled content contained in the Federal Trade Commission Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (16 C.F.R. Part 260), as it read on January 1, 2026.
(3) (A) The amount of recycled content material claimed on the label or labeling does not exceed the amount of third-party certified recycled content introduced into the manufacturer’s or supplier’s overall supply stream for the material used in that product line. Individual products within that product line may contain recycled content levels that are higher or lower than that claimed amount due to normal variations in supply chain operations or manufacturing processes.
(B) In complying with subparagraph (A), the recycled content claim shall be based on the actual recycled content used in the production of the material used in the product line, as determined using any of the following chain of custody models: segregated model, controlled blending model, or rolling average percentage method, as described in International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 22095:2020(E).
(C) For a plastic beverage container subject to Section 14549.3, compliance with the reporting requirements established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 14549.3 shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(b) A manufacturer or supplier shall furnish the information and documentation that it is required to maintain pursuant to this section to any member of the public upon request or provide the information and documentation by furnishing a link to a document on its internet website containing the information and documentation.
(c) Unless otherwise required by law, nothing in this section shall be interpreted to mean that a voluntary recycled content claim on a physical product label or on digital product labeling for products sold online includes a regulatory filing or statement that is required to verify compliance with a recycled content goal or mandate, including filings, plans, or statements submitted by a producer responsibility organization.
(d) This section does not limit the requirements of this chapter or any other law.