Plastic beverage containers: recycling., the official text

An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 14549.3 of the Public Resources Code, relating to beverage containers.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires plastic beverage containers sold by a beverage manufacturer, as specified, to contain a specified average percentage of postconsumer recycled plastic per year. The act requires the manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic beverage container subject to the California Redemption Value to report to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery certain information about the amounts of virgin plastic and postconsumer recycled plastic used for plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value for sale in the state in the previous calendar year. Existing law requires the department to post this reported information on its internet website, as provided. Existing law provides that a violation of the act or a regulation adopted pursuant to the act is a crime.
This bill, beginning on or before March 1, 2027, would require a manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic beverage container subject to the California Redemption Value to also report to the department by country of origin the amount in pounds of imported postconsumer recycled plastic used for plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value for sale in the state in the previous calendar year and to provide proof that the postconsumer recycled content used by the manufacturer for plastic beverage containers has been validated by a third party, as specified. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to post on its internet website the reported amounts of imported postconsumer recycled plastic used for plastic beverage containers in an aggregated form and would exempt the unaggregated amounts reported to the department from disclosure under the California Public Records Act.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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

SECTION 1.
Section 14549.3 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
14549.3.
(a) On or before March 1 of each year, a manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic beverage container subject to the California Redemption Value, pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 14560), shall report to the department the amount in pounds and by resin type of virgin plastic and postconsumer recycled plastic used by the manufacturer for plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value for sale in the state in the previous calendar year. The manufacturer shall submit this information to the department under penalty of perjury pursuant to standardized forms in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
(b) On or before March 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, a plastic material reclaimer shall report to the department the amount in pounds and by resin type of empty plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value, pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 14560), that the plastic material reclaimer has collected and sold in the previous calendar year. The report shall specify the amount in pounds and by resin type of empty plastic containers sold in the state for beverage processing. The plastic material reclaimer shall submit this information to the department under penalty of perjury pursuant to standardized forms in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
(c) On or before March 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, a manufacturer of postconsumer recycled plastic shall report to the department the amount in pounds of food-grade flake, pellet, sheet, fines, or other forms that were sold in the previous calendar year and their capacity to produce food-grade material. The report shall specify the amount in pounds of material that meets beverage manufacturer specifications for bottle-grade material. The report shall include the amount in pounds of food-grade material sold in the state for beverage processing. The manufacturer shall submit this information to the department under penalty of perjury pursuant to standardized forms in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
(d) The department shall post the information reported pursuant to subdivision (a) within 45 days on the department’s internet website.
(e) This section does not apply to a refillable plastic beverage container.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2027, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 2.
Section 14549.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:
14549.3.
(a) (1) On or before March 1 of each year, a manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic beverage container subject to the California Redemption Value, pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 14560), shall report to the department all of the following:
(A) The amount in pounds and by resin type of virgin plastic and postconsumer recycled plastic used by the manufacturer for plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value for sale in the state in the previous calendar year.
(B) By country of origin, the amount in pounds of imported postconsumer recycled plastic used by the manufacturer for plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value for sale in the state in the previous calendar year.
(C) (i) Proof that the postconsumer recycled content used by the manufacturer for plastic beverage containers has been validated by a third party that adheres to the APR standard or an equivalent standard approved by the department, and that meets the department’s criteria for validating postconsumer recycled content for purposes of clause (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 42057.
(ii) The department may review a third party that provides validation for purposes of this subparagraph to determine whether the third party adheres to the APR standard or an equivalent standard approved by the department.
(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph, “APR standard” means the standard specified by the Association of Plastic Recyclers in a publication titled “Certification Scheme for Post-Consumer Plastic Recycling Process - Content Traceability,” which has a publication date of November 18, 2024, and is also identified as document number APR-PCR-101.
(2) The manufacturer shall submit the information required by paragraph (1) to the department under penalty of perjury pursuant to standardized forms in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
(b) On or before March 1 of each year, a plastic material reclaimer shall report to the department the amount in pounds and by resin type of empty plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value, pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 14560), that the plastic material reclaimer has collected and sold in the previous calendar year. The report shall specify the amount in pounds and by resin type of empty plastic containers sold in the state for beverage processing. The plastic material reclaimer shall submit this information to the department under penalty of perjury pursuant to standardized forms in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
(c) On or before March 1 of each year, a manufacturer of postconsumer recycled plastic shall report to the department the amount in pounds of food-grade flake, pellet, sheet, fines, or other forms that were sold in the previous calendar year and their capacity to produce food-grade material. The report shall specify the amount in pounds of material that meets beverage manufacturer specifications for bottle-grade material. The report shall include the amount in pounds of food-grade material sold in the state for beverage processing. The manufacturer shall submit this information to the department under penalty of perjury pursuant to standardized forms in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
(d) The department shall post the information reported pursuant to subdivision (a) within 45 days on the department’s internet website.
(1) Information submitted to the department pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall be posted on the department’s internet website in an aggregated form.
(2) Unaggregated information submitted to the department pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall be exempt from public disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2027.

SEC. 3.
The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which amends Section 14549.3 of the Public Resources Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to ensure that proprietary information is protected and to protect against unfair competitive disadvantages to beverage manufacturers, it is necessary to protect from public disclosure unaggregated proprietary information related to the amounts of imported postconsumer recycled plastic used by manufacturers for plastic beverage containers.

SEC. 4.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.