(1) The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires every beverage container sold or offered for sale in this state to have a minimum refund value. Under the act, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery is required to calculate a processing fee for each beverage container with a specified scrap value, which is required to be paid by beverage manufacturers for each beverage container sold or transferred to a distributor or dealer.

The act requires each glass container manufacturer to use a minimum percentage of 35% of postfilled glass in the manufacturing of its glass food, drink, or beverage containers, except as specified.

Existing law provides that a violation of the act or a regulation adopted pursuant to the act is a crime.

This bill, on and after January 1, 2022, would require the total number of plastic beverage containers filled with a beverage sold by a beverage manufacturer, as specified, to contain, on average, specified amounts of postconsumer recycled plastic content per year pursuant to a tiered plan that would require the total number of plastic beverage containers to contain, on average, no less than 50% postconsumer recycled plastic content per year on and after January 1, 2030, except as specified.

The bill would impose annual administrative penalties, calculated as prescribed, on a beverage manufacturer for violating these requirements, except as specified. The bill would authorize the department to enforce these provisions and conduct audits and investigations of a beverage manufacturer for the purpose of ensuring compliance. The bill would exempt from the California Public Records Act certain trade secrets and proprietary information resulting from those audits and investigations. The bill would require administrative penalties collected to be deposited in the Recycling Enhancement Penalty Account, which the bill would create. The bill would require moneys in the Recycling Enhancement Penalty Account to be expended upon appropriation for the sole purpose of supporting the recycling, infrastructure, collection, and processing of plastic beverage containers in the state. The bill would authorize the department, if the Legislature makes an appropriation before June 15, 2027, for this purpose, to contract with a research university to study specified markets and would authorize the department to allocate moneys from the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, upon that appropriation, for the study if certain conditions are met. If that appropriation is made and the department undertakes the study, the bill would require the study to be completed by May 1, 2028.

The bill would prohibit a city, county, or other local government jurisdiction from adopting an ordinance regulating the minimum recycled plastic content requirements for plastic beverage containers.

Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2) Existing law requires a manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic beverage container subject to the California Redemption Value, as specified, to annually report to the department the amount 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.

This bill would require, beginning March 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, a plastic material reclaimer to report to the department the amount in pounds and by resin type of empty plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value that the plastic material reclaimer has collected and sold in the previous calendar year. The bill would require, beginning March 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, a manufacturer of postconsumer recycled plastic to 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 its capacity to produce food-grade material, as specified. The bill would require a plastic material reclaimer and a manufacturer of postconsumer recycled plastic to report the required information under penalty of perjury. By requiring that the information be submitted under penalty of perjury, the bill would expand the crime of perjury and impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) Existing law requires all rigid plastic bottles and rigid plastic containers sold in California to be labeled with a code that indicates the resin used to produce the rigid plastic bottle or rigid plastic container.

This bill would exempt rigid plastic containers or rigid plastic bottles that are medical devices, medical products that are required to be sterile, prescription medicine, and packaging used for those products from the labeling requirement described above.

(4) 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.

(5) 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.