Amended in Assembly May 5, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1108

Introduced by Assembly Member Low

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section 14572 of the Public Resources Code, relating to beverage containers.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1108, as amended, Low. Beverage begin delete Containers: end delete begin insert containers: end insert recycling.

(1) The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires certified recycling centers, when accepting an empty beverage container from a consumer, to pay the refund value. A violation of the act is a crime.

This bill would prohibit a certified recycling center from begin delete accepting or end delete paying the refund value to a consumer for more than 50 pounds of aluminum beverage containers or plastic beverage containers, or any combination thereof, or 500 pounds of glass beverage containers, submitted by that consumer to the certified recycling center in a single 24-hour period. Since a violation of this requirement would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2) 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.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 14572 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

14572.  

(a) (1) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (e),
a certified recycling center shall accept from any consumer or
dropoff or collection program any empty beverage container, and
shall pay to the consumer or dropoff or collection program the
refund value of the beverage container.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), the recycling center
may pay the refund value based on the weight of returned
containers.

(3)  begin delete On and after September 1, 2013, for end delete begin insert For end insert beverage containers
redeemed by consumers, a certified recycling center shall pay the
refund value using the applicable segregated rate, as defined in
paragraph (43) of subsection (a) of Section 2000 of Title 14 of the
California Code of Regulations, as that section read on September
1, 2013, which shall be based on the weight of the redeemed
beverage containers.

(b)  begin delete Any end delete begin insert A end insert recycling center or processor that was in existence
on January 1, 1986, and that refused, as of January 1, 1986, to
accept at a particular location a certain type of empty beverage
container may continue to refuse to accept at the location the type
or types of empty beverage containers that the recycling center or
processor refused to accept as of January 1, 1986. A certified
recycling center that refuses, pursuant to this subdivision, to accept
a certain type or types of empty beverage containers is not eligible
to receive handling fees unless the center agrees to accept all types
of empty beverage containers and is a supermarket site. This
subdivision does not preclude the certified recycling center from
receiving a handling fee for beverage containers redeemed at
supermarket sites that do accept all types of containers.

(c) The department shall develop procedures by which recycling
centers and processors that meet the criteria of subdivision (b) may
recertify to change the material types accepted.

(d) (1) Only a certified recycling center may pay the refund
value to consumers or dropoff or collection programs. A person
shall not pay a noncertified recycler for empty beverage containers
an amount that exceeds the current scrap value for each container
type, which shall be determined in the following manner:

(A) For a plastic or glass beverage container, the current scrap
value shall be determined by the department.

(B) For an aluminum beverage container, the current scrap value
shall be not greater than the amount paid to the processor for that
aluminum beverage container, on the date the container was
purchased, by the location of end use, as defined in the regulations
of the department.

(2) A person shall not receive or retain, for empty beverage
containers that come from out of state, any refund values,
processing payments, or administrative fees for which a claim is
made to the department against the fund.

(3) Paragraph (1) does not affect curbside programs under
contract with cities or counties.

(e) A certified recycling center shall not begin delete accept or end delete pay a refund
value to a consumer for more than 50 pounds of aluminum
beverage containers or plastic beverage containers, or any
combination thereof, or 500 pounds of glass beverage containers,
submitted by that consumer to the certified recycling center during
a single 24-hour period.

SEC. 2.  

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.