BILL NUMBER: AB 2530	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gordon

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to add Sections 14549.3 and 14575.2 to the Public Resources
Code, relating to recycling.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2530, as introduced, Gordon. Recycling: beverage containers.
   Existing law, the California Beverage Container Recycling and
Litter Reduction Act, requires that every beverage container sold or
offered for sale in this state have a minimum refund value. A
beverage distributor is required to pay a redemption payment to the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery for every beverage
container sold or offered for sale in the state to a dealer, and the
department is required to deposit those amounts in the California
Beverage Container Recycling Fund. The act defines the term "beverage"
for these purposes to include certain types of products in liquid,
ready-to-drink form, and also excludes specified products from the
definition of "beverage."
   This bill, beginning January 1, 2018, would require a manufacturer
of a beverage sold in a plastic beverage container to clearly
indicate through labeling the average percentage of postconsumer
recycled content in the beverage container, subject to certification
by a 3rd party certification entity, as specified.
   Existing law provides for the department to reduce processing fees
paid by beverage manufacturers under certain circumstances.
   This bill would require a beverage manufacturer to demonstrate
compliance with the labeling provisions annually to the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery, and would prohibit the department
from reducing processing fees unless the manufacturer demonstrates
compliance.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 14549.3 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:
   14549.3.  (a) On and after January 1, 2018, a manufacturer of a
beverage sold in a plastic beverage container shall clearly indicate
through labeling the average percentage of postconsumer recycled
content in the beverage container by either printing or embossing the
beverage container or by securely affixing a clear and prominent
stamp, label, or other device to the beverage container. The
indication of postconsumer recycled content shall follow the size and
format requirements described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of
Section 2200 of Title 14 of the Code of California Regulations.
   (b) For purposes of determining and labeling the average
percentage of postconsumer recycled content of plastic beverage
containers, a manufacturer of a beverage shall utilize one or both of
the following approaches:
   (1) The average amount of postconsumer recycled content in all
beverage containers sold by the manufacturer in the state during the
previous year.
   (2) The average amount of postconsumer recycled content in a
specified type of beverage container.
   (c) A third-party certification entity shall certify that the
manufacturer's plastic beverage containers meet the requirements of
this section. The third-party certification entity shall be an
independent, accredited (ISO/IEC 17025) laboratory.
   (d) This section does not apply to a refillable plastic beverage
container.
  SEC. 2.  Section 14575.2 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
   14575.2.  (a) A manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic
beverage container shall demonstrate compliance with Section 14549.3
to the department on an annual basis.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 14575, the
department shall not reduce the processing fee requirements for a
beverage manufacturer for a plastic container sold in this state
unless the manufacturer demonstrates to the department that the
plastic beverage container complies with the labeling requirements of
Section 14549.3, regardless of whether the plastic beverage
container is manufactured in this state.