BILL NUMBER: AB 2530	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 18, 2016

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 amended, 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.
  container and would require a manufacturer to use one
or more of several specified methods of determining the average
percentage of postconsumer recycled content for labeling or making a
claim about the postconsumer recycled content of plastic beverage
containers. 
   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  California  Code of
 California  Regulations.
   (b) For purposes of  determining   making a
claim of postconsumer recycled content  and labeling the average
percentage of postconsumer recycled content of plastic beverage
containers, a manufacturer of a beverage shall utilize one or
 both   more  of the  following
approaches:   following: 
   (1) The average  amount   percentage  of
postconsumer recycled content in all  plastic  beverage
containers sold by the manufacturer in the state during the previous
year.
   (2) The average  amount   percentage  of
postconsumer recycled content in  a specified type of
beverage container.   the plastic beverage containers
sold by the manufacturer in the state from the product line that
carries the claim.  
   (3) Any other reasonable methodology for determining minimum
postconsumer recycled content for a claim that is consistent with the
Federal Trade Commission's Guides for the Use of Environmental
Marketing Claims (16 C.F.R. Part 260).  
   (c) Any claim of recycled content made pursuant to this section
shall be accurate and consistent with the Federal Trade Commission's
Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (16 C.F.R. Part
260).  
   (c) 
    (d)  A  manufacturer may use an independent 
third-party certification entity  shall   to
 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) 
    (e)  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.