Amended in Assembly June 1, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 18, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2530


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, beginningbegin delete Januaryend deletebegin insert Marchend insert 1, 2018, would require a manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic beverage container tobegin delete clearly indicate through labelingend deletebegin insert report to the departmentend insert the average percentage of postconsumer recycled content inbegin delete theend delete beveragebegin delete containerend deletebegin insert containers sold in the state by the manufacturer in the previous yearend insert and would require a manufacturer to use one or more of several specified methods of determining the average percentage of postconsumer recycled content forbegin delete labeling orend delete making a claim about the postconsumer recycledbegin delete content of plastic beverage containers.end deletebegin insert content.end insert

begin delete

Existing law provides for the department to reduce processing fees paid by beverage manufacturers under certain circumstances.

end delete

begin deleteThis end deletebegin insertTheend insert bill would require a beverage manufacturer to demonstrate compliance withbegin delete the labelingend deletebegin insert thoseend insert provisions annually to thebegin delete Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, and would prohibit the department from reducing processing fees unless the manufacturer demonstrates compliance.end deletebegin insert department.end insert

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

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 14549.3 is added to the Public Resources
2Code
, to read:

3

14549.3.  

(a) Onbegin delete and after Januaryend deletebegin insert or before Marchend insert 1, 2018,
4begin insert and annually thereafter,end insert a manufacturer of a beverage sold in a
5plastic beverage container shallbegin delete clearly indicate through labelingend delete
6begin insert report to the departmentend insert the average percentage of postconsumer
7recycled content inbegin delete theend deletebegin insert plasticend insert beverage begin delete container by either printing
8or embossing the beverage container or by securely affixing a clear
9and prominent stamp, label, or other device to the beverage
10container. The indication of postconsumer recycled content shall
11follow the size and format requirements described in paragraph
12(2) of subdivision (b) of Section 2200 of Title 14 of the California
13Code of Regulations.end delete
begin insert containers sold by the manufacturer in the
14state in the previous calendar year.end insert

begin insert

15
(b) The department shall post the information reported pursuant
16to subdivision (a) on the department’s Internet Web site.

end insert
begin delete

13 17(b)

end delete

18begin insert(c)end insert For purposes of making a claim of postconsumer recycled
19begin delete content and labeling the average percentage of postconsumer
20recycled content of plastic beverage containers,end delete
begin insert content pursuant
21to subdivision (a),end insert
a manufacturer of a beverage shall utilize one
22or more of the following:

23(1) The average percentage of postconsumer recycled content
24in all plastic beverage containers sold by the manufacturer in the
25state during the previous year.

P3    1(2) The average percentage of postconsumer recycled content
2in the plastic beverage containers sold by the manufacturer in the
3state from the product line that carries the claim.

4(3) Any other reasonable methodology for determining minimum
5postconsumer recycled content for a claim that is consistent with
6the Federal Trade Commission’s Guides for the Use of
7Environmental Marketing Claims (16 C.F.R. Part 260).

begin delete

P3   1 8(c)

end delete

9begin insert(d)end insert Any claim of recycled content made pursuant to this section
10shall be accurate and consistent with the Federal Trade
11Commission’s Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing
12Claims (16 C.F.R. Part 260).

begin delete

6 13(d)

end delete

14begin insert(e)end insert A manufacturer may use an independent third-party
15certification entity to certify that the manufacturer’s plastic
16beveragebegin delete containers meetend deletebegin insert container postconsumer recycled content
17report pursuant to subdivision (a) meetsend insert
the requirements of this
18section.

begin delete

12 19(e)

end delete

20begin insert(f)end insert This section does not apply to a refillable plastic beverage
21container.

22

SEC. 2.  

Section 14575.2 is added to the Public Resources Code,
23to read:

24

14575.2.  

begin delete(a)end deletebegin deleteend deleteA manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic
25beverage container shall demonstrate compliance with Section
2614549.3 to the department on an annual basis.

begin delete

27(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 14575, the
28department shall not reduce the processing fee requirements for a
29beverage manufacturer for a plastic container sold in this state
30unless the manufacturer demonstrates to the department that the
31plastic beverage container complies with the labeling requirements
32of Section 14549.3, regardless of whether the plastic beverage
33container is manufactured in this state.

end delete


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