California EPR Update – SB 54 Regulations Approved and in Effect; Producer Registration Required by June 1

On Friday, CalRecycle announced that the permanent regulations for California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act were approved. The Act established minimum content requirements for single-use packaging and single-use plastic food service ware, to be achieved through an extended producer responsibility program. CalRecycle estimates that the law will apply to more than 5,700 producers. In this post, we discuss Friday’s action, the quickly approaching producer registration deadline and other updates from CalRecycle.

Friday’s approval by the California Office of Administrative Law, which was required before the regulations could take effect, was the last step in a three-year rulemaking process. On January 29, CalRecycle published revised proposed regulations and initiated a 15-day written comment period on changes to earlier draft regulations. The regulations were submitted to OAL for final review on March 19.

The regulations, which run more than 160 pages, implement the Act. Among other things, the regulations address compliance requirements for producers.  

The near-term action item for producers is to register, if they have not already done so. Producers have until June 1 to do one of the following: 

• If participating in Circular Action Alliance, the approved Producer Responsibility Organization, register with and submit supply data to CAA.
• If complying individually, register with CalRecycle and apply to be an independent producer.
• If qualifying for a small producer exemption, register with CalRecycle and apply for the exemption.    

Producers can register with CAA here. CalRecycle has launched a new electronic portal, the Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility System (PEPRS), which is designed to support producer registration, reporting, document submittals and compliance monitoring for producers that are not participating in CAA. Those producers can create an account here.

In addition to registration, reporting and paying EPR fees, producers have other obligations under the Act, Producers ultimately are required to ensure, by 2032:

• 100% of single-use packaging and single-use plastic food service ware sold in CA is recyclable or compostable;
• 65% of single-use plastic packaging and single-use food service ware is recycled; and
• a 25% reduction, compared to 2023, in the sale or distribution of single-use plastic packaging and single-use food service ware.

There also are interim recycling and source reduction targets under the Act.

To assist producers with transitioning into program implementation, CalRecycle has established a new webpage with guidance for producers. This information may be helpful for producers and others in navigating the requirements under the Act. Among other things, the page includes a high-level overview of the Act’s requirements, information on CAA and links to various resources.

CalRecycle indicated it also soon plans to publish new guidance materials. These include a situational screening tool for SB 54 and guidance for identifying covered materials for producers of single-use packaging and plastic food service ware.  

Recent EPR developments in other states are further discussed in this Ropes & Gray post.  

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