Recycling: beverage containers: recycling centers.

(1) Existing law, the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (act) , requires a distributor to pay a redemption payment for every beverage container sold or offered for sale in the state to the Division of Recycling in the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The division is required to deposit those amounts in the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund. Existing law defines "convenience zone" for the purposes of the act and requires that every convenience zone is to be served by at least one certified recycling center, with specified operating hours. Existing law imposes specified requirements upon dealers located in a convenience zone that is not served by a recycling center, including that the dealer redeem beverage containers at the dealer's location when the dealer is open for business. This bill would define the term "unserved convenience zone" and would make a dealer who is located in an unserved convenience zone and meets certain requirements eligible for the payment of handling fees, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would permit the division to authorize an operator of a certified recycling center to be open for business less than 30 hours per week, but not less than 20 hours per week, if the recycling center is located in an unserved convenience zone, as defined, that has been unserved for at least 6 continuous months. (2) Under existing law, the money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the division to pay, among other things, handling fees to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. Existing law prohibits the division from making handling fee payments to more than one certified recycling center in a convenience zone. This bill would make additional certified recycling centers eligible for handling fees, thereby making an appropriation.