California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act: reusable beverage containers.

The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, is established to promote beverage container recycling and provides for the payment, collection, and distribution of certain payments and fees based on minimum refund values established for beverage containers. The act requires a distributor of beverage containers to pay to the department the redemption payment for every beverage container sold or transferred to a dealer for deposit into the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund. The act defines "recycling" for its purposes as the reuse or refilling of empty beverage containers, or the process of sorting, cleansing, treating, and reconstituting empty postfilled beverage containers for the purpose of using the altered form. The act requires the department to certify processors and requires certified processors to comply with specified requirements for operation, including, among others, taking the actions necessary and approved by the department to cancel containers to render them unfit for redemption. A violation of the act is an infraction. This bill would authorize the department to authorize a processor to satisfy that cancellation requirement by washing a reusable beverage container or transferring a reusable beverage container for subsequent washing to a processor approved by the department. The bill would authorize the department to certify additional models of processors that are determined necessary to implement that provision and would require, by January 1, 2024, the Director of Resources Recycling and Recovery to adopt by regulation the requirements and standards for the certification and operation of those processors, as specified. By creating crimes relating to reusable beverage containers, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would define "reusable beverage container" for purposes of the act to mean a glass beverage container with a refund value established pursuant to the act and that is processed by a processor for subsequent washing for refill and sale by a beverage manufacturer. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.