Solid waste: products: recycled content claims.

The expansion of recycled content requirements from plastic food container products to all products is now delayed until January 1, 2030, rather than taking effect immediately. The existing section for plastic food container products also receives a sunset date of January 1, 2030.

The bill was restructured into three sections: Section 1 amends the existing 42357.6 to apply only to plastic food container products (with a 2030 sunset), Section 2 adds a new 42357.6 applying to all products making voluntary recycled content claims (operative 2030), and Section 3 contains legislative findings supporting public records access limitations.

A tiered disclosure system was added: manufacturers of plastic food container products must furnish documentation to any member of the public upon request, while manufacturers of other products only need to furnish documentation to the Attorney General when the AG suspects a violation. Both must disclose which chain of custody model was used and over what period (fiscal quarter or annual).

A new option allows manufacturers or suppliers of non-food-container products to have their recycled content claims reviewed by an independent third-party auditor instead of providing documentation directly to the Attorney General. The auditor must issue an attestation or audit report identifying any material deficiencies or nonconformities.

The third-party certification requirement now includes an exception allowing audited documentation to substantiate recycled content claims for materials where third-party certification is not feasible.

Proportional attribution, as defined in ISO standard 22095-2:2026, is added as an acceptable chain of custody method alongside the existing segregated model, controlled blending model, and rolling average percentage method. However, it is conditioned on no recycling credits being provided to fuel use or fuel production and no credit transfers between unrelated processes.

The explicit definition of 'postconsumer' (material that would otherwise be destined for disposal, having completed its intended end use and product life cycle) was removed from the new all-products section, though the term remains in use. The previous version's broad prohibition on all credit-based mass balance accounting and book-and-claim approaches was replaced with a more targeted approach that permits proportional attribution under specific conditions.

Confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information provided to the Attorney General under the new section is exempt from the California Public Records Act and protected from public disclosure to the fullest extent permitted by law. Legislative findings are included to satisfy constitutional requirements for limiting public access.

The identity-preserved model was added to the list of acceptable chain of custody models (alongside segregated model, controlled blending model, and rolling average percentage method) that manufacturers or suppliers may use to determine actual recycled content under ISO standard 22095:2020(E). This gives companies an additional recognized method for substantiating their recycled content claims.

Section 3 (legislative findings) was clarified to include the full code reference 'Section 42357.6 of the Public Resources Code' instead of just 'Section 42357.6,' improving precision in the constitutional findings language.

The bill now applies only to voluntary recycled content claims made on physical product labels or digital product labeling for products sold online, rather than to all environmental marketing claims relating to recycled content of a product.

The exclusion for regulatory filings was broadened to explicitly exclude voluntary recycled content claims on labels and digital labeling, and to cover filings, plans, or statements submitted by producer responsibility organizations in addition to the previously listed statutes.

New requirement that the amount of recycled content claimed on a label must not exceed the amount of third-party certified recycled content introduced into the manufacturer's or supplier's overall supply stream for that product line, with allowance for normal variations in individual products.

New requirement that recycled content claims be based on actual recycled content using chain of custody models (segregated model, controlled blending model, or rolling average percentage method) as described in ISO standard 22095:2020(E).

The deemed-compliance exemption for plastic beverage containers under Section 14549.3 was expanded to satisfy both the original physical recycled content requirement and the new third-party certification and chain of custody requirements.

New subdivision (b)(3)(B) provides that for plastic beverage containers subject to Section 14549.3, compliance with the reporting requirements established under that section is deemed to satisfy the recycled content documentation requirements of subparagraph (A). This creates a streamlined path for beverage container manufacturers who are already reporting under existing law.

New subdivision (d) clarifies that environmental marketing claims do not include regulatory filings made in compliance with state or federal law. Specifically listed exclusions are: SEC filings, Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act reports (Section 38532 H&S Code), Climate Related Financial Risk Disclosure Program submissions (Section 38533 H&S Code), Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act filings, Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 filings, rigid plastic packaging container law filings, and plastic trash bag law filings.

In subdivision (b)(3)(A), the phrase 'free proportional credit' was changed to simply 'proportional credit,' removing the word 'free.' This is a minor clarification of the types of accounting methods excluded.

The old subdivision (d) ('This section does not limit the requirements of this chapter or any other law') was renumbered to subdivision (e) to accommodate the new subdivision (d).

Minor grammatical corrections in the bill summary: 'the recycled content claim to be is' corrected to 'the recycled content claim is,' and a duplicated word 'product product' corrected to 'product.'

The bill's application is expanded from 'plastic food container products' to all products. The definition of 'plastic food container product' is removed entirely, and all references to that term are replaced with simply 'product.'

Specific calculation methods are now enumerated as acceptable: segregated model, controlled blending model, and rolling average percentage. These were not listed in the introduced version.

The prohibition on certain accounting methods is expanded from 'credit-based mass balance accounting, including free allocation' to 'credit-based mass balance accounting, including free proportional credit and nonproportional credit allocation,' making the exclusion more specific and comprehensive.

The phrase 'both of the following' is corrected to 'all of the following' to match the three listed requirements. The language 'physical recycled content in the product' is refined to 'physical recycled content used in the production of the product.'

The definition of 'plastic food container product' (a product made of plastic that includes a tray, clamshell container, or other receptacle used to hold food) is removed since the bill now applies to all products.