Plastic beverage containers: recycling.

Removed all prior amendment history dates (July 17, 2025; May 23, 2025; April 7, 2025; August 13, 2026; August 20, 2026) and replaced with final passage dates: Passed the Senate August 26, 2026 and Passed the Assembly August 25, 2026.

Added a line indicating the bill was received by the Governor, with blank fields for date and time to be filled in upon delivery.

Reformatted the entire bill text from a working draft layout (with line numbers, page headers, and running footers) to a clean enrolled format suitable for presentation to the Governor. No substantive policy language was changed.

The administrative penalty for failing to meet minimum postconsumer recycled plastic content requirements is increased from $0.20 to $0.30 per pound of virgin plastic used in lieu of the required recycled amount.

The provision requiring the department to post imported postconsumer recycled plastic data in aggregated form and the exemption of unaggregated amounts from the California Public Records Act are removed, as they were tied to the now-eliminated country-of-origin reporting.

The requirement for beverage manufacturers to report, by country of origin, the amount in pounds of imported postconsumer recycled plastic used for plastic beverage containers is eliminated from the new Section 14549.3.

The operative date for the new Section 14549.3 (which replaces the existing section) is pushed back from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028, and the sunset date for the existing Section 14549.3 is extended from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028.

The legislative findings section (former Section 4) that demonstrated the interest protected by limiting public access to unaggregated proprietary information about imported recycled plastic is removed entirely, and the no-reimbursement provision is renumbered from Section 5 to Section 4.

New Section 14547 added establishing minimum postconsumer recycled plastic content percentages: 15% (2022-2024), 25% (2025-2029), and 50% (2030 and after) for plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value.

Preemption provision: cities, counties, and other local government jurisdictions are prohibited from adopting ordinances regulating minimum recycled plastic content requirements for plastic beverage containers.

Administrative penalty of $0.30 per pound of virgin plastic used in lieu of required postconsumer recycled content, collected annually starting March 1, 2024. Penalties deposited into a newly created Recycling Enhancement Penalty Account in the State Treasury.

Penalty rate increased from $0.20 per pound to $0.30 per pound of virgin plastic used in lieu of required recycled content.

Provision for the department to contract with a research university (if appropriated before June 15, 2027) to study PET and HDPE markets, analyze recycling industry conditions, and recommend policy modifications. Study must be completed by May 1, 2028.

Exemption for beverage manufacturers that sell or transfer 16,000,000 or fewer plastic beverage containers to a distributor, dealer, or consumer in California during the reporting year.

Operative date of new Section 14549.3 reporting requirements delayed from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028. Sunset date of existing Section 14549.3 also extended from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028.

Department may conduct audits and investigations against beverage manufacturers for compliance. Enforcement action for failure to pay or underpay penalties requires notice and hearing. Business trade secrets gathered during audits are exempt from the California Public Records Act.

Penalty reduction mechanism: department may reduce administrative penalties if a manufacturer submits a corrective action plan explaining reasons for noncompliance and steps to comply within the next reporting year. Factors considered include anomalous market conditions, supply disruptions, and other preventing factors.

Director may annually review and adjust minimum postconsumer recycled content percentages (but not above the statutory levels) based on market conditions, recycling rates, availability of suitable recycled plastic, processing infrastructure capacity, and manufacturer progress. Review may be initiated by the director or by petition of the beverage manufacturing industry.

Department must publish a list of beverage manufacturers and their brand names on its website by July 1 each year, indicating whether they have complied with applicable postconsumer recycled plastic requirements.

Manufacturers of postconsumer recycled plastic must ensure that validations they provide regarding recycled content are accurate. A beverage manufacturer submitting an inaccurate validation from a PCR manufacturer is not liable if unaware of the inaccuracy.

Wine and distilled spirits in boxes, bladders, or pouches get an additional two years to comply with each deadline. Containers with 46 ounces or more of 100 percent fruit juice or more than 16 ounces of vegetable juice are excluded until January 1, 2026.

Beverage manufacturers may request department review and approval of a similar third-party validation program (other than APR) by November 1 of the calendar year before a report is due.

The third-party validation standard for postconsumer recycled content changed from ISO 22095:2020(E) (segregated model, controlled blending model, or rolling average percentage method) to the APR standard (Association of Plastic Recyclers document APR-PCR-101, published November 18, 2024) or an equivalent standard approved by the department.

A sunset provision was added: the existing Section 14549.3 (as amended) remains in effect only until January 1, 2027, and is repealed as of that date. A replacement section becomes operative on January 1, 2027.

The bill title changed from 'An act to amend Section 14549.3' to 'An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 14549.3,' reflecting the sunset-and-replace structure.

Unaggregated country-of-origin data on imported postconsumer recycled plastic is now exempt from public disclosure under the California Public Records Act. Only aggregated totals will be posted on the department's website.

A new Section 3 adds legislative findings required by Article I, Section 3 of the California Constitution, stating that protecting proprietary country-of-origin data is necessary to prevent unfair competitive disadvantages to beverage manufacturers.

The reporting deadline for plastic material reclaimers and postconsumer recycled plastic manufacturers changed from 'On or before March 1, 2024, and annually thereafter' to simply 'On or before March 1 of each year,' removing the specific 2024 start date in the new operative section.

Third-party validators of postconsumer recycled content must now adhere to at least one applicable ISO standard in addition to meeting the department's existing criteria. Previously, only the department's criteria applied.

New definition of 'applicable ISO standard' specifying three methods from ISO 22095:2020(E): 5.3.2 segregated model, 5.4.1 controlled blending model, and 5.4.2.2.1 rolling average percentage method.

The department is now explicitly authorized to review a third party that provides validation to determine whether it adheres to at least one applicable ISO standard.

Removed redundant word 'both' from the phrase 'both all of the following' in subdivision (a)(1).

Manufacturers of plastic beverage containers subject to the California Redemption Value must now submit proof that their postconsumer recycled content has been validated by a third party who meets the department's criteria for validating such content (referencing Section 42057). This is a new item (C) added to the existing annual report.

The introductory language for the manufacturer reporting list was changed from 'both of the following' to 'all of the following' to accommodate the new third reporting item.