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 NOTICE OF PROPOSED ACTION 
 
AB 793 PLASTIC CONTENT REPORTING AND COMPLIANCE 
PERMANENT REGULATIONS 
 
DEPARTMENT OF RESOURCES RECYCLING AND RECOVERY, 
DIVISION OF RECYCLING 
 
TITLE 14. NATURAL RESOURCES 
DIVISION 2. DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION 
CHAPTER 5. DIVISION OF RECYCLING 
 
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Department  of Resources Recycling and Recovery , 
Division of Recycling  (CalRecycle ), proposes to adopt amendments as described in the 
Informative Digest. After considering all comments, objections, and recommendations 
regarding the proposed action, CalRecycle  may adopt the proposals substantially as 
described in the Informative Digest o r may modify such proposals if such modifications 
are sufficiently related to the original text.   
 
PUBLIC HEARING  
 
CalRecycle will hold a  hybrid  public hearing starting at 1:00pm  on March 21, 2023 . The 
public hearing will be accessible  in person  in the Sierra  Hearing  Room  located on the 
2nd floor of the  CalRecycle headquarters at 1001 I Street, Sacramento, Califo rnia. The 
Sierra  Hearing  room  is wheelchair accessible. The public hearing will also be accessible 
virtually via Zoom. Instructions for how to access the Zoom public hearing, including the 
specific Zoom  link, can be found on CalRecycle’s website , 
www.calrecycle.ca.gov/Laws/Rulemaking/ .    
 
At the  public  hearing, any person may present statements or arguments, orally , in 
writing,  or in the chat of the Zoom meeting,  relevant to the proposed action. CalRecyc le 
requests, but does not require, that  any person who make s oral comments also submit 
a written copy of their testimon y at the hearing.  All comments in the virtual hearing will 
be collected and  recorded.  
 
WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD  
 
The written comment period permits any interested person, or their authorized 
representative, to submit written comments addressing the proposed amendments to 
CalRecycle . Written comments, which offer a recommendation and/or objection, or 
support the propo sed amendment, should indicate the amended section to which the 
comment or comments are directed. CalRecycle  will only consider w ritten comments 
sent to CalRecycle  and received during the written comment period, which begins on  
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 February 3, 2023,  and ends at the conclusion of the rulemaking hearing on March 21, 
2023 . Additionally, CalRecycle  requests that written comments reference a subsection 
or section of the proposed action. Written comments received by CalRecycle  after the 
close of the public comment p eriod will not be responded to in the rulemaking file. 
Submit your written comments to:  
 
Claire Derksen  
AB 793 Plastic Content Reporting and Compliance Permanent Regulations  
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, Regulation s Unit 
1001 “I” St., MS -24B, Sacramento, CA 9581 2.  
 
During the comment period, written comments may also be e-mailed to:  
Regulations@calrecycle.ca.gov  
 
 
AUTHORITY AND REFERENCE  
 
Authority: Public Resources Code  sections 14530.5 and 14536 authorize CalRecycle  to 
adopt these proposed regulations.  
 
Reference: The proposed regulations implement, interpret , and make specific section s 
14547  and 14549.3  of the Public Resources Code by proposing changes to the 
following sections 2000,  2100, 2235, and 2240  and adding new sections  2250, 2260, 
2265, 2780, 2785, 2790, and 2795  to Chapter 5, Division 2, Title 14 of the Californi a 
Code of Regulations .  
 
INFORMATIVE DIGEST /POLICY STATEMENT  
 
Summary of Existing Laws  and Effect of the Proposed Action  
The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, Public 
Resources Code (Pub. Res. Code) section 14500 et seq.  (Act), created the California 
Beverage Container Recycling Program (BCRP). The Department  of Resources 
Recycling and Recovery  (Department  or CalRecycle ), Division of Recycling ( Division ) 
administers the B everage Container Recycling Program  which was created through the 
Act as a California Redemption Value (CRV) deposit and return system to reduce the 
beverage container component of litter and create convenient beverage container 
recycling opportunities in the state. CalRecycle  is tasked wit h ensuring consumers 
throughout the state have convenient recycling options to which they can return their 
CRV beverage containers and claim their deposit . CalRecycle  is also tasked with  
monitoring and enforcing the usage of postconsumer recycled  (PCR)  plastic content in 
the manufacturing of plastic beverage containers subject to CRV.  
AB 2530 (Chapter 861, Statutes of 2016) required a manufacturer of a beverage  
(beverage manufacturer)  sold in a plastic beverage container subject to CRV to report 
to CalRecyc le the amount of virgin plastic and PCR  plastic used by the manufacturer for 
plastic CRV -eligible beverages sold in the state during the previous calendar year.  
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 CalRecycle  is required to post the reported information on CalRecycle ’s public website 
annually.  
 
Existing law, AB 793 (Chapter 115, Statutes of 2020) , Pub. Res. Code section  14549.3 , 
require s beverage manufacturers to report to CalRecycle the amoun t in pounds by resin 
type of virgin and postconsumer recycled plastic used by the manufacturer for plastic 
beverage containers subject to CRV  for sale in the sa le for the previous calendar year.  
 
The proposed regulations  adopt definitions for postconsumer recycled material and 
post-industrial recycled material  and establish the form and manner for beverage 
manufacturers  to submit this required reporting to CalRecycle.  These regulations also 
add a documentation retention requirement and specifie s the kinds of documents 
required to be kept as evidence  for postconsumer recy cled plastic used in plastic 
beverage containers subject to C RV. 
 
Existing law, AB 793 , Pub. Res. Code section  14549.3 require s a plastic material 
reclaimer to report to CalRecycle the amount in pounds and by resin type of empty 
plastic be verage containers subject to the CRV , that the plastic material reclaimer 
collected and sold in the previous year.  
 
The proposed regulations  adopt a definition for plastic material reclaimer, clarify that an 
identification number will be provided by CalRecycle to a plastic material reclaimer, and 
establish the form an d manner for a plastic material reclaimer to submit  the plastic 
material reclaimer report  to CalRecycle.  
 
Existing law, AB 793 , Pub. Res. Code section  14549.3 , requires a manufacturer of 
postconsumer recycled plastic to report to CalRecycle the amount in pounds of food -
grade flake, pellet, sheet, fines, or other forms that were sold in the prev ious calendar 
year; their capacity to produce food -grade material , specifying the amoun t in pounds of 
material that meets beverage manufacturer specifications for bottle -grade material; and 
to include the amount in pounds of food -grade material sold in the state for beverag e 
processing.  
 
The proposed regulations  adopt a definition of a manufacturer of postconsumer 
recycled plastic, definitions for food -grade and bottle -grade, a clarification that an 
identificat ion number will be provided by CalRecycle to a manufacturer of postconsumer 
recycled plastic, and the for m and manner for a manufacturer of postconsumer recycled 
plastic to submit the manufacturer of postconsumer recycled plastic  report to 
CalRecycle.  
 
Existing law, AB 793 , Pub. Res. Code section 14547 , provide s beverage manufacturers, 
through an association, to petition  the Director of CalRecycle to adjust the minimum 
postconsumer recycled plastic content standards annually  beginning on January 1, 
2025 . 
 
The proposed regulations  establish  that on or after January 1, 2025,  an association that  
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 petitions the Director to adjust the minimum postconsumer recycled plastic content 
standard must represent at least 35% of all registered beverage manufacturers that 
reported plastic beverage containers for the previous calendar year. These regulations 
also establish the form and manner for the association to submit the petition to 
CalRecycle, a deadline of December 1 to file a petition, and a date of May 1, in the 
subsequent year, by when the Director will either grant or deny the petition. 
 
Existing law, AB 793, Pub. Res. Code section 14547, establishes minimum 
postconsumer recycled plastic content standards for plastic beverage containers subject 
to CRV  and the administrative penalties for not meeting those minimum postconsumer 
recycled plastic content standards. This section permits beverage manufacturers to 
request a reduction in administrative penalties and requires beverage manufacturers to 
obtain approval of a corrective action plan before any request is granted by the Director 
of CalRecycle. 
 
The proposed regulations establish the form and manner for a beverage manufacturer 
to submit a request for reduction in administrative penalties and corrective action plans. 
The proposed regulations establish when a request for reduction in administrative 
penalties must be submitted to CalRecycle. The proposed regulations establish and 
clarify the criteria that the Director of CalRecycle will use when deciding to grant or deny 
a reduction in administrative remedies.  
 
Existing law, Pub. Res. Code section 14591.1(a)(2) and section 2100 of title 14 of the 
California Code of Regulations, establish a notice of violation process for the 
assessment of civil penalties of less than $1000 for specified violations of the Act and 
the adopted regulations for the Act. 
 
The proposed regulations amend section 2100 to include Pub. Res. Code section 
14549.3 to make clear that failure to file a required report correctly and accurately by a 
beverage manufacturer, a plastic material reclaimer, or a manufacturer of postconsumer 
recycled plastic may be subject to discipline through the Notice of Violation process.  
Statement on Substantial Difference from Existing, Comparable Federal 
Regulation or Statute  
CalRecycle evaluated this regulatory proposal and determined that it does not have any 
substantial differences from existing, comparable federal regulations or statutes.  
Policy Statement Overview/Anticipated Benefits of Proposal  
The goal of AB 793 is to help develop domestic markets for recycled plastic, reduce the 
amount of virgin plastic used, and provide a closed-loop solution for plastic beverage 
containers by establishing minimum PCR plastic content standards for plastic beverage 
containers subject to CRV.  
 
The proposed regulations and amendments to existing regulations provide the following  
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 benefits that are aligned with the goals of AB 793:  
• Defines reporting entities (plastic material reclaimer and manufacturer of 
postcons umer recycled plastic) and the goods whose production volume they are 
required to report (bottle -grade plastic and food -grade plastic) as specified in 
Pub. Res. Code section s 14549.3(b) and (c).  
• Clarifies the procedures and information required for an association of a group of 
beverage manufacturers to petition CalRecycle to reduce the PCR plastic 
minimum content standard as specified in Pub. Res. Code section  
14547(a)(4)(A).  
• Provides the form and  manner for completing mandated reporting by beverage 
manufacturers, plastic material reclaimers, and manufacturers of postconsumer 
recycled plastic specified in Pub. Res. Code section  14549.3.  
• Includes recordkeeping requirements of minimum recycled plast ic content 
documentation for beverage manufacturers to facilitate reporting the content of 
virgin and PCR plastic specified in Pub. Res. Code section  14549.3(a).  
• Establishes the procedures and information required for a request to reduce 
administrative penalties and submission of corrective action plans  by individual 
beverage manufacturers as permitted by  Pub. Res. Code  section  14547(e).  
• Permits CalRecycle to use the Notice of Violation process in section 2100 of title 
14 of the California  Code of Regulations to impose discipline on beverage 
manufacturers, plastic material reclaimers, and  manufacturers of postconsumer 
recycled plastic  for failure to submit required reports accurately and correctly , 
which is a less costly form of discipline and permits for lower assessments of civil 
penalties when compared to the other discipline provisions of the Act.  
 
Additionally, the proposed regulations will benefit the health and welfare of California 
residents along with the state’s environment by prov iding the specificity necessary to 
implement a minimum PCR plastic standard for plastic beverage containers, which will 
increase the demand for recycled plastic, reduce plastic litter, and increase the use of 
recycled plastic in the manufacture of plastic beverage containers thereby reducing  
greenhouse gas emissions, as compared to the use of virgin plastic.  There are no 
anticipated benefits to worker safety , the prevention of discrimination, the promotion of 
fairness or social equity, or an increase in transparency in business and government.  
 
Consistency and Compatibility with Existing State Regulations  
CalRecycle  evaluated this regulatory proposal and  determined that it is not inconsistent 
nor incompatible with existing state regulations. T he proposed regulations will not be 
duplicative of other existing regulations as the BCRP is unique to the state of California, 
and there is no other agency outside of CalRecycle that administers payments and 
claims for recycling beverage containers. Addit ionally, there is no other program within 
the state of California that administers or imposes requirements for minimum 
postconsumer recycling content of beverage containers subject to CRV or for any other 
type of food or drink container sold in California.  
 
Incorporation by Reference  
This proposed regulatory action does not incorporate any documents by reference.   
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MANDATED BY FEDERAL LAW OR REGULATIONS  
CalRecycle has evaluated this regulatory proposal and has determined that it is not 
inconsistent nor incompatible with existing federal regulations or statutes. The Act which 
created the BCRP, pursuant to Pub. Res Code section 14500 et seq., is unique to the 
state of California.  
 
LOCAL MANDATE  
 
CalRecycle  made the following initial determination : 
 
Mandate on Local Agencies and School Districts:   None  
 
 
FISCAL IMPACT  
 
CalRecycle ma de the following initial determinations:  
 
Costs or Savings to Any State Agenc y: There is no fiscal impact to any state agency.  
 
Cost to Any Local Agency or School Dist rict for Which Government Code 
sections 17500 - 17630 Require Reimbursement:  None  
 
 
Nondiscretionary Costs/Savings to Local Agencies:  None  
 
Costs/Savings in Federal Funding to the State:  None  
 
 
HOUSING COSTS  
 
Effect on Housing Costs:   None     
 
 
DETERMINATION ON SIGNIFICANT STATEWIDE ADVERSE 
ECONOMIC IMPACT DIRECTLY AFFECTING BUSINESS  
 
Business Impact   
 
CalRecycle  determines  that the proposed regulatory action would have no significant 
statewide adverse economic impact directly affecting business, including the ability of 
California businesses to compete with businesses in other states. This proposal is not  
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 intended to create , expand, or eliminate businesses within the State of California. The 
scope of the proposed regulations is limited to the form and manner of implement ing the 
reporting requirements, administrative penalties, and relief measures to reduce 
administrative penalties . 
 
RESULTS OF ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT/ANALYSIS:  
 
Statement of the Results of Economic Impact Assessment and Impact on 
Jobs/Businesses  
CalRecycle  does not anticipate that any jobs will be created or eliminated within 
California, or that any new businesses will be created, or existing businesses eliminated 
within California because of these regulations. CalRecycle also does not anticipate any 
expans ion of businesses currently doing business within California because of these 
regulations. This proposal is not intended to create or eliminate jobs.  
 
Benefits of Regulation  
The scope of these proposed regulations is generally limited to the form and manner of 
implementing the reporting requirements, administrative penalties, and relief measures 
from administrative penalties. The proposed amendments will provide the benefit of  
clarifying the language introduced by AB 793 and provide the method for implementing 
the reporting requirements and penalties. The proposed regulations are also in 
alignment with and are anticipated to provide benefits relating to the goal of AB 793 to 
help develop domestic markets for recycled plastic, reduce the amount of virgin plastic 
used, and provide a closed -loop solution for plastic beverage containers by establishing 
minimum PCR plastic content standards for plastic beverage containers subject to CRV.  
 
Additionally, the proposed regulations will benefit the health and welfare of California 
residents along with the state’s environment by providing the specificity necessary to 
implement a minimum PCR plastic standard for plastic beverage containers,  which will 
increase the demand for recycled plastic, reduce plastic litter, and increase the use of 
recycled plastic in the manufacture of plastic beverage containers thereby reducing 
greenhouse gas emissions, as compared to the use of virgin plastic.  There are no 
anticipated benefits to worker safety , the prevention of discrimination, the promotion of 
fairness or social equity, or an increase in transparency in business and government.  
 
 
COST IMPACTS ON REPRESENTATIVE PERSON OR BUSINESS  
 
CalRecycle estim ates the cost impact of this proposed regulation on a representative 
private person or business  is generally limited to the form and manner of reporting a 
minimum PCR content standard for plastic beverage containers as specified in Pub. 
Res. Code section 14549.3, preparing and submitting corrective action plans , requests 
for a reduction in administrative remedies as specified in Pub. Res. Code section 
14547, and preparing and submitting petitions to the Director of CalRecycle to adjust 
the postconsumer recycled plastic minimum content standard as specified in Pub . Res. 
Code section 14547.   
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BUSINESS REPORT  
 
Pub. Res. Code section  14549.3 requires three entities to submit specific reports : 
beverage manufacturers that offer plast ic beverage containers for sale in the state, 
manufacturers of postconsumer recycled pla stic, and plastic material reclaim ers. These 
regulations establish the form and manner of those reports. Consequentl y, CalRecycle  
determined that this regulatory proposal require s report s. This regulatory proposal does 
not introduce any new reports .   
 
CalRecycle  finds that t he documentation required by  manufacturers of postconsumer 
recycled plastic, plastic material reclaimers, and  beverage manufacturers  that offer 
plastic beverage containers for sale in the state  is necessary for the health, safet y and 
welfare of the people of the state . It is also  necessary that the proposed regulations 
apply to businesses  that sell plastic beverage containers, reclaim PCR material, and  
manufactur e PCR material .  
 
EFFECT ON SMALL BUSINESS  
 
Approximately 69 5 businesses will be impacted by these proposed regulations, of which 
668 are beverage manufacturers that sell beverages in plastic beverage containers and 
27 are plastic material reclaimers or manufacturers of PCR  plastic . Of the 668 beverage 
manufacture rs impacted, 494 are considered small businesses defined as those paying 
less than $1 5,000 annually in processing fees for all material types pursuant to Pub. 
Res. Code section  14575(d). Of the 2 7 plastic material reclaimers and manufacturers of 
PCR plastic impacted, 9 are considered small businesses defined as receiving less than 
$100,000 annually in Plastic Market Development Payments  pursuant to Pub. Res. 
Code section  14549.2. The amount of Plas tic Market Development Payments is directly 
related to the volumetric production of a business and therefore provides insight into a 
business’s size and capacity.  
The total number of small businesses impacted is 50 3 or 72 percent of the total (695) 
businesses identified . 
 
ALTERNATIVES  INFORMATION  
 
In accordance with Government Code section 11346.5(a)(13), CalRecycle  must 
determine that no reasonable alternative considered or that has otherwise been 
identified and brought to the attention of the agency would be more effective in carrying 
out the purpose for which the action is proposed , or would be as effective and less 
burdensome to affected private persons than the proposed action described in this 
Notice, or would be more cost -effective to affected private persons and equally effective 
in imple menting the statutory policy or other provision of law.  
 
CalRecycle  invites interested persons to present statements or arguments with respect  
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 to alternatives to the proposed regulations during the written comment period, or at the 
scheduled public hearin g. 
 
 
CONTACT PERSONS  
 
Inquiries or comments concerning the proposed rulemaking action may be addressed 
to: 
 
Claire Derksen  
1001 I Street, MS -24B 
Sacramento, CA 9581 2 
E-Mail: Regulations@calrecycle.ca.gov  
Telephone: (916) 327-0089  
  
  
 
The backup contact person is:  
 
Craig Castleton  
1001  I Street, MS -24B 
Sacramento, CA 9581 2 
E-Mail: Regulations@calrecycle.ca.gov   
Telephone: (916) 327-0089  
 
 
AVAILABILITY STATEMENTS  
 
Availability of Initial Statement of Reasons, Text of Proposed Regulations, 
Information Upon which this  Proposal is Based, and Rulemaking File  
CalRecycle  has prepared an initial statement of reasons for the proposed action.  Copies 
of the  proposed regulation  text, the initial statement of reasons, and all the information 
upon which this proposal is based is available upon request or at our website: 
www.calrecycle.ca.gov/Laws/Rulemaking /.  
 
All the information upon which the proposed regulations are based is contained in the 
rulemaking file, which  is available for public inspection during normal business hours at 
CalRecycle , 1001 “I” Street, 24th Floor, Sacramento, California  95812,  by contac ting the 
contact person identified in this notice.   
 
Availability of Documents for Physical Inspection Only  
CalRecycle will not make the following documents available from the website, but will 
make the following documents available for public inspection at the location explained 
below:  
 
Attachment 1: The Plastic Beverage Container Virgin and Postconsumer Resin Report   
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 covering calendar year 2021 documents will only be available for physical inspection  
 
and 
 
Attachment 3:  The International Standard ISO 14021: Environmental labels and 
declarations – Self-declared environment claims (Type II environmental labelling)  
 
These document s are available for public inspection during normal business hours at 
CalRecycle, 1001 “I” Street, 24th Floor, Sacramento, California 95812, by contacting the 
contact person identified in this notice.  
 
Availability of Modified Text  
After considering all timely comments received CalRecycle  may adopt the proposed 
regulations substantially as described in this notice. If CalRecycle  makes modifications, 
which  are sufficiently related to the originally proposed text, the full modified tex t with 
the changes clearly indicated shall be made available to the public for at least 15 days 
prior to the date on which CalRecycle  adopts the resulting regulations. Requests for 
copies of any modified regulations should be addressed to CalRecycle  contac t person 
identified in this notice. CalRecycle  will accept written comments on the modified 
regulations for 15 days after the date on which they are first made available to the 
public.  
 
Availability of the Final Statement of Reasons  
Upon its completion, copies of the Final Statement of Reasons may be obtained by 
request from the contact person identified in this notice or accessed through 
CalRecycle ’s website at www.calrec ycle.ca.gov/Laws/Rulemaking/ .  
 
INTERNET ACCESS  
For more timely access to the rulemaking file, and in the interest of waste prevention, 
interested parties are encouraged to access CalRe cycle’s  Internet webpage for the 
rulemaking at www.calrecyc le.ca.gov/Laws /Rulemaking/ . All rulemaking files can be 
downloaded directly from the website.  
 
 
 