2023 California Code › Public Resources Code - PRC › DIVISION 30 - WASTE MANAGEMENT › PART 3 - STATE PROGRAMS › CHAPTER 3 - Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act › ARTICLE 2 - Producer Responsibility › Section 42051.

42051. (a) By January 1, 2024, producers of covered material shall form and join a PRO for the purposes of complying with this chapter. The governing body of the PRO shall submit an application to the department describing how the PRO meets the requirements to be an approved PRO pursuant to this chapter, as described in Section 42061.5. If the department approves the PRO, the PRO shall proceed to carry out the requirements of this chapter. If applications for more than one PRO are submitted to the department by January 1, 2024, the department shall determine which proposed PRO can most effectively implement this chapter.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), upon approval of a plan pursuant to Section 42063, or commencing January 1, 2027, whichever is sooner, a producer shall not sell, offer for sale, import, or distribute covered materials in the state unless the producer is approved to participate in the plan of a PRO that is approved by the department for the source reduction, collection, processing, and recycling of covered material to meet the requirements of this chapter. If an entity does not qualify as a producer and is not subject to this chapter before January 1, 2027, but, after January 1, 2027, becomes a producer by beginning to sell, offer for sale, import, or distribute covered material in the state, the producer shall, within six months, become a participant of the PRO and comply with this chapter.
(2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a producer may comply with this chapter individually without participating in a PRO’s plan if the producer can demonstrate to the department, and the department determines at its sole discretion, that the producer meets all of the following criteria or can demonstrate a recycling rate of 65 percent for three consecutive years prior to January 1, 2027, and on and after that date demonstrates a recycling rate at or over 70 percent annually:
(i) From the 2013 calendar year to the 2022 calendar year, inclusive, the producer achieved a net 5 percent or greater source reduction of its covered materials through shifting to refill, reuse, or elimination.
(ii) From the 2013 calendar year to the 2022 calendar year, inclusive, the producer achieved a net 8 percent or greater source reduction of its covered materials through optimization, concentration, right-sizing, bulking, shifting to a nonplastic packaging, or lightweighting, or increasing the number of consumer uses.
(iii) Seventy-five percent of the producer’s covered material sold, offered for sale, distributed, or imported into the state is in a covered material category that meets a 30-percent recycling rate as of January 1, 2023.
(B) A producer who chooses to comply with this chapter individually shall assume individual responsibility for complying with this chapter, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i) Develop and implement a plan that meets all of the applicable requirements of a producer responsibility plan, including, but not limited to, the review, update, and approval process. The plan shall include a producer source reduction plan that meets all of the applicable requirements of a PRO source reduction plan prepared in accordance with subdivision (d) of Section 42057, including, but not limited to, the review, update, and approval process.
(ii) Fully cover the costs associated with implementing this chapter to the same extent as any other producer participating in a PRO based on the producer’s share of covered material.
(iii) Annually report sales, recycling, composting, and source reduction data to the department pursuant to Sections 42052 and 42057 in a manner determined by the department.
(c) Regardless of whether a producer participates in a PRO plan, each producer in the state shall file its primary business address with the department in a manner prescribed by regulation pursuant to this chapter. Each producer shall notify the department of any change in their business address within 30 days. A PRO may satisfy the requirements of this subdivision on behalf of a producer by including the producer’s primary business address in a plan, update, or annual report pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 42051.3 or otherwise notifying the department of the address and any changes of address.
(d) Each participant of a PRO with an approved plan shall comply with the requirements of this chapter. The PRO shall notify the department within 30 calendar days of any of the following:
(1) The end of any three-month period in which the PRO unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a fee, records, or information from a participant producer, or received incomplete or incorrect records or information pursuant to Section 42052 or 42053.
(2) The date a producer no longer participates in the PRO’s approved plan.
(3) Any instance of noncompliance by a participant producer.
(e) The PRO may organize itself into subcommittees or some other similar structure, including delineation by covered material category, to ensure sufficient focus on each covered material category to better enable each category to meet the recycling rates required in subdivision (c) of Section 42050.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 131, Sec. 183. (AB 1754) Effective January 1, 2024.)