California Code of Regulations › Title 14 - Natural Resources › Division 7 - Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery › Chapter 11 - Product Stewardship › Article 1 - Product Stewardship for Carpets › Section 18944 - Annual Report Compliance Criteria

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) The annual report must contain the
				  following:
(1) Contact information. Identify
				  the manufacturer or stewardship organization responsible for the annual report
				  submittal.
(2) Executive Summary.
				  Provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of the carpet stewardship plan, and
				  anticipated steps, if needed, to improve performance.
(3) Scope. The program described in the
				  stewardship plan accepts and manages all applicable post-consumer carpet.
(A) Indicate any changes in the program scope
				  from the approved stewardship plan.
(B) Indicate the scope is unchanged, if no
				  changes have occurred during the reporting period.
(4) Program Outline. Describe the carpet
				  stewardship program, including information on the following topics:
(A) Types of collections sites and basic
				  information about recycling facilities in California, e.g., how carpet is
				  collected, number and location of processors, throughput and capacity of
				  recycling facilities.
(B) Include
				  facility name(s) and address(es) for each method of
				  disposition.
(5)
				  Description of goals and activities based on the stewardship plan. State goals
				  from the approved plan, the baseline from which goals were measured, and report
				  on achievement during the reporting period.
(A) The annual report shall include, but is
				  not limited to, quantitative information data and discussion, specific to sales
				  in California, on the following:
1. Amount of
				  carpet sold by square yards and pounds, in the state during the reporting
				  period that is covered under the approved stewardship plan. A stewardship
				  organization with more than one manufacturer may use average weight.
2. Amount (pounds) of post-consumer carpet
				  that is available for collection.
3. Amount (pounds) of carpet source reduced,
				  if measureable.
4. Amount (pounds)
				  of post-consumer carpet collected, by weight, during the reporting
				  period.
5. Disposition, that is,
				  amounts reused, recycled, incinerated for energy recovery or disposed of in a
				  landfill; of collected post-consumer carpet, by pounds, during the reporting
				  period.
6. Describe efforts to
				  increase recyclability of carpets.
7. Describe efforts to increase recycling of
				  post-consumer carpet.
8. Describe
				  efforts to increase diversion of post-consumer carpet from landfills.
9. Describe other environmental impacts as
				  data are available, e.g., green house gas emissions. Descriptions of any
				  enforcement actions or problems related to plan implementation.
10. Describe efforts to increase the market
				  growth of secondary products made from post-consumer carpet.
11. Describe number of jobs attributable to
				  the carpet stewardship program as data are available.
(B) Information on goals shall be accompanied
				  by supporting information covering, but not be limited to the following topics:
1. Report describes the measurement
				  methodology, assumptions, conversion factors, and data sources.
2. Report demonstrates that over time source
				  reduction, reuse, and recycling increased, while environmentally safe
				  transformation and land disposal decreased.
3. Report covers progress toward achievement
				  of all goals in the approved stewardship plan.
(6) Market Development. The annual report
				  shall include a description of possible market development activities to
				  incentivize the market growth of secondary products made from post-consumer
				  carpet.
(7) Financing Mechanism.
				  The annual report shall include a description and evaluation of the program's
				  financing mechanism, including whether or not the funding was sufficient to
				  recover, but not exceed, the full cost of the stewardship program. The annual
				  report shall include, but not be limited to, the following total program cost
				  information, and include any supporting documentation. Any proposed change in
				  the amount of the carpet stewardship assessment fee must be submitted to the
				  department for re-approval (See §
											18943
Criteria for Plan
				  Approval
):
(A) Total Program
				  Cost
(B) Cost($)/capita
(C) Cost ($)/pound collected
(D) Education/Communications (% of total
				  program cost)
(E) End-of-life
				  materials management (% of total program cost)
(F) Program administration (% of total
				  program cost, including annual administrative fee for service payments to the
				  department)
(G) Governance (program
				  oversight) (% of total program cost)
(H) Total cost to local government (if
				  applicable)
(I) Amount of the
				  assessment, aggregate assessment funds collected, how spent and amounts of each
				  major expenditure
a. Funds, if spent on CAAF,
				  must be supported with documentation reporting on economic and environmental
				  impacts and that incentives shall expire, if they no longer serve a
				  benefit.
b. A carpet stewardship
				  organization shall not expend funds from the assessment for engineered
				  municipal solid waste conversion, as defined in Public Resources Code Section
				  40131.2,
				  the use of cement kilns to burn carpet, or transformation, as defined in Public
				  Resources Code Section
				  40201.
(J) Surplus funding, if any, and how it will
				  be applied to reduce program costs
(K) An evaluation of the assessment
				  rate
(8)
				  Outreach/Education. List educational outreach activities in the stewardship
				  plan. Provide a description of educational materials that were provided to
				  retailers, consumers, carpet removers/installers, contractors, during the
				  reporting period (provide electronic samples). Identify the method used to
				  determine the effectiveness of educational and outreach surveys (e.g., surveys,
				  hits on specific web pages, number of participants at events, etc). Education
				  and outreach materials may include, but are not limited to, signage, written
				  materials, advertising or other promotional materials pursuant to Section
				  42972 (a) (5) and
				  Links to website(s) created and maintained by the manufacturer or stewardship
				  organization.
(9) Audits. The
				  annual report shall include an independent financial audit funded from the
				  carpet stewardship assessment. The audit shall be conducted in accordance with
				  auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, and
				  standards set forth in Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller
				  General of the United States. The audit report shall also include a separate
				  state compliance report on the carpet program requirements as directed by the
				  department.
(A) The department may
				  investigate further. If the department decides to further review the findings
				  of the independent auditor, the review will be conducted based on same
				  information the individual manufacturer or stewardship organization provided to
				  the independent auditor.
(B)
				  Financial audits must be prepared by a Certified Public Accountant.
(C) The department may request supplemental
				  information from the individual manufacturer or stewardship organization during
				  the course of review of a manufacturer- or stewardship organization-submitted
				  financial audit, if necessary.
(D)
				  The department will inform the individual manufacturer or the stewardship
				  organization within 60 days of the results of its review.
(E) If after conducting further review of the
				  audit, the Department deems it to be necessary, the Department may conduct its
				  own audit.