California Code of Regulations › Title 14 - Natural Resources › Division 2 - Department of Conservation › Chapter 5 - Division of Recycling › Subchapter 1 - Definitions › Section 2000 - Definitions

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) In
				  addition to the definitions provided in the California Beverage Container
				  Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, except for subdivisions (a)(3.1), (10),
				  (20), (21), (35), (37), (38), (40) and (42) below which modify definitions in
				  the Act for purposes of these regulations, the following definitions shall
				  apply whenever the terms are used in this chapter.
(1) "Act" means the California Beverage
				  Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (Division 12.1 of the Public
				  Resources Code).
(2)
				  "Administrative Costs" means the cost of recordkeeping and accounting required
				  of curbside programs, distributors, recycling centers and processors to comply
				  with the requirements of the Act and these regulations.
(2.1) "Amended Processor Invoice" means an
				  invoice submitted by a processor correcting an original report that has been
				  processed and paid.
(2.2) "Amended
				  Shipping Report" means a shipping report submitted by a processor correcting an
				  original shipping report that has been processed and paid.
(2.5) "Alternative Methodology" means an
				  individual commingled rate survey methodology, which either employs the
				  Division's methodology with variations or creates a proposed methodology for
				  the dropoff or collection, community service or curbside programs to arrive at
				  an individual commingled rate.
(3)
				  "Applicant" means the person(s) who has authority to legally bind the operator
				  to a contract.
(3.1) "Beneficiating
				  Processor" means any processor certified by the department who sells cullet to
				  another certified processor or to a glass container manufacturer during the
				  three months preceding the month in which scrap value data is reported to the
				  Division and who beneficiates purchased cullet so that the cullet either:
(A) meets the American Society for Testing
				  and Materials (ASTM) standard specification for waste glass as a raw material
				  for the manufacture of glass containers [E708-79 (Reapproved 1988) Standard
				  Specification for Waste Glass As A Raw Material For The Manufacture of Glass
				  Containers. Current Edition Approved Nov. 30, 1979: published January 1980, see
				  appendix A]; or,
(B) is free from
				  nonglass contaminants and non-container glass compositions, cleansed, crushed
				  to size, free-flowing with minimum water content, absent of hazardous material
				  residue and passes furnace ready sampling and testing methods of a purchasing
				  glass container manufacturer.
(C)
				  Notwithstanding, the other provisions of this section, any certified processor
				  shall not be considered a beneficiating processor if fifty percent (50%) or
				  more of the cullet purchased by that processor during the survey month in which
				  the scrap value data is reported was purchased as beneficiated cullet.
(3.2) "Beverage
				  manufacturer" shall have the same definition as provided in Public Resources
				  Code section
				  14506,
				  and "any person ... who imports", as provided in that section, shall include,
				  in the following order of preference:
(A) Any
				  consignee of filled beverage containers brought into this State from without
				  this State, when the filled beverage containers are for delivery, use, or sale
				  within this State.
(B) Any person
				  or entity to whom delivery is first made in this State of filled beverage
				  containers brought into this State from without this State, when the filled
				  beverage containers are for delivery, use, or sale within this State.
(C) Any person or entity bringing filled
				  beverage containers into this State from without this State which are not
				  consigned to any person, when the filled beverage containers are for delivery,
				  use, or sale within this State.
(3.5) "Bottle-grade" means any food-grade
				  material suitable for use as a beverage container by a beverage
				  manufacturer.
(3.7)
(A) "Bottle washer processor" means a person
				  who accepts empty reusable beverage containers in this state and is responsible
				  for cancelling empty reusable beverage containers in the manner prescribed in
				  section 2000(a)(4)(B)(ii).
(B) A
				  bottle washer processor shall be subject to the requirements applicable to
				  processors, except as otherwise specified.
(4) "Cancellation" means the act of removing
				  the refund value of an empty beverage container by any of the following
				  actions:
(A) Aluminum empty beverage
				  containers shall be deemed cancelled when such containers can no longer be
				  physically reconstituted or distinguished as container units. Except as
				  provided in section 2110(b), this may be accomplished by shredding or
				  densification to thirty pounds per cubic foot or more.
(B) Glass empty beverage containers shall be
				  deemed cancelled when such containers have been substantially cleaned of
				  non-glass contaminants and they are:
(i)
				  crushed in size in such a manner as to be acceptable without further processing
				  by a willing user, or
(ii) washed
				  by a bottle washer processor or a processor authorized by the department to
				  wash bottles to remove the CRV marking and verifiable in accordance with
				  section 2421(a) so the glass beverage container is ready for subsequent refill
				  and sale by a beverage manufacturer. A glass beverage container cancelled
				  pursuant to this clause shall be deemed a reusable beverage container for
				  purposes of the Act and this chapter.
(C) Plastic empty beverage containers shall
				  be deemed cancelled when the original form has been so altered as to make its
				  reconstitution physically impossible.
(D) Bimetal empty beverage containers shall
				  be deemed cancelled by densification sufficient to ensure that separation of a
				  single container is no longer possible, or by shredding, milling, or
				  nuggeting.
(E) Any empty beverage
				  container shall be deemed cancelled when it is permanently exported from the
				  State and export verified in accordance with subsections 2420(d)(1), (2) and
				  (3) provided that, if aluminum beverage containers, they are first densified to
				  no less than 15 pounds per cubic foot, or shredded.
(F) Any empty beverage container shall be
				  deemed cancelled when it is delivered to a location of end use and the delivery
				  verified in accordance with subsections 2420(d)(1), (2) and (3) provided that
				  the following requirements are met:
1.
				  aluminum beverage containers are first densified to not less than 15 pounds per
				  cubic foot, or shredded.
2. glass
				  beverage containers are delivered to a location of end use, which includes a
				  beneficiating processor, as defined in Public Resources Code section
				  14503.6.
(5) "Category" means
				  the classification of operation, i.e., processor, recycling center,
				  grandfathered recycling center, dropoff or collection program, or community
				  service program.
(6) "Certificate"
				  means the official document issued by the Division which identifies an operator
				  of a recycling center, dropoff or collection program, community service program
				  or processing facility as meeting the requirements for certification by the
				  Division.
(7) "Certified" means an
				  operator of a recycling center, dropoff or collection program, community
				  service program or processing facility has met the minimum requirements
				  established by the Division to receive the certificate defined in (6)
				  above.
(8) "Certification Sign"
				  means a sign or decal issued by the Division for display which identifies the
				  operator of a recycling center as meeting the requirements for certification by
				  the Division.
(9) "Clearly and
				  Prominently" means that the redemption message is displayed so that it is
				  easily found and read by consumers and recyclers. Each letter comprising the
				  message is complete, legible, and cannot be readily obscured. Other factors
				  include boldness, width, spacing, and location of lettering. The message must
				  be distinguishable from refund messages of other states.
(9.5) "Close proximity" means the area
				  within, or adjacent to, a convenience zone, as determined by the Division on a
				  case-by-case basis considering geographic and demographic factors, and consumer
				  convenience.
(10) "Commingled"
				  means a mix of empty beverage containers and other containers of the same
				  material type. Any broken glass empty beverage container(s) purchased from
				  consumers, dropoff or collection programs, or community service programs shall
				  be deemed commingled. Any broken or partial beverage container(s) or rejected,
				  line breakage or out-of-state containers shall not be included when performing
				  a survey methodology to arrive at an individual commingled rate or statewide
				  average commingled rate. Dropoff or collection, curbside and community service
				  programs' individual commingled rate shall be determined pursuant to subsection
				  2620 through 2645, 2660 through 2685, and 2720 through 2745, respectively. The
				  statewide average commingled rates shall be determined by the Division pursuant
				  to subsections 2900(a)(1)(B) and section 2930 of these regulations.
(11) "Community Service Program" means a
				  program, certified by the Division, which does not pay refund value and accepts
				  or collects empty beverage containers at a specific location or locations and
				  meets one of the following criteria:
(A) The
				  program is organized under Section 501(c) or 501(d) of the Internal Revenue
				  Code [26 U.S.C.
				  501(c) and
				  501(d)],
				  or
(B) The program is a charitable
				  group organized under Section
				  23701
				  of the California Revenue and Taxation Code, or
(C) The program is operated by, or caused to
				  be operated by, a city, county or other public agency.
(11.1) "Consolidated Shipping Report"
				  documents the delivery and receipt of material for processors or recycling
				  centers that operate multiple recycling centers or receive material from
				  dropoff or collection programs, community service programs, or curbside
				  programs and is prepared pursuant to subsection 2090(f) of these
				  regulations.
(12) "Contrasting
				  Colors" as used in reference to the redemption message lettering means a clear
				  differentiation in hue, value, and intensity with the background on which the
				  redemption message appears, surrounding artwork, and other nearby printed
				  information.
(13) "Days" means all
				  calendar days unless provided otherwise.
(14) "Delivered" or "Delivery", as used in
				  subchapters 5 & 6 of these regulations, means physically taking possession
				  of the material.
(15) "Dual
				  Certified Entity" means any person who is certified as a processor and also a
				  recycling center at the same location as the processor.
(16) "Densification" means the process of
				  compressing material for the purpose of increasing the weight to volume
				  ratio.
(17) "Disposal Cost" means
				  the transportation cost for hauling postfilled beverage container types to a
				  state-permitted disposal site (landfill, incinerator, or other type of
				  state-permitted site), plus the specified disposal fee.
(18) "Division" means the Division of
				  Recycling which is within the Department of Resources Recycling and
				  Recovery.
(19) (Reserved)
(20) "Dropoff or Collection Program" means a
				  recycling program which does not pay refund value and accepts or collects empty
				  beverage containers, and which cannot qualify as a curbside program as defined
				  in Section 14509.5 of the Act. "Dropoff or Collection Program" also means a
				  program which separates recyclables from mixed municipal waste. "Dropoff or
				  Collection Program" does not mean a program which accepts or collects
				  recyclable materials which have already been separated from mixed municipal
				  waste. Dropoff or Collection Program includes a Neighborhood Dropoff Program
				  which meets all of the criteria in Section 14514.4.1 of the Act.
(21) "Empty Beverage Container" means a
				  beverage container which meets all the requirements in Section 14512 of the Act
				  except that such term does not include refillable beverage
				  containers.
(22) "Exemption" means
				  an exclusion to the requirement that a recycling center must be established in
				  a convenience zone.
(22.5) "Exempt
				  convenience zone" or "Exempt zone" means a convenience zone which has been
				  granted an exemption pursuant to Section 14571.8 of the Act.
(23) "Exporting" means the act of sending a
				  filled or unfilled empty beverage container or empty beverage container
				  component permanently out of this State.
(24) "Facility" means a recycling or
				  processing operation that has been built, installed or established to serve as
				  a collection or processing point for redeemable beverage containers.
(24.5) "Food-grade" means any material
				  suitable for contact with consumable food or drink products and which complies
				  with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.
(25) "Grandfathered" is a term which refers
				  to recycling centers that meet the requirements of section 2500(c) of these
				  regulations.
(26)
				  [Reserved]
(27) "Indelibly" means
				  that the redemption message is permanently affixed on the beverage container
				  from the point of purchase until the point of redemption and cannot be smeared
				  or removed during regular use.
(27.1) "Individual Commingled Rate" means a
				  commingled rate approved by the Division which is applicable to dropoff or
				  collection, community service, or curbside programs, which have obtained prior
				  approval from the Division.
(27.5)
				  "Interested person" means a supermarket, dealer, certified recycling center,
				  person with a pending certification application, located in or in close
				  proximity to the zone under consideration for an exemption or revocation of an
				  exemption, or a local government agency with jurisdiction over the area where
				  the zone under consideration for an exemption or revocation is
				  located.
(27.6) "Line Breakage,"
				  for purposes of these regulations, means preconsumer material that is recycled
				  or disposed of by a container manufacturer, beverage manufacturer, distributor,
				  or dealer.
(27.7) "Letter of
				  Denial" (LED) means a notice sent to program participants denying requests to
				  conduct an individual commingled rate survey or denying approval of an
				  individual commingled rate, or revoking an individual commingled rate for
				  reason(s) indicated in the LED.
(28) "Location" means the street address
				  where the facility operates.
(29)
				  "Location of End Use" means the place where beverage containers or materials
				  are physically reconstituted for purposes other than sorting, shredding,
				  stripping, compressing, storing, landfilling, disposing, or other activities
				  which do not result in recycling.
(29.5) "Low volume" means an average monthly
				  volume, as defined at Section 14503.5 of the Act, which is less than the
				  statewide average monthly volume of recycling centers in convenience zones.
				  Average monthly volumes shall be calculated annually and shall apply during the
				  calendar year immediately following the calculation.
(29.9) "Manufacturer of Postconsumer Recycled
				  Plastic" means any person(s) or entity that offers for sale in the state
				  food-grade or bottle-grade flake, pellet, sheet, fines, or other precursor
				  forms of plastic made from postconsumer recycled material.
(30) "Material" means the physical substance
				  used to manufacture a beverage container or food and drink package including,
				  but not limited to, aluminum, bimetal, glass, and plastic.
(30.7) "Milk" means the lacteal secretion
				  which is obtained from the udder of a cow or goat.
(31) "Minimum Lettering Size" is applicable
				  to the height of all the letters in the redemption message.
(32) "Nonaffiliated seller" means any person
				  who sells scrap beverage container material types to a certified processor and
				  is neither owned nor managed in common with such processor.
(32.4) "Notice of Denial" (NOD) means a
				  notice sent to program participants denying requests for program payments,
				  including handling fees, for reason(s) indicated on the notice. Handling fee
				  notices will be sent for each denied site and will explain why the site was
				  denied during a particular month.
(33) "Operator" means the person(s) or entity
				  who has ultimate responsibility for a recycling facility, processing facility,
				  dropoff or collection program, or community service program.
(34) "Person" means an individual,
				  corporation, operation, or other entity, regardless of its form, subject to the
				  Act.
(34.1) "Plastic Material
				  Reclaimer" means any person(s) or entity that collects and sells or transfers
				  cancelled plastic beverage containers to a manufacturer of postconsumer
				  recycled plastic in the state.
(34.2) "Post-Industrial Recycled Material"
				  means material diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process.
				  Included as Post-Industrial Recycled Material and excluded as Postconsumer
				  Recycled Material is reutilization of materials such as rework, regrind or
				  scrap generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed with the same
				  process that generated it.
(34.3)
				  "Postconsumer Recycled Material" means material generated by households or by
				  commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users
				  of the product which has been used for its intended use or can no longer be
				  used for its intended purpose. This includes return of material from the
				  distribution chain.
(35)
				  "Processor" means any person, including a scrap dealer, who purchases or offers
				  to purchase empty beverage containers from more than one recycling center in
				  this state and is responsible for cancelling empty beverage container(s) in a
				  manner prescribed in section 2000(a)(4) of these regulations.
(35.1) "Processor Invoice" means the report
				  required in section 2425 of these regulations which the Department uses to
				  determine payment to a certified processor.
(36) "Public Agency" means the city, county,
				  district or other government entity which operates a curbside program or which
				  has the authority to approve or acknowledge the operation of a curbside
				  program.
(36.5) "Recycling Center"
				  means those operations defined in Section 14520 of the Act and includes
				  "Nonprofit Convenience Zone Recycler" as defined in Section 14514.7 of the Act
				  and "Rural Region Recycler" as defined in Section 14525.5.1 of the
				  Act.
(37) "Redeem" means to return
				  an empty beverage container which bears the message as required in Section
				  14561 of the Act to a certified recycling or processing facility and receive
				  refund value for the container.
(38) "Redeemable Beverage Container" means a
				  container which bears the message as required in Section 14561 of the Act and
				  has an established refund value.
(39) "Redemption Weight" is the weight of
				  empty California redemption-labeled beverage containers.
(40) "Refund Value" means, in addition to the
				  definition provided in Section 14524 of the Act, any amount paid by a
				  noncertified recycler, dropoff or collection program, or community service
				  program, or any payments received by a noncertified recycler, in excess of:
(A) For aluminum, the scrap price as listed
				  in the American Metal Market publication.
(B) For glass, plastic and bimetal, the
				  portion of the processing payment which are the costs for the recycler, as
				  determined by the Division pursuant to Section 14575 of the Act.
(41) "Rejected Container" means a
				  California redemption-labeled beverage container, which a container
				  manufacturer or beverage manufacturer elects to recycle or dispose of without
				  paying any applicable processing fee, or which a distributor elects to recycle
				  or dispose of without paying the redemption payment. "Rejected containers"
				  includes container tops, lids, or other components which bear the message as
				  required in Section 14561 of the Act.
(41.05) "Representation of Materials" means a
				  typical collection of commingled container materials, of the same material
				  type, representing a ratio of empty beverage containers and all other
				  containers collected by the program and surveyed by the operator to determine
				  an individual commingled rate for dropoff or collection, community service, or
				  curbside programs.
(41.1) "Rural
				  Region" means a non-urban area identified by the Division on an annual basis
				  using Farmers Home Administration criteria. Such criteria for area include, but
				  are not limited to, places, open country, cities, towns, or census designated
				  places with populations less than 10,000. Areas with populations between 10,000
				  and 50,000 may be designated as rural unless identified as part of, or
				  associated with, urban areas, as determined by the Department on a case by case
				  basis.
(41.2) "Scrap", for purposes
				  of these regulations, is any recyclable container, including food or drink
				  packaging material, other beverage containers, other nonredeemable containers,
				  out-of-state beverage containers, line breakage or rejected containers, of the
				  same material composition as redeemable containers covered by the
				  Act.
(42) "Scrap Value" is the
				  total net payment per ton to any nonaffiliated sellers in each of the following
				  categories: Certified recycling centers, dropoff or collection programs,
				  community service programs, registered curbside programs, and certified
				  processors, for container material types.
(43) "Segregated" means divided by material
				  type and that such divided load consists of 100% California Refund Value
				  material.
(44) "Shipping Report" is
				  the documentation of the receipt of material by a processor, or by a recycling
				  center from another recycling center, dropoff or collection program, community
				  service program, or curbside program. The shipping report is the basis for
				  payments by the Division pursuant to Section 14573 of the Act.
(45) "Shrinkage" means the reduced value due
				  to contamination of empty beverage containers by dirt, moisture, or other
				  foreign substances.
(45.5)
				  "Signature" or "signed" means either of the following:
(A) An original handwritten signature;
				  or
(B) An electronic signature. An
				  electronic signature includes an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached
				  to or logically associated with an electronic record, executed or adopted by a
				  party with the intent to represent an original handwritten signature.
1. An electronic signature shall consist of a
				  unique username and password or other security measures as required by the
				  Division.
2. An electronic
				  signature may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely on
				  the ground that it is electronic.
3. An electronic signature shall be binding
				  on all persons and for all purposes under the law, as if the signature had been
				  handwritten on an equivalent paper document.
(46) "Size" means the capacity of the
				  beverage container in fluid ounces.
(47) "Statistical Sample" means an estimate
				  with an 85% confidence level.
(47.1) "Supplemental Processor Invoice"
				  means:
(A) A report to correct any shipping
				  report(s) denied on the original processor invoice and/or
(B) A report to add any shipping report(s) to
				  the original processor invoice for transactions that occurred within the same
				  specific reporting period.
(47.2) "Total Net Payment", as used in
				  subparagraph (a)(42) of this section and section 2425, means the amount paid
				  for the reported monthly weight after deductions (e.g., transportation service)
				  and additions (e.g., freight allowance) pertinent to the specific sales
				  transaction have been made. "Total net payment" includes positive, zero and
				  negative dollar amounts, as applicable. This subsection is not intended to
				  relieve a processor of its obligation to pay refund value, administrative and
				  processing payments pursuant to Sections 14539(b)(3) of the Act and sections
				  2400 and 2430 of this chapter.
(47.3) "Urban Area" means an area identified
				  by the Division on an annual basis using Farmers Home Administration criteria.
				  Such criteria for area include, but are not limited to, densely settled areas
				  of continuous residential development with minimum population of 50,000. Areas
				  with populations less than 50,000 and greater than 10,000 may be designated as
				  urban unless identified as part of, or associated with, rural areas, as
				  determined by the Department on a case by case basis.
(47.5) "Vegetable juice" means one hundred
				  percent vegetable juice as described in
				  21 CFR
				  102.33.
(48) "Working Days" means all days except
				  Saturdays, Sundays, and official California State Holidays.
(49) "Zonemate" means a supermarket which
				  lies within the boundaries of a convenience zone other than the one that it
				  creates.