On Thursday, the Legislature sent a transformative piece of recycling legislation to the Governor for action. SB 54 (Allen) requires manufacturers of single use packaging and food service ware to take responsibility for the management and recycling of the products they introduce into the stream of commerce.
SB 54 marks a tremendous paradigm shift for solid waste management in California, where local governments have traditionally borne the full responsibility for achieving the state’s solid waste management and recycling directives.
In particular, SB 54 requires single use packaging manufacturers to ensure that covered material is recyclable or compostable, create and fund end markets, and bear responsibility for costs incurred by local agencies and recycling service providers associated with the collection, storage, handling, and marketing of those products. The measure is clear that the Legislature intends to ensure that local jurisdictions will be made financially whole for any new costs incurred associated with the measure.
Once CalRecycle determines what covered material is recyclable or compostable, local recycling programs will be required to accept those materials, unless they receive an exemption or extension from CalRecycle for certain situations. The 19 California counties with fewer than 70,000 residents (and cities within those counties) may exempt themselves from this requirement.
As part of the measure, manufacturers of single use plastic packaging must pay $500 million annually to the state through 2034 to fund a host of state and local plastic pollution monitoring, reduction, and mitigation measures, with large set asides dedicated to providing benefits to residents living in a disadvantaged community, low-income community, or rural area. Local jurisdictions, tribes, NGOs, and community-based organizations will be eligible for grant funding.
Local governments and solid waste haulers have obtained assurances from the author and key legislators to work minor, but important revisions to SB 54 into a clean-up bill in August once legislators return from summer break.
RCRC worked closely with Cal Cities and CSAC to help steer the legislation to ensure that it would not impose new costs on local governments and turn into another experience like the SB 1383 organic recycling program. RCRC’s joint letter of support can be found here.
SB 54 was an attempt by the Legislature to find an alternative to the single-use plastics initiative that will be on the November 2022 ballot. The initiative’s supporters have indicated they will withdraw their measure if SB 54 is signed into law.
For more information, contact RCRC Policy Advocate John Kennedy.