SACRAMENTO, Calif. — CalRecycle released key building blocks for California’s groundbreaking law to cut single-use plastic and packaging waste. Packaging makes up over 50% of what we throw away by volume and is a major contributor to climate and trash pollution. 

Meeting aggressive deadlines in the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (SB 54, Allen, Chapter 75, Statutes of 2022), CalRecycle published: 

·         Draft rules detailing new industry responsibilities to cut waste and increase recycling 

·         Covered Materials Category List of potential materials regulated by SB 54 

·         SB 54 Report to the Legislature on implementation progress 

“California is setting clear standards to cut waste and recycle single-use products to lower pollution, while growing innovative companies and new jobs,” CalRecycle Director Rachel Machi Wagoner said. “Building a circular economy that reuses products that are built to last instead of turning raw materials into trash is a roadmap to California’s waste-free future.” 

SB 54 requires by 2032 that an industry-run Producer Responsibility Organization implement reforms to:  

Other benefits of the law include: 

·         Rewarding waste-free and pollution-free product innovation and reuse options. 

·         Creating a $5 billion fund to address the environmental impacts of plastics. 

Join CalRecycle’s SB 54 Listserv for email updates on upcoming workshops and new developments in the implementation process.