Producer Reporting Begins Under California's Plastic And Packaging EPR Law – Less Than Three Weeks To Go

The initial due date for producer reports under California's Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act is fast approaching. We further discuss the reporting requirement in this post.

California's Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, which is colloquially referred to as SB (Senate Bill) 54, is one of the many recently adopted US state extended producer responsibility, or EPR, laws taking effect over the next few years. EPR laws have been proposed in several additional states and are a growing trend globally.

At a high level, EPR laws require producers to take financial and operational responsibility for the end-of-life management of products. Many US EPR laws specifically target packaging, single-use plastics and paper products, although in the US and internationally there also are EPR laws focused on textiles, batteries and other products. Producers deemed responsible for covered products generally must register with a producer responsibility organization (PRO), report data on the amount and type of product placed on the market and pay fees to the PRO to fund collection, recycling and waste reduction efforts. 

The covered materials under SB 54 are single-use packaging and food service ware. Circular Action Alliance is California's chosen PRO. 

Initial producer supply reports under SB 54 currently are due November 15. The 2025 due date is for 2023 supply data. The November 15 date has been set by CAA. It is not a statutory or regulatory deadline under SB 54. California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) therefore considers this to be a voluntary deadline.

While CAA is asking for 2023 data to be reported this year, fees are not payable off that data. The 2023 data is to be used to support the development of CAA's Producer Responsibility Plan and as a baseline for future source-reduction baselines, goals and fee estimates. Fees will first be payable off 2025 data, which is to be reported by May 31, 2026, with fees due starting in 2027. 

There has been pushback to the November 15 reporting date. For example, on October 14, a coalition of 14 trade associations sent a letter to CalRecycle and CAA requesting that the reporting date be delayed until CalRecycle finalizes the permanent regulations governing the EPR program. For context, CalRecycle submitted permanent regulations under SB 54 to California's Office of Administrative Law on August 12. These were published in the California Regulatory Notice Register on August 22 and open for public comment until October 7. 

California is the third US state with producer reporting beginning in 2025. Producers' first reports under Oregon's Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act were due March 31. The first reports under Colorado's Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act were due July 31. 

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.