Latest news with #DepartmentofResourcesRecyclingandRecovery
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Lawmakers ask Newsom and waste agency to follow the law on plastic legislation
California lawmakers are taking aim at proposed rules to implement a state law aimed at curbing plastic waste, saying the draft regulations proposed by CalRecycle undermine the letter and intent of the legislation. In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom and two of his top administrators, the lawmakers said CalRecycle exceeded its authority by drafting regulations that don't abide by the terms set out by the law, Senate Bill 54. 'While we support many changes in the current draft regulations, we have identified several provisions that are inconsistent with the governing statute ... and where CalRecycle has exceeded its authority under the law,' the lawmakers wrote in the letter to Newsom, California Environmental Protection agency chief Yana Garcia, and Zoe Heller, director of the state's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle. The letter, which was written by Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) and Sen. Benjamin Allen (D-Santa Monica), was signed by 21 other lawmakers, including Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) and Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates) and Monique Limón (D-Goleta). CalRecycle submitted informal draft regulations two weeks ago that are designed to implement the law, which was authored by Allen, and signed into law by Newsom in 2022. The lawmakers' concerns are directed at the draft regulations' potential approval of polluting recycling technologies — which the language of the law expressly prohibits — as well as the document's expansive exemption for products and packaging that fall under the purview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. The inclusion of such blanket exemptions is 'not only contrary to the statute but also risks significantly increasing the program's costs,' the lawmakers wrote. They said the new regulations allow 'producers to unilaterally determine which products are subject to the law, without a requirement or process to back up such a claim.' Daniel Villaseñor, a spokesman for the governor, said in an email that Newsom 'was clear when he asked CalRecycle to restart these regulations that they should work to minimize costs for small businesses and families, and these rules are a step in the right direction ...' At a workshop held at the agency's headquarters in Sacramento this week, CalRecycle staff responded to similar criticisms, and underscored that these are informal draft regulations, which means they can be changed. 'I know from comments we've already been receiving that some of the provisions, as we have written them ... don't quite come across in the way that we intended,' said Karen Kayfetz, chief of CalRecycle's Product Stewardship branch, adding that she was hopeful 'a robust conversation' could help highlight areas where interpretations of the regulations' language differs from the agency's intent. 'It was not our intent, of course, to ever go outside of the statute, and so to the extent that it may be interpreted in the language that we've provided, that there are provisions that extend beyond ... it's our wish to narrow that back down,' she said. These new draft regulations are the expedited result of the agency's attempt to satisfy Newsom's concerns about the law, which he said could increase costs to California households if not properly implemented. Newsom rejected the agency's first attempt at drafting regulations — the result of nearly three years of negotiations by scores of stakeholders, including plastic producers, package developers, agricultural interests, environmental groups, municipalities, recycling companies and waste haulers — and ordered the waste agency to start the process over. Critics say the new draft regulations cater to industry and could result in even higher costs to both California households, which have seen large increases in their residential waste hauling fees, as well as to the state's various jurisdictions, which are taxed with cleaning up plastic waste and debris clogging the state's rivers, highways, beaches and parks. The law is molded on a series of legislative efforts described as Extended Producer Responsibility laws, which are designed to shift the cost of waste removal and disposal from the state's jurisdictions and taxpayers to the industries that produce the waste — theoretically incentivizing a circular economy, in which product and packaging producers develop materials that can be reused, recycled or composted.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California Revising Plastic Packaging EPR Regulations
California's government is retooling its extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulatory bill surrounding the recycling of plastic packaging. SB 54, also known as the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, is now being revamped by California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. An arm of the California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CalRecycle, as it's informally known, released a revised draft of the regulations last week. Now, stakeholders have until June 3 to submit feedback on the proposal. More from Sourcing Journal California Law Enforcement and DAs Take On Retail, Cargo Thieves Will Trump Tariffs Help or Hurt U.S. Garment Workers? Teamsters Ask CA Legislators to Back Bill Requiring Human Operators for Autonomous Delivery Vehicles The EPR bill, which establishes a program to manage packaging and single-use plastic food containers across numerous sectors of California's economy, bestows primary responsibility for the packaging products' end-of-life on their producers. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law in 2022, mandating that by 2032, all single-use plastics in the state must be recyclable or compostable, and the overall use of these materials be reduced by 25 percent. By the end of that period, 65 percent of single-use plastic packaging should be recycled, the law states. But the law's facilitators—CalRecycle—failed to meet a March 8 deadline for delivering the regulations tied to the law. Newsom requested that the regulations process for SB 54 be restarted, which is where the process stands today. California officials have said that that the timeline for implementing the law will not be impacted by the delay. SB 54 is not California's first EPR bill—the state has implemented such programs for batteries and mattresses—and its provisions informed much of the text of SB 707, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act, which mandates that producers of apparel, accessories and home textiles deal with the end-of-life impacts of the products they produce through recycling, reuse and repair. SB 707 was signed into law by the governor last year, and faces a similar regulatory process in the months and years ahead. But many in the business community are skeptical about what the EPR bills will mean for California's businesses, many of which are not accustomed to the burden of these responsibilities or equipped to comply with the new laws. The halting progress in the regulation and rollout of SB 54 could be a harbinger of what's to come for the textile-focused EPR, as both programs focus on sectors with broad impacts and seek to regulate a wide range of products made from different materials. California Retailers Association (CRA) president Rachel Michelin said the trade group is still reviewing the updated draft regulations, but reiterated its 'support and appreciation for Governor Gavin Newsom's consideration of the impact on affordability that these regulations will have on everyday consumers, especially given the ongoing uncertainty with the Trump Administration's tariffs.' She also thanked CalRecycle for its collaboration with retail stakeholders, which will continue through upcoming public hearings. An informal rulemaking workshop will take place on May 27 at California EPA headquarters in Sacramento, followed by a May 30 advisory board meeting and a June 23 workshop on covered materials and reporting guidance. Michelin said the CRA is 'committed to ensure California's landmark Packaging EPR program regulations are successfully implemented, achieving California's ambitious recycling objectives while avoiding undue financial burdens on consumers.' 'CRA members are committed to the environmental goals of SB 54 and appreciate the time taken to craft a collaborative and effective regulatory framework,' she added. 'This demonstrates California's leadership in addressing plastic pollution and advancing sustainable recycling practices.' While several states are seeking to tackle plastic and textile waste, especially in the wake of California's landmark legislative progress, tariffs and economic uncertainty are on the minds of many decision-makers. Some sustainability commitments are falling by the wayside as fiscal pressures mount; last week, PepsiCo last week abandoned its commitment to shareholders for 20 percent of all beverage servings to be delivered in reusable or refillable packaging. It also pulled back on commitments to reduce its use of virgin plastic.
