/>iThe California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) published a new version of the draft regulatory text for California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (SB 54) on July 2, 2025. CalRecycle anticipates this version of the regulations will be released for a 45-day formal rulemaking comment period following an administrative review process.
Some of the key changes that have occurred in the draft regulations from the May 2025 to July 2025 versions are described below, though the summary below should not be considered complete.
Definition of “Food Service Ware:” This definition has been expanded to include more description to the definition of “food service ware” to clarify what products fall under this category. The definition also now explicitly names plastic single-use food service ware as a covered material.
Producer Identification: The producer hierarchy for food service ware has been modified to clarify that the relevant brand or trademark is the one used when the food service ware is first sold or distributed. Under the current framework, the producer of food service ware is the person who manufactures the food service ware, provided they are in the state and own or are licensed to use the brand or trademark.
Categorically Excluded Materials: The May 2025 draft regulations included a broad provision that named “[p]ackaging necessary to comply with rules, guidance, or other standards issued by the USDA or FDA” as categorically excluded materials from the regulations. The revised provision is much narrower in that it now specifies that only packaging and packaging components for food and agricultural commodities may be considered excluded, where it is not reasonable to use other packaging materials and still comply with USDA and FDA regulations. Additionally, producers must notify, provide substantiation, and receive approval from CalRecycle that the materials in question are excluded under this provision.
Exclusion of Reusable and Refillable Packaging and Food Service Ware: New language requires that packaging must be used multiple times for the same good by consumers to be considered “reused or refilled by a consumer.” This restriction limits packaging that may have been reused or refilled by consumers for additional uses, simply due to the nature of the packaging.
Exclusion of Certain Types of Food Packaging: The definition of packaging includes packaging components and ancillary elements and excludes packaging of de minimis weight or volume if that packaging is not an independent plastic component. Additional criteria for determining whether a piece of packaging is an “independent plastic component” has been added. Products that are coatings, films, tape, stickers, or labels are not independent plastic components and, therefore, may be considered of de minimis weight or volume if they meet the requirements for de minimis weight or volume set forth in the regulations.
The most recent update of SB54 also includes requirements for producers. For example, language was added that requires entities that become producers on or after January 1, 2027, to register with CalRecycle within six months of becoming an obligated producer, in addition to registering with the PRO or applying to be an Independent Producer.
Significantly, the revised draft regulations continue to state that the PRO must charge a malus fee to producers who use covered materials that contain a Proposition 65-listed substance. (This is inconsistent with Proposition 65, which turns on exposure to a listed substance.)
