CalRecycle Receives Revised SB 54 Packaging Producer Responsibility Plan; 75-Day Review Clock Starts
SACRAMENTO — On October 13, the Circular Action Alliance (CAA), the producer responsibility organization for California's packaging law, submitted its revised program plan under SB 54 — the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act — to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). The 495-page plan reflects a 60-day public comment period that drew more than 2,400 comments. CalRecycle now has 75 calendar days to approve, disapprove or conditionally approve the plan, request additional information, or set a decision timeline — a window closing in late December. The SB 54 advisory board was set to discuss the revised plan on Friday.
The revision sharply lowers cost projections: the 2027 budget is estimated at $1.105 billion, down from a maximum of about $1.87 billion in the earlier draft, and the five-year budget for 2027–2031 is now put at $7.81 billion to $13.05 billion, down from $9.35 billion to $17.2 billion. Separately, producers must pay $500 million a year into the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund — $5 billion over 10 years — with plastic resin manufacturers able to contribute up to $150 million a year toward that amount.
SB 54 requires covered materials to reach recycling rates of 30% by 2028, 40% by 2030 and 65% by 2032, with the program scheduled to begin January 1, 2027. CAA Chief of Staff Shane Buckingham called the submission a major step forward in establishing a compliance pathway for producers. If CalRecycle grants conditional approval, CAA must file monthly status updates; the approved plan must be posted within five calendar days and implemented within 90 days of approval.
Sources: CAA program plan filing and CalRecycle's SB 54 proceeding, as reported by Packaging Dive and Resource Recycling, October 13–14.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：零售仓库内纸板包装打包回收。（来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0）
