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CalRecycle posts new SB 54 draft rules; committee presses agency on scope of exemptions and hazardous‑waste criteria
Summary
CalRecycle posted a new informal draft of SB 54 regulations and told the Senate budget subcommittee it will accept comments and hold a workshop; lawmakers warned the agency that the statute constrains its power to exempt packaging categories and that the agency must adopt clear processes for determinations.
CalRecycle returned to the committee with an updated informal draft of regulations implementing Senate Bill 54, the state's packaging‑and‑producer‑responsibility law. Agency officials said the draft is part of an open, informal process and that the agency will revise language based on stakeholder input before formal rulemaking.
Mindy McIntyre, chief deputy at CalRecycle, described the posting as an opportunity for stakeholders to comment and said the agency will hold a workshop on May 27. "We've released the next draft of the SB 54 regulations. And, I just I want to emphasize that we've released them, and this is the informal process," McIntyre said. CalRecycle said its intent is to be consistent with statute and with the Office of Administrative Law's review during formal rulemaking.
Lawmakers pressed the agency on several fronts: whether CalRecycle has authority to create categorical exemptions that exclude broad classes of food packaging or over‑the‑counter (OTC) drugs; how the agency will decide that a product "must" be packaged in a material that is not recyclable or compostable; and how CalRecycle intends to implement statutory direction to exclude recycling technologies that produce "significant amounts" of hazardous waste.
CalRecycle officials said the draft attempts to balance statutory requirements and practical constraints and that the agency will refine criteria used to evaluate whether a technology or material is acceptable for inclusion in recycling‑rate calculations. "We are absolutely intending to comply with our statutory mandate… this is a new proposal, a new version of a proposal to get at that question of what does constitute a significant amount of hazardous waste," McIntyre said.
Lawmakers and stakeholders asked CalRecycle not to reference standards that the public cannot readily access. Members highlighted an ISO standard cited in the draft that is behind a paywall; CalRecycle said it will provide additional information and walk through the draft rules at the workshop. Senators also asked the agency to avoid crafting exemptions that would allow broad self‑certification by producers; CalRecycle said it will consider process‑based approaches and accept formal comments.
What happens next: CalRecycle will hold informal workshops and accept public comments on the draft. The agency said it will revise its proposal in response to feedback and then proceed to formal rulemaking with the Office of Administrative Law, which will review the regulations for consistency with statute.
