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California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) recently published an update to its list of covered material categories (CMC) and two producer reporting guidance documents to support implementation of the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, or Senate Bill 54 (S.B. 54).
In regard to the CMC, CalRecycle has added multimaterial laminate in the form of paperboard with a plastic coating or lining under the paper and fiber material class, an update from the CMC’s Dec. 31, 2024, version. The department notes that this does not include an update to determinations of recyclability or compostability.
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To aid the implementation of S.B. 54, CalRecycle has published a covered material category producer reporting guidance document as a courtesy for producers for informational and example purposes. The department says use of the document is optional and is not a regulatory requirement or legal advice.
The document provides background and guidance for categorizing covered material into the proper categories and is broken down into three parts:
- The first part contains important definitions and concepts, including a glossary of terms for describing covered material.
- The second part contains a step-by-step key to assist users in categorizing covered material into CMCs.
- The third part provides the full list of CMCs, including examples.
Additionally, CalRecycle has published a source reduction reporting guide, which is designed to aid producers as they estimate the amount of plastic covered material sold, offered for sale or distributed in the state, including the number of plastic components and the weight of the plastic covered material.
To help producers report this information accurately and consistently for source reduction reporting, the document provides the following information in four parts, including source reduction reporting; important definitions and concepts; guidance for estimating source reduction metrics; and examples.