SB 955: Beverage containers: supermarkets: reverse vending machines.
- Session Year: 2025-2026
- House: Senate
- Latest Version Date: 2026-09-18
Current Status:
Passed
(2026-09-18: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 319, Statutes of 2026.)
Introduced
In Committee
Awaiting First Chamber Vote
Passed First Chamber
In Committee
Awaiting Second Chamber Vote
Passed Second Chamber
Enacted
(1)The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to designate convenience zones annually and to ensure that at least one certified recycling center that meets specific requirements is located within each convenience zone. The act defines a convenience zone as the area within a one-mile radius of a supermarket, as defined. Under the act, a reverse vending machine, as defined, may be certified as a recycling center, as prescribed. The act establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes, including the amount necessary to pay processing payments to recycling centers and to pay handling fees to certain types of recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The act prohibits processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees for dealer cooperatives if a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone where a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located.
A violation of the act is a crime.
This bill would specify that a reverse vending machine certified to operate as a recycling center does not make an unserved convenience zone served, that a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit is not precluded from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone as a reverse vending machine, and that an existing certified recycling center is not ineligible for handling fees if a reverse vending machine is located in the same convenience zone.
(2)The act defines a supermarket as a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of $2,000,000 or more that sells specified items and some perishable items.
This bill would revise that definition by increasing the minimum gross annual sales to $6,000,000, revising the description of the required items for sale, causing recycling centers that are supermarkets eligible to receive handling fees under existing law to continue to be eligible to receive handling fees, and requiring the department to consult the most recent annual update to the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and other relevant updates to the guidebook to determine which dealers are supermarkets, as specified.
(3)The act requires, until June 30, 2027, the handling fee to be determined using a methodology established by the department through emergency regulations, and requires those regulations to remain in effect through that date, as specified.
This bill would extend the application of those regulations through June 30, 2032.
(4)This bill would make an appropriation by expanding the entities that would be eligible at any given time for program payments, and by changing the calculation of handling fees, paid by the department from the continuously appropriated fund.
(5)By adding new requirements to the act, this bill would expand the scope of crimes, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1)The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to designate convenience zones annually and to ensure that at least one certified recycling center that meets specific requirements is located within each convenience zone. The act defines a convenience zone as the area within a one-mile radius of a supermarket, as defined. Under the act, a reverse vending machine, as defined, may be certified as a recycling center, as prescribed. The act establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes, including the amount necessary to pay processing payments to recycling centers and to pay handling fees to certain types of recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The act prohibits processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees for dealer cooperatives if a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone where a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located.
A violation of the act is a crime.
This bill would specify that a reverse vending machine certified to operate as a recycling center does not make an unserved convenience zone served, that a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit is not precluded from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone as a reverse vending machine, and that an existing certified recycling center is not ineligible for handling fees if a reverse vending machine is located in the same convenience zone.
(2)The act defines a supermarket as a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of $2,000,000 or more that sells specified items and some perishable items.
This bill would revise that definition by increasing the minimum gross annual sales to $6,000,000, revising the description of the required items for sale, causing recycling centers that are supermarkets eligible to receive handling fees under existing law to continue to be eligible to receive handling fees, and requiring the department to consult the most recent annual update to the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and other relevant updates to the guidebook to determine which dealers are supermarkets, as specified.
(3)The act requires, until June 30, 2027, the handling fee to be determined using a methodology established by the department through emergency regulations, and requires those regulations to remain in effect through that date, as specified.
This bill would extend the application of those regulations through June 30, 2032.
(4)This bill would make an appropriation by expanding the entities that would be eligible at any given time for program payments, and by changing the calculation of handling fees, paid by the department from the continuously appropriated fund.
(5)By adding new requirements to the act, this bill would expand the scope of crimes, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1)The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to designate convenience zones annually and to ensure that at least one certified recycling center that meets specific requirements is located within each convenience zone. The act defines a convenience zone as the area within a one-mile radius of a supermarket, and defines supermarket as a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of $2,000,000 or more, and that sells specified items and some perishable items. The act establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes, including the amount necessary to pay processing payments to recycling centers and to pay handling fees to certain types of recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. supermarket, as defined. Under the act, a reverse vending machine, as defined, may be certified as a recycling center, as prescribed. The act establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes, including the amount necessary to pay processing payments to recycling centers and to pay handling fees to certain types of recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The act prohibits processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees for dealer cooperatives if a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone where a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located. A
A violation of the act is an infraction. a crime.
This bill would specify that a reverse vending machine certified to operate as a recycling center does not make an unserved convenience zone served, that a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit is not precluded from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone as a reverse vending machine, and that an existing certified recycling center is not ineligible for handling fees if a reverse vending machine is located in the same convenience zone.
(2)The act defines a supermarket as a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of $2,000,000 or more that sells specified items and some perishable items.
This bill, for the purpose of defining a supermarket, bill would increase revise that definition by increasing the minimum gross annual sales to $5,000,000, revise $6,000,000, revising the description of the required items for sale, and require causing recycling centers that are supermarkets eligible to receive handling fees under existing law to continue to be eligible to receive handling fees, and requiring the department to consult the most recent annual update to the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and other relevant updates to the guidebook to determine which dealers are supermarkets, as specified. The bill would specify that a reverse vending machine certified to operate as a recycling center does not make an unserved convenience zone served. The bill would specify that a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit is not precluded from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone as a reverse vending machine. The bill would specify that an existing certified recycling center is not ineligible for handling fees if a reverse vending machine is located in the same convenience zone.
(3)The act requires, until June 30, 2027, the handling fee to be determined using a methodology established by the department through emergency regulations, and requires those regulations to remain in effect through that date, as specified.
This bill would extend the application of those regulations through June 30, 2032.
The(4)This bill would make an appropriation by expanding the entities that would be eligible at any given time for program payments payments, and by changing the calculation of handling fees, paid by the department from the continuously appropriated fund.
By(5)By adding new requirements to the act, this bill would expand the scope of a crime, crimes, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to designate convenience zones annually and to ensure that at least one certified recycling center that meets specific requirements is located within each convenience zone. The act defines convenience zone as the area within a one-mile radius of a supermarket, and defines supermarket as a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of $2,000,000 or more, and that sells specified items and some perishable items. The act establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes, including the amount necessary to pay processing payments to recycling centers and to pay handling fees to certain types of recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. Under the act, a reverse vending machine, as defined, may be certified as a recycling center, as prescribed. The act prohibits processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees for dealer cooperatives if a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone where a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located. A violation of the act is an infraction.
This bill, for the purpose of defining a supermarket, would increase the minimum gross annual sales to $5,000,000 and $5,000,000, revise the description of items for sale. sale, and require the department to consult the most recent annual update to the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and other relevant updates to the guidebook to determine which dealers are supermarkets, as specified. The bill would specify that a reverse vending machine certified to operate as a recycling center does not make an unserved convenience zone served. The bill would specify that a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit is not precluded from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone as a reverse vending machine. The bill would specify that an existing certified recycling center is not ineligible for handling fees if a reverse vending machine is located in the same convenience zone.
The bill would make an appropriation by expanding the entities that would be eligible at any given time for program payments paid by the department from the continuously appropriated fund.
By adding new requirements to the act, this bill would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to designate convenience zones annually and to ensure that at least one certified recycling center that meets specific requirements is located within each convenience zone. The act defines convenience zone as the area within a one-mile radius of a supermarket, and defines supermarket as a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of $2,000,000 or more, and that sells specified items and some perishable items. The act establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes, including the amount necessary to pay processing payments to recycling centers and to pay handling fees to certain types of recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. Under the act, a reverse vending machine, as defined, may be certified as a recycling center, as prescribed. The act prohibits processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees for dealer cooperatives if a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone where a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located. A violation of the act is an infraction.
This bill, for the purpose of defining a supermarket, would increase the minimum gross annual sales to $5,000,000 and revise the description of items for sale. The bill would specify that a reverse vending machine certified to operate as a recycling center does not make an unserved convenience zone served. The bill would specify that a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit is not precluded from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone as a reverse vending machine. The bill would specify that an existing certified recycling center is not ineligible for handling fees if a reverse vending machine is located in the same convenience zone. The bill would specify that a reverse vending machine is not ineligible for handling fees because another recycling center becomes certified to operate in the convenience zone in which the reverse vending machine is already certified.
The bill would make an appropriation by expanding the entities that would be eligible at any given time for program payments paid by the department from the continuously appropriated fund.
By adding new requirements to the act, this bill would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to designate convenience zones annually and to ensure that at least one certified recycling center that meets specific requirements is located within each convenience zone. The act defines convenience zone as the area within a one-mile radius of a supermarket, and defines supermarket as a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of $2,000,000 or more, and that sells specified items and some perishable items. The act establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes, including the amount necessary to pay processing payments to recycling centers and to pay handling fees to certain types of recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. Under the act, a reverse vending machine, as defined, may be certified as a recycling center, as prescribed. The act prohibits processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees for dealer cooperatives if a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone where a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located. A violation of the act is an infraction.
This bill, for the purpose of defining a supermarket, would increase the minimum gross annual sales to $5,000,000 and revise the description of items for sale. The bill would specify that a reverse vending machine certified to operate as a recycling center does not make an unserved convenience zone served. The bill would specify that a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit is not precluded from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone as a reverse vending machine. The bill would specify that an existing certified recycling center is not ineligible for handling fees if a reverse vending machine is located in the same convenience zone. The bill would specify that a reverse vending machine is not ineligible for handling fees because another recycling center becomes certified to operate in the convenience zone in which the reverse vending machine is already certified.
The bill would make an appropriation by expanding the entities that would be eligible at any given time for program payments paid by the department from the continuously appropriated fund.
By adding new requirements to the act, this bill would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to designate convenience zones annually and to ensure that at least one certified recycling center that meets specific requirements is located within each convenience zone. The act defines convenience zone as the area within a one-mile radius of a supermarket, and defines supermarket as a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of $2,000,000 or more, and that sells specified items and some perishable items. The act establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes, including the amount necessary to pay processing payments to recycling centers and to pay handling fees to certain types of recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. Under the act, a reverse vending machine, as defined, may be certified as a recycling center, as prescribed. The act prohibits processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees for dealer cooperatives if a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone where a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located. A violation of the act is an infraction.
This bill, for the purpose of defining a supermarket, would increase the minimum gross annual sales to $5,000,000 and revise the description of items for sale. The bill would specify that a reverse vending machine certified to operate as a recycling center does not make an unserved convenience zone served. The bill would specify that a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit is not precluded from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone as a reverse vending machine. The bill would specify that an existing certified recycling center is not ineligible for handling fees if a reverse vending machine is located in the same convenience zone. The bill would specify that a reverse vending machine is not ineligible for handling fees because another recycling center becomes certified to operate in the convenience zone in which the reverse vending machine is already certified.
The bill would make an appropriation by expanding the entities that would be eligible at any given time for program payments paid by the department from the continuously appropriated fund.
By adding new requirements to the act, this bill would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(a)Supermarket means a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of six million dollars ($6,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry groceries, canned goods, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items, or some perishable items, regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or a deli. For purposes of determining which dealers are supermarkets, the department shall consult the most recent annual update to the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and any other relevant update developed in conjunction with that guidebook.
(b)Notwithstanding the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision, a recycling center that was eligible to receive handling fees immediately before the effective date of that act shall continue to be eligible to receive handling fees on and after that date.
SEC. 2.Section 14571.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:14571.6.(a)Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, all of the following apply if a reverse vending machine is certified to operate as a recycling center:
(1)The reverse vending machine shall not make an unserved convenience zone served, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 14571, regardless of the number of hours it operates. The reverse vending machine shall still be required to operate the minimum hours specified in Section 14571.
(2)A reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not preclude either of the following from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone:
(A)A dealer cooperative under Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 14578).
(B)A mobile unit as defined in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(3)The reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not make an existing recycling center certified in that convenience zone ineligible for handling fees pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14585.
(b)Except as provided in subdivision (a), a reverse vending machine that is certified as a recycling center remains subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers.
SEC. 3.Section 14578.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14578.5.(a)By January 1, 2024, the department may provide one or more model dealer cooperative redemption plans for dealer cooperatives to adopt to comply with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14578 and this section.
(b)(1)By January 1, 2024, the department shall adopt emergency regulations that provide access and convenience for consumers that are comparable to subdivision (a) of Section 14571. The regulations shall include the registration process for dealers, the application and registration process for the dealer cooperative, and the process for updating information after registration as needed, and other regulations necessary for the implementation and enforcement of this subdivision.
(2)Upon the expiration of the emergency regulations no more than 180 days after adoption, the department shall adopt regulations pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code to implement this section.
(c)A dealer cooperative shall do all of the following:
(1)Submit a redemption plan to the department to provide redemption in one or more unserved convenience zones. Redemption programs shall include sufficient redemption opportunities for consumers that have comparable consumer convenience to the requirements of Section 14571 and include, but are not limited to, pilot projects described in Section 14571.9.
(2)Assess fees on the dealers in the zone or zones covered by the redemption plan necessary to cover operational costs and implementation of the approved plan.
(3)(A)Redeem all material types and offer one or more redemption locations within the dealer cooperative zone.
(B)The dealer cooperative may contract to provide the redemption opportunities approved in the plan.
(4)Be operational and fully implement the approved redemption plan.
(5)Register as a dealer cooperative with the department.
(6)Provide reports as required by the department, which may include, but are not limited to, the amount of empty beverage containers, by material type and weight of container or material, redeemed in the past month and any other relevant information the department requests in the form and manner that the department may prescribe.
(d)(1)Except as provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14571.6, dealer cooperatives may be eligible for reimbursement of California Redemption Value funds paid to consumers, processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees unless a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone in which a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located.
(2)In order to receive payment from a processor, dealer cooperative redemption identification shall be verified.
(3)The department may delay payments to a dealer cooperative for up to seven days until the verification of the received weight versus the actual redemption weight of beverage containers occurs.
(e)The department may revoke a dealer cooperatives registration or the plan for failure to provide redemption for consumers.
(f)The department shall audit each cooperative at least once every 24 months to ensure that proper program payments are made to consumers and cooperative fees are being utilized for the operation of the approved redemption model.
(g)The department may assess civil penalties under Section 14591.1 for violations of this section.
SEC. 4.Section 14585 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14585.(a)The department shall adopt guidelines and methods for paying handling fees to supermarket sites, nonprofit convenience zone recyclers, or rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Handling fees shall be paid on a monthly basis, in the form and manner adopted by the department. The department shall require that claims for the handling fee be filed with the department not later than the first day of the second month following the month for which the handling fee is claimed as a condition of receiving any handling fee.
(2)The department shall determine the number of eligible containers per site for which a handling fee will be paid in the following manner:
(A)Each eligible sites combined monthly volume of glass and plastic beverage containers shall be divided by the sites total monthly volume of all empty beverage container types.
(B)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is equal to, or more than, 10 percent, the total monthly volume of the site shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(C)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is less than 10 percent, the department shall divide the volume of glass and plastic beverage containers by 10 percent. That quotient shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(3)(A)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g).
(B)On and after July 1, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivision (f).
(4)If the eligible volume in any given month would result in handling fee payments that exceed the allocation of funds for that month, as provided in subdivision (b), sites with higher eligible monthly volumes shall receive handling fees for their entire eligible monthly volume before sites with lower eligible monthly volumes receive any handling fees.
(5)(A)If a dealer where a supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located ceases operation for remodeling or for a change of ownership, the operator of that supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall be eligible to apply for handling fees for that site for a period of three months following the date of the closure of the dealer.
(B)Every supermarket site operator, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall promptly notify the department of the closure of the dealer where the supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located.
(C)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any operator who fails to provide notification to the department pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall not be eligible to apply for handling fees.
(b)The department may allocate the amount authorized for expenditure for the payment of handling fees pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14581 on a monthly basis and may carry over any unexpended monthly allocation to a subsequent month or months. However, unexpended monthly allocations shall not be carried over to a subsequent fiscal year for the purpose of paying handling fees but may be carried over for any other purpose pursuant to Section 14581.
(c)Except as provided in Section 14571.6, all of the following apply to the payment of handling fees:
(1)The department shall not make handling fee payments to more than one certified recycling center in a convenience zone. If a dealer is located in more than one convenience zone, the department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a supermarket site located at that dealer. This handling fee payment shall not be split between the affected zones. The department shall stop making handling fee payments if another recycling center certifies to operate within the convenience zone without receiving payments pursuant to this section, if the department monitors the performance of the other recycling center for 60 days and determines that the recycling center is in compliance with this division. Any recycling center that locates in a convenience zone, thereby causing a preexisting recycling center to become ineligible to receive handling fee payments, is ineligible to receive any handling fee payments in that convenience zone.
(2)The department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a rural region recycler located anywhere inside a convenience zone, if that convenience zone is not served by another certified recycling center and the rural region recycler does either of the following:
(A)Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week in one convenience zone.
(B)Serves two or more convenience zones, and meets all of the following criteria:
(i)Is the only certified recycler within each convenience zone.
(ii)Is open and operating at least eight hours per week in each convenience zone and is certified at each location.
(iii)Operates at least 30 hours per week in total for all convenience zones served.
(d)The department may require an operator of a supermarket site, or an operator of a rural region recycler, receiving handling fees to maintain records for each location where beverage containers are redeemed, and may require the supermarket site or rural region recycler to take any other action necessary for the department to determine that the supermarket site or rural region recycler does not receive an excessive handling fee.
(e)The department may determine and use a standard container per pound rate, for each material type, for purposes of calculating volumes and making handling fee payments.
(f)(1)On or before January 1, 2008, and every two years thereafter, the department shall conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision of a statistically significant sample of handling fee payment recipients to determine the actual cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers by those handling fee payment recipients. The department shall conduct these cost surveys in conjunction with the cost surveys performed by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575 to determine processing payments and processing fees. The department shall include, in determining the actual costs, only those allowable costs contained in the regulations adopted pursuant to this division that are used by the department to conduct cost surveys pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575.
(2)Using the information obtained pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall then determine the statewide weighted average cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers, per empty beverage container, by handling fee payment recipients.
(3)Except as provided in subdivision (g), the department shall determine the amount of the handling fee to be paid for each empty beverage container as follows:
(A)Until June 30, 2032, and except as provided in subparagraph (B), the amount shall be determined using a methodology established by the department reflecting the cost of providing and maintaining recycling in convenience zones by handling fee recipients, including transportation, labor, volume, consumer convenience, and increasing recycling rates. The methodology may include tiered handling fee rates reflecting differing costs within convenience zones or regions based on respective volume or location. This subparagraph shall become inoperative on July 1, 2032.
(B)On and after June 30, 2026, and if the department has not established a method pursuant to subparagraph (A), the amount shall be determined by subtracting the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container to redeem empty beverage containers by handling fee payment recipients that do not receive handling fees from the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container determined pursuant to paragraph (2).
(4)The department shall adjust the statewide average cost determined pursuant to paragraph (2) for each beverage container annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(5)The cost information collected pursuant to this section for handling fee payment recipients shall not be used in the calculation of the processing payments determined pursuant to Section 14575.
(g)(1)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the per-container handling fee shall not be less than the amount of the per-container handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023. If the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session is after July 1, 2024, the department shall pay eligible handling fee payment recipients the difference between the handling fee in effect on July 1, 2024, and the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023, so that the per-container handling fee for the 202526 fiscal year is no less than the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023.
(2)The department shall adjust the handling fee established by this subdivision annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(h)(1)The department shall adopt emergency regulations that establish the methodology described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) and to establish a handling fee calculated pursuant to the methodology. The regulations shall take effect no later than July 1, 2026.
(2)Until June 30, 2032, the adoption of regulations described in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted from the requirement that it describe facts showing the need for immediate action. Notwithstanding Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, the emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in effect through June 30, 2032.
SEC. 5.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 6.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to remove barriers to the implementation of Senate Bill 1013 of the 202122 Regular Session to provide beverage container redemption services to consumers throughout the State of California where there is a lack of redemption infrastructure, it is necessary that this bill go into immediate effect.
(a)Supermarket means a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of six million dollars ($6,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry groceries, canned goods, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items, or some perishable items, regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or a deli. For purposes of determining which dealers are supermarkets, the department shall consult the most recent annual update to the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and any other relevant update developed in conjunction with that guidebook.
(b)Notwithstanding the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision, a recycling center that was eligible to receive handling fees immediately before the effective date of that act shall continue to be eligible to receive handling fees on and after that date.
SEC. 2.Section 14571.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:14571.6.(a)Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, all of the following apply if a reverse vending machine is certified to operate as a recycling center:
(1)The reverse vending machine shall not make an unserved convenience zone served, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 14571, regardless of the number of hours it operates. The reverse vending machine shall still be required to operate the minimum hours specified in Section 14571.
(2)A reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not preclude either of the following from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone:
(A)A dealer cooperative under Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 14578).
(B)A mobile unit as defined in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(3)The reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not make an existing recycling center certified in that convenience zone ineligible for handling fees pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14585.
(b)Except as provided in subdivision (a), a reverse vending machine that is certified as a recycling center remains subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers.
SEC. 3.Section 14578.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14578.5.(a)By January 1, 2024, the department may provide one or more model dealer cooperative redemption plans for dealer cooperatives to adopt to comply with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14578 and this section.
(b)(1)By January 1, 2024, the department shall adopt emergency regulations that provide access and convenience for consumers that are comparable to subdivision (a) of Section 14571. The regulations shall include the registration process for dealers, the application and registration process for the dealer cooperative, and the process for updating information after registration as needed, and other regulations necessary for the implementation and enforcement of this subdivision.
(2)Upon the expiration of the emergency regulations no more than 180 days after adoption, the department shall adopt regulations pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code to implement this section.
(c)A dealer cooperative shall do all of the following:
(1)Submit a redemption plan to the department to provide redemption in one or more unserved convenience zones. Redemption programs shall include sufficient redemption opportunities for consumers that have comparable consumer convenience to the requirements of Section 14571 and include, but are not limited to, pilot projects described in Section 14571.9.
(2)Assess fees on the dealers in the zone or zones covered by the redemption plan necessary to cover operational costs and implementation of the approved plan.
(3)(A)Redeem all material types and offer one or more redemption locations within the dealer cooperative zone.
(B)The dealer cooperative may contract to provide the redemption opportunities approved in the plan.
(4)Be operational and fully implement the approved redemption plan.
(5)Register as a dealer cooperative with the department.
(6)Provide reports as required by the department, which may include, but are not limited to, the amount of empty beverage containers, by material type and weight of container or material, redeemed in the past month and any other relevant information the department requests in the form and manner that the department may prescribe.
(d)(1)Except as provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14571.6, dealer cooperatives may be eligible for reimbursement of California Redemption Value funds paid to consumers, processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees unless a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone in which a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located.
(2)In order to receive payment from a processor, dealer cooperative redemption identification shall be verified.
(3)The department may delay payments to a dealer cooperative for up to seven days until the verification of the received weight versus the actual redemption weight of beverage containers occurs.
(e)The department may revoke a dealer cooperatives registration or the plan for failure to provide redemption for consumers.
(f)The department shall audit each cooperative at least once every 24 months to ensure that proper program payments are made to consumers and cooperative fees are being utilized for the operation of the approved redemption model.
(g)The department may assess civil penalties under Section 14591.1 for violations of this section.
SEC. 4.Section 14585 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14585.(a)The department shall adopt guidelines and methods for paying handling fees to supermarket sites, nonprofit convenience zone recyclers, or rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Handling fees shall be paid on a monthly basis, in the form and manner adopted by the department. The department shall require that claims for the handling fee be filed with the department not later than the first day of the second month following the month for which the handling fee is claimed as a condition of receiving any handling fee.
(2)The department shall determine the number of eligible containers per site for which a handling fee will be paid in the following manner:
(A)Each eligible sites combined monthly volume of glass and plastic beverage containers shall be divided by the sites total monthly volume of all empty beverage container types.
(B)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is equal to, or more than, 10 percent, the total monthly volume of the site shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(C)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is less than 10 percent, the department shall divide the volume of glass and plastic beverage containers by 10 percent. That quotient shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(3)(A)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g).
(B)On and after July 1, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivision (f).
(4)If the eligible volume in any given month would result in handling fee payments that exceed the allocation of funds for that month, as provided in subdivision (b), sites with higher eligible monthly volumes shall receive handling fees for their entire eligible monthly volume before sites with lower eligible monthly volumes receive any handling fees.
(5)(A)If a dealer where a supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located ceases operation for remodeling or for a change of ownership, the operator of that supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall be eligible to apply for handling fees for that site for a period of three months following the date of the closure of the dealer.
(B)Every supermarket site operator, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall promptly notify the department of the closure of the dealer where the supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located.
(C)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any operator who fails to provide notification to the department pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall not be eligible to apply for handling fees.
(b)The department may allocate the amount authorized for expenditure for the payment of handling fees pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14581 on a monthly basis and may carry over any unexpended monthly allocation to a subsequent month or months. However, unexpended monthly allocations shall not be carried over to a subsequent fiscal year for the purpose of paying handling fees but may be carried over for any other purpose pursuant to Section 14581.
(c)Except as provided in Section 14571.6, all of the following apply to the payment of handling fees:
(1)The department shall not make handling fee payments to more than one certified recycling center in a convenience zone. If a dealer is located in more than one convenience zone, the department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a supermarket site located at that dealer. This handling fee payment shall not be split between the affected zones. The department shall stop making handling fee payments if another recycling center certifies to operate within the convenience zone without receiving payments pursuant to this section, if the department monitors the performance of the other recycling center for 60 days and determines that the recycling center is in compliance with this division. Any recycling center that locates in a convenience zone, thereby causing a preexisting recycling center to become ineligible to receive handling fee payments, is ineligible to receive any handling fee payments in that convenience zone.
(2)The department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a rural region recycler located anywhere inside a convenience zone, if that convenience zone is not served by another certified recycling center and the rural region recycler does either of the following:
(A)Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week in one convenience zone.
(B)Serves two or more convenience zones, and meets all of the following criteria:
(i)Is the only certified recycler within each convenience zone.
(ii)Is open and operating at least eight hours per week in each convenience zone and is certified at each location.
(iii)Operates at least 30 hours per week in total for all convenience zones served.
(d)The department may require an operator of a supermarket site, or an operator of a rural region recycler, receiving handling fees to maintain records for each location where beverage containers are redeemed, and may require the supermarket site or rural region recycler to take any other action necessary for the department to determine that the supermarket site or rural region recycler does not receive an excessive handling fee.
(e)The department may determine and use a standard container per pound rate, for each material type, for purposes of calculating volumes and making handling fee payments.
(f)(1)On or before January 1, 2008, and every two years thereafter, the department shall conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision of a statistically significant sample of handling fee payment recipients to determine the actual cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers by those handling fee payment recipients. The department shall conduct these cost surveys in conjunction with the cost surveys performed by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575 to determine processing payments and processing fees. The department shall include, in determining the actual costs, only those allowable costs contained in the regulations adopted pursuant to this division that are used by the department to conduct cost surveys pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575.
(2)Using the information obtained pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall then determine the statewide weighted average cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers, per empty beverage container, by handling fee payment recipients.
(3)Except as provided in subdivision (g), the department shall determine the amount of the handling fee to be paid for each empty beverage container as follows:
(A)Until June 30, 2032, and except as provided in subparagraph (B), the amount shall be determined using a methodology established by the department reflecting the cost of providing and maintaining recycling in convenience zones by handling fee recipients, including transportation, labor, volume, consumer convenience, and increasing recycling rates. The methodology may include tiered handling fee rates reflecting differing costs within convenience zones or regions based on respective volume or location. This subparagraph shall become inoperative on July 1, 2032.
(B)On and after June 30, 2026, and if the department has not established a method pursuant to subparagraph (A), the amount shall be determined by subtracting the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container to redeem empty beverage containers by handling fee payment recipients that do not receive handling fees from the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container determined pursuant to paragraph (2).
(4)The department shall adjust the statewide average cost determined pursuant to paragraph (2) for each beverage container annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(5)The cost information collected pursuant to this section for handling fee payment recipients shall not be used in the calculation of the processing payments determined pursuant to Section 14575.
(g)(1)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the per-container handling fee shall not be less than the amount of the per-container handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023. If the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session is after July 1, 2024, the department shall pay eligible handling fee payment recipients the difference between the handling fee in effect on July 1, 2024, and the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023, so that the per-container handling fee for the 202526 fiscal year is no less than the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023.
(2)The department shall adjust the handling fee established by this subdivision annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(h)(1)The department shall adopt emergency regulations that establish the methodology described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) and to establish a handling fee calculated pursuant to the methodology. The regulations shall take effect no later than July 1, 2026.
(2)Until June 30, 2032, the adoption of regulations described in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted from the requirement that it describe facts showing the need for immediate action. Notwithstanding Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, the emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in effect through June 30, 2032.
SEC. 5.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 6.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to remove barriers to the implementation of Senate Bill 1013 of the 202122 Regular Session to provide beverage container redemption services to consumers throughout the State of California where there is a lack of redemption infrastructure, it is necessary that this bill go into immediate effect.
(a)Supermarket means a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of five million dollars ($5,000,000), six million dollars ($6,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry groceries, canned goods, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items, or some perishable items, regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or a deli. For purposes of determining which dealers are supermarkets, the department shall consult the most recent annual update to the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and any other relevant update developed in conjunction with that guidebook.
(b)Notwithstanding the changes to this section made by the act adding this subdivision, a recycling center that was eligible to receive handling fees immediately before the effective date of that act shall continue to be eligible to receive handling fees on and after that date.
SEC. 2.Section 14571.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:14571.6.(a)Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, all of the following apply if a reverse vending machine is certified to operate as a recycling center:
(1)The reverse vending machine shall not make an unserved convenience zone served, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 14571, regardless of the number of hours it operates. The reverse vending machine shall still be required to operate the minimum hours specified in Section 14571.
(2)A reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not preclude either of the following from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone:
(A)A dealer cooperative under Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 14578).
(B)A mobile unit as defined in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(3)The reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not make an existing recycling center certified in that convenience zone ineligible for handling fees pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14585.
(b)Except as provided in subdivision (a), a reverse vending machine that is certified as a recycling center remains subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers.
SEC. 3.Section 14578.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14578.5.(a)By January 1, 2024, the department may provide one or more model dealer cooperative redemption plans for dealer cooperatives to adopt to comply with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14578 and this section.
(b)(1)By January 1, 2024, the department shall adopt emergency regulations that provide access and convenience for consumers that are comparable to subdivision (a) of Section 14571. The regulations shall include the registration process for dealers, the application and registration process for the dealer cooperative, and the process for updating information after registration as needed, and other regulations necessary for the implementation and enforcement of this subdivision.
(2)Upon the expiration of the emergency regulations no more than 180 days after adoption, the department shall adopt regulations pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code to implement this section.
(c)A dealer cooperative shall do all of the following:
(1)Submit a redemption plan to the department to provide redemption in one or more unserved convenience zones. Redemption programs shall include sufficient redemption opportunities for consumers that have comparable consumer convenience to the requirements of Section 14571 and include, but are not limited to, pilot projects described in Section 14571.9.
(2)Assess fees on the dealers in the zone or zones covered by the redemption plan necessary to cover operational costs and implementation of the approved plan.
(3)(A)Redeem all material types and offer one or more redemption locations within the dealer cooperative zone.
(B)The dealer cooperative may contract to provide the redemption opportunities approved in the plan.
(4)Be operational and fully implement the approved redemption plan.
(5)Register as a dealer cooperative with the department.
(6)Provide reports as required by the department, which may include, but are not limited to, the amount of empty beverage containers, by material type and weight of container or material, redeemed in the past month and any other relevant information the department requests in the form and manner that the department may prescribe.
(d)(1)Except as provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14571.6, dealer cooperatives may be eligible for reimbursement of California Redemption Value funds paid to consumers, processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees unless a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone in which a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located.
(2)In order to receive payment from a processor, dealer cooperative redemption identification shall be verified.
(3)The department may delay payments to a dealer cooperative for up to seven days until the verification of the received weight versus the actual redemption weight of beverage containers occurs.
(e)The department may revoke a dealer cooperatives registration or the plan for failure to provide redemption for consumers.
(f)The department shall audit each cooperative at least once every 24 months to ensure that proper program payments are made to consumers and cooperative fees are being utilized for the operation of the approved redemption model.
(g)The department may assess civil penalties under Section 14591.1 for violations of this section.
SEC. 4.Section 14585 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14585.(a)The department shall adopt guidelines and methods for paying handling fees to supermarket sites, nonprofit convenience zone recyclers, or rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Handling fees shall be paid on a monthly basis, in the form and manner adopted by the department. The department shall require that claims for the handling fee be filed with the department not later than the first day of the second month following the month for which the handling fee is claimed as a condition of receiving any handling fee.
(2)The department shall determine the number of eligible containers per site for which a handling fee will be paid in the following manner:
(A)Each eligible sites combined monthly volume of glass and plastic beverage containers shall be divided by the sites total monthly volume of all empty beverage container types.
(B)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is equal to, or more than, 10 percent, the total monthly volume of the site shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(C)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is less than 10 percent, the department shall divide the volume of glass and plastic beverage containers by 10 percent. That quotient shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(3)(A)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g).
(B)On and after July 1, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivision (f).
(4)If the eligible volume in any given month would result in handling fee payments that exceed the allocation of funds for that month, as provided in subdivision (b), sites with higher eligible monthly volumes shall receive handling fees for their entire eligible monthly volume before sites with lower eligible monthly volumes receive any handling fees.
(5)(A)If a dealer where a supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located ceases operation for remodeling or for a change of ownership, the operator of that supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall be eligible to apply for handling fees for that site for a period of three months following the date of the closure of the dealer.
(B)Every supermarket site operator, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall promptly notify the department of the closure of the dealer where the supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located.
(C)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any operator who fails to provide notification to the department pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall not be eligible to apply for handling fees.
(b)The department may allocate the amount authorized for expenditure for the payment of handling fees pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14581 on a monthly basis and may carry over any unexpended monthly allocation to a subsequent month or months. However, unexpended monthly allocations shall not be carried over to a subsequent fiscal year for the purpose of paying handling fees but may be carried over for any other purpose pursuant to Section 14581.
(c)Except as provided in Section 14571.6, all of the following apply to the payment of handling fees:
(1)The department shall not make handling fee payments to more than one certified recycling center in a convenience zone. If a dealer is located in more than one convenience zone, the department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a supermarket site located at that dealer. This handling fee payment shall not be split between the affected zones. The department shall stop making handling fee payments if another recycling center certifies to operate within the convenience zone without receiving payments pursuant to this section, if the department monitors the performance of the other recycling center for 60 days and determines that the recycling center is in compliance with this division. Any recycling center that locates in a convenience zone, thereby causing a preexisting recycling center to become ineligible to receive handling fee payments, is ineligible to receive any handling fee payments in that convenience zone.
(2)The department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a rural region recycler located anywhere inside a convenience zone, if that convenience zone is not served by another certified recycling center and the rural region recycler does either of the following:
(A)Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week in one convenience zone.
(B)Serves two or more convenience zones, and meets all of the following criteria:
(i)Is the only certified recycler within each convenience zone.
(ii)Is open and operating at least eight hours per week in each convenience zone and is certified at each location.
(iii)Operates at least 30 hours per week in total for all convenience zones served.
(d)The department may require an operator of a supermarket site, or an operator of a rural region recycler, receiving handling fees to maintain records for each location where beverage containers are redeemed, and may require the supermarket site or rural region recycler to take any other action necessary for the department to determine that the supermarket site or rural region recycler does not receive an excessive handling fee.
(e)The department may determine and use a standard container per pound rate, for each material type, for purposes of calculating volumes and making handling fee payments.
(f)(1)On or before January 1, 2008, and every two years thereafter, the department shall conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision of a statistically significant sample of handling fee payment recipients to determine the actual cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers by those handling fee payment recipients. The department shall conduct these cost surveys in conjunction with the cost surveys performed by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575 to determine processing payments and processing fees. The department shall include, in determining the actual costs, only those allowable costs contained in the regulations adopted pursuant to this division that are used by the department to conduct cost surveys pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575.
(2)Using the information obtained pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall then determine the statewide weighted average cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers, per empty beverage container, by handling fee payment recipients.
(3)Except as provided in subdivision (g), the department shall determine the amount of the handling fee to be paid for each empty beverage container as follows:
(A)Until June 30, 2027, 2032, and except as provided in subparagraph (B), the amount shall be determined using a methodology established by the department reflecting the cost of providing and maintaining recycling in convenience zones by handling fee recipients, including transportation, labor, volume, consumer convenience, and increasing recycling rates. The methodology may include tiered handling fee rates reflecting differing costs within convenience zones or regions based on respective volume or location. This subparagraph shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027. 2032.
(B)On and after June 30, 2026, and if the department has not established a method pursuant to subparagraph (A), the amount shall be determined by subtracting the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container to redeem empty beverage containers by handling fee payment recipients that do not receive handling fees from the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container determined pursuant to paragraph (2).
(4)The department shall adjust the statewide average cost determined pursuant to paragraph (2) for each beverage container annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(5)The cost information collected pursuant to this section for handling fee payment recipients shall not be used in the calculation of the processing payments determined pursuant to Section 14575.
(g)(1)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the per-container handling fee shall not be less than the amount of the per-container handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023. If the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session is after July 1, 2024, the department shall pay eligible handling fee payment recipients the difference between the handling fee in effect on July 1, 2024, and the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023, so that the per-container handling fee for the 202526 fiscal year is no less than the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023.
(2)The department shall adjust the handling fee established by this subdivision annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(h)(1)The department shall adopt emergency regulations that establish the methodology described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) and to establish a handling fee calculated pursuant to the methodology. The regulations shall take effect no later than July 1, 2026.
(2)Until June 30, 2027, 2032, the adoption of regulations described in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted from the requirement that it describe facts showing the need for immediate action. Notwithstanding Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, the emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in effect through June 30, 2027. 2032.
SEC. 5.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 6.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to remove barriers to the implementation of Senate Bill 1013 of the 202122 Regular Session to provide beverage container redemption services to consumers throughout the State of California where there is a lack of redemption infrastructure, it is necessary that this bill go into immediate effect.
Supermarket means a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of five million dollars ($5,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry groceries, canned goods, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items, or some perishable items, regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or a deli. For purposes of determining which dealers are supermarkets, the department shall consult the most recent annual update to the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and any other relevant update developed in conjunction with that guidebook.
SEC. 2.Section 14571.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:14571.6.(a)Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, all of the following apply if a reverse vending machine is certified to operate as a recycling center:
(1)The reverse vending machine shall not make an unserved convenience zone served, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 14571, regardless of the number of hours it operates. The reverse vending machine shall still be required to operate the minimum hours specified in Section 14571.
(2)A reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not preclude either of the following from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone:
(A)A dealer cooperative under Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 14578).
(B)A mobile unit as defined in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(3)The reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not make an existing recycling center certified in that convenience zone ineligible for handling fees pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14585.
(b)Except as provided in subdivision (a), a reverse vending machine that is certified as a recycling center remains subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers.
SEC. 3.Section 14578.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14578.5.(a)By January 1, 2024, the department may provide one or more model dealer cooperative redemption plans for dealer cooperatives to adopt to comply with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14578 and this section.
(b)(1)By January 1, 2024, the department shall adopt emergency regulations that provide access and convenience for consumers that are comparable to subdivision (a) of Section 14571. The regulations shall include the registration process for dealers, the application and registration process for the dealer cooperative, and the process for updating information after registration as needed, and other regulations necessary for the implementation and enforcement of this subdivision.
(2)Upon the expiration of the emergency regulations no more than 180 days after adoption, the department shall adopt regulations pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code to implement this section.
(c)A dealer cooperative shall do all of the following:
(1)Submit a redemption plan to the department to provide redemption in one or more unserved convenience zones. Redemption programs shall include sufficient redemption opportunities for consumers that have comparable consumer convenience to the requirements of Section 14571 and include, but are not limited to, pilot projects described in Section 14571.9.
(2)Assess fees on the dealers in the zone or zones covered by the redemption plan necessary to cover operational costs and implementation of the approved plan.
(3)(A)Redeem all material types and offer one or more redemption locations within the dealer cooperative zone.
(B)The dealer cooperative may contract to provide the redemption opportunities approved in the plan.
(4)Be operational and fully implement the approved redemption plan.
(5)Register as a dealer cooperative with the department.
(6)Provide reports as required by the department, which may include, but are not limited to, the amount of empty beverage containers, by material type and weight of container or material, redeemed in the past month and any other relevant information the department requests in the form and manner that the department may prescribe.
(d)(1)Except as provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14571.6, dealer cooperatives may be eligible for reimbursement of California Redemption Value funds paid to consumers, processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees unless a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone in which a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located.
(2)In order to receive payment from a processor, dealer cooperative redemption identification shall be verified.
(3)The department may delay payments to a dealer cooperative for up to seven days until the verification of the received weight versus the actual redemption weight of beverage containers occurs.
(e)The department may revoke a dealer cooperatives registration or the plan for failure to provide redemption for consumers.
(f)The department shall audit each cooperative at least once every 24 months to ensure that proper program payments are made to consumers and cooperative fees are being utilized for the operation of the approved redemption model.
(g)The department may assess civil penalties under Section 14591.1 for violations of this section.
SEC. 4.Section 14585 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14585.(a)The department shall adopt guidelines and methods for paying handling fees to supermarket sites, nonprofit convenience zone recyclers, or rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Handling fees shall be paid on a monthly basis, in the form and manner adopted by the department. The department shall require that claims for the handling fee be filed with the department not later than the first day of the second month following the month for which the handling fee is claimed as a condition of receiving any handling fee.
(2)The department shall determine the number of eligible containers per site for which a handling fee will be paid in the following manner:
(A)Each eligible sites combined monthly volume of glass and plastic beverage containers shall be divided by the sites total monthly volume of all empty beverage container types.
(B)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is equal to, or more than, 10 percent, the total monthly volume of the site shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(C)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is less than 10 percent, the department shall divide the volume of glass and plastic beverage containers by 10 percent. That quotient shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(3)(A)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g).
(B)On and after July 1, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivision (f).
(4)If the eligible volume in any given month would result in handling fee payments that exceed the allocation of funds for that month, as provided in subdivision (b), sites with higher eligible monthly volumes shall receive handling fees for their entire eligible monthly volume before sites with lower eligible monthly volumes receive any handling fees.
(5)(A)If a dealer where a supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located ceases operation for remodeling or for a change of ownership, the operator of that supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall be eligible to apply for handling fees for that site for a period of three months following the date of the closure of the dealer.
(B)Every supermarket site operator, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall promptly notify the department of the closure of the dealer where the supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located.
(C)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any operator who fails to provide notification to the department pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall not be eligible to apply for handling fees.
(b)The department may allocate the amount authorized for expenditure for the payment of handling fees pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14581 on a monthly basis and may carry over any unexpended monthly allocation to a subsequent month or months. However, unexpended monthly allocations shall not be carried over to a subsequent fiscal year for the purpose of paying handling fees but may be carried over for any other purpose pursuant to Section 14581.
(c)Except as provided in Section 14571.6, all of the following apply to the payment of handling fees:
(1)The department shall not make handling fee payments to more than one certified recycling center in a convenience zone. If a dealer is located in more than one convenience zone, the department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a supermarket site located at that dealer. This handling fee payment shall not be split between the affected zones. The department shall stop making handling fee payments if another recycling center certifies to operate within the convenience zone without receiving payments pursuant to this section, if the department monitors the performance of the other recycling center for 60 days and determines that the recycling center is in compliance with this division. Any recycling center that locates in a convenience zone, thereby causing a preexisting recycling center to become ineligible to receive handling fee payments, is ineligible to receive any handling fee payments in that convenience zone.
(2)The department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a rural region recycler located anywhere inside a convenience zone, if that convenience zone is not served by another certified recycling center and the rural region recycler does either of the following:
(A)Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week in one convenience zone.
(B)Serves two or more convenience zones, and meets all of the following criteria:
(i)Is the only certified recycler within each convenience zone.
(ii)Is open and operating at least eight hours per week in each convenience zone and is certified at each location.
(iii)Operates at least 30 hours per week in total for all convenience zones served.
(d)The department may require an operator of a supermarket site, or an operator of a rural region recycler, receiving handling fees to maintain records for each location where beverage containers are redeemed, and may require the supermarket site or rural region recycler to take any other action necessary for the department to determine that the supermarket site or rural region recycler does not receive an excessive handling fee.
(e)The department may determine and use a standard container per pound rate, for each material type, for purposes of calculating volumes and making handling fee payments.
(f)(1)On or before January 1, 2008, and every two years thereafter, the department shall conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision of a statistically significant sample of handling fee payment recipients to determine the actual cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers by those handling fee payment recipients. The department shall conduct these cost surveys in conjunction with the cost surveys performed by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575 to determine processing payments and processing fees. The department shall include, in determining the actual costs, only those allowable costs contained in the regulations adopted pursuant to this division that are used by the department to conduct cost surveys pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575.
(2)Using the information obtained pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall then determine the statewide weighted average cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers, per empty beverage container, by handling fee payment recipients.
(3)Except as provided in subdivision (g), the department shall determine the amount of the handling fee to be paid for each empty beverage container as follows:
(A)Until June 30, 2027, and except as provided in subparagraph (B), the amount shall be determined using a methodology established by the department reflecting the cost of providing and maintaining recycling in convenience zones by handling fee recipients, including transportation, labor, volume, consumer convenience, and increasing recycling rates. The methodology may include tiered handling fee rates reflecting differing costs within convenience zones or regions based on respective volume or location. This subparagraph shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027.
(B)On and after June 30, 2026, and if the department has not established a method pursuant to subparagraph (A), the amount shall be determined by subtracting the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container to redeem empty beverage containers by handling fee payment recipients that do not receive handling fees from the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container determined pursuant to paragraph (2).
(4)The department shall adjust the statewide average cost determined pursuant to paragraph (2) for each beverage container annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(5)The cost information collected pursuant to this section for handling fee payment recipients shall not be used in the calculation of the processing payments determined pursuant to Section 14575.
(g)(1)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the per-container handling fee shall not be less than the amount of the per-container handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023. If the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session is after July 1, 2024, the department shall pay eligible handling fee payment recipients the difference between the handling fee in effect on July 1, 2024, and the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023, so that the per-container handling fee for the 202526 fiscal year is no less than the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023.
(2)The department shall adjust the handling fee established by this subdivision annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(h)(1)The department shall adopt emergency regulations that establish the methodology described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) and to establish a handling fee calculated pursuant to the methodology. The regulations shall take effect no later than July 1, 2026.
(2)Until June 30, 2027, the adoption of regulations described in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted from the requirement that it describe facts showing the need for immediate action. Notwithstanding Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, the emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in effect through June 30, 2027.
SEC. 5.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 6.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to remove barriers to the implementation of Senate Bill 1013 of the 202122 Regular Session to provide beverage container redemption services to consumers throughout the State of California where there is a lack of redemption infrastructure, it is necessary that this bill go into immediate effect.
REVISIONS: HeadingLine 2.Supermarket means a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of five million dollars ($5,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry groceries, canned goods, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items, or some perishable items, regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or a deli.
SEC. 2.Section 14571.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:14571.6.(a)Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, all of the following apply if a reverse vending machine is certified to operate as a recycling center:
(1)The reverse vending machine shall not make an unserved convenience zone served, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 14571, regardless of the number of hours it operates. The reverse vending machine shall still be required to operate the minimum hours specified in Section 14571.
(2)A reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not preclude either of the following from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone:
(A)A dealer cooperative under Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 14578).
(B)A mobile unit as defined in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(3)The reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not make an existing recycling center certified in that convenience zone ineligible for handling fees pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14585.
(4)A reverse vending machine is not made ineligible for handling fees pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14585 because another recycling center becomes certified to operate in the convenience zone in which the reverse vending machine is already certified. The reverse vending machine is eligible for handling fees as otherwise specified in Section 14585.(b)Except as provided in subdivision (a), a reverse vending machine that is certified as a recycling center remains subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers.
SEC. 3.Section 14578.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14578.5.(a)By January 1, 2024, the department may provide one or more model dealer cooperative redemption plans for dealer cooperatives to adopt to comply with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14578 and this section.
(b)(1)By January 1, 2024, the department shall adopt emergency regulations that provide access and convenience for consumers that are comparable to subdivision (a) of Section 14571. The regulations shall include the registration process for dealers, the application and registration process for the dealer cooperative, and the process for updating information after registration as needed, and other regulations necessary for the implementation and enforcement of this subdivision.
(2)Upon the expiration of the emergency regulations no more than 180 days after adoption, the department shall adopt regulations pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code to implement this section.
(c)A dealer cooperative shall do all of the following:
(1)Submit a redemption plan to the department to provide redemption in one or more unserved convenience zones. Redemption programs shall include sufficient redemption opportunities for consumers that have comparable consumer convenience to the requirements of Section 14571 and include, but are not limited to, pilot projects described in Section 14571.9.
(2)Assess fees on the dealers in the zone or zones covered by the redemption plan necessary to cover operational costs and implementation of the approved plan.
(3)(A)Redeem all material types and offer one or more redemption locations within the dealer cooperative zone.
(B)The dealer cooperative may contract to provide the redemption opportunities approved in the plan.
(4)Be operational and fully implement the approved redemption plan.
(5)Register as a dealer cooperative with the department.
(6)Provide reports as required by the department, which may include, but are not limited to, the amount of empty beverage containers, by material type and weight of container or material, redeemed in the past month and any other relevant information the department requests in the form and manner that the department may prescribe.
(d)(1)Except as provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14571.6, dealer cooperatives may be eligible for reimbursement of California Redemption Value funds paid to consumers, processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees unless a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone in which a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located.
(2)In order to receive payment from a processor, dealer cooperative redemption identification shall be verified.
(3)The department may delay payments to a dealer cooperative for up to seven days until the verification of the received weight versus the actual redemption weight of beverage containers occurs.
(e)The department may revoke a dealer cooperatives registration or the plan for failure to provide redemption for consumers.
(f)The department shall audit each cooperative at least once every 24 months to ensure that proper program payments are made to consumers and cooperative fees are being utilized for the operation of the approved redemption model.
(g)The department may assess civil penalties under Section 14591.1 for violations of this section.
SEC. 4.Section 14585 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14585.(a)The department shall adopt guidelines and methods for paying handling fees to supermarket sites, nonprofit convenience zone recyclers, or rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Handling fees shall be paid on a monthly basis, in the form and manner adopted by the department. The department shall require that claims for the handling fee be filed with the department not later than the first day of the second month following the month for which the handling fee is claimed as a condition of receiving any handling fee.
(2)The department shall determine the number of eligible containers per site for which a handling fee will be paid in the following manner:
(A)Each eligible sites combined monthly volume of glass and plastic beverage containers shall be divided by the sites total monthly volume of all empty beverage container types.
(B)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is equal to, or more than, 10 percent, the total monthly volume of the site shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(C)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is less than 10 percent, the department shall divide the volume of glass and plastic beverage containers by 10 percent. That quotient shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(3)(A)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g).
(B)On and after July 1, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivision (f).
(4)If the eligible volume in any given month would result in handling fee payments that exceed the allocation of funds for that month, as provided in subdivision (b), sites with higher eligible monthly volumes shall receive handling fees for their entire eligible monthly volume before sites with lower eligible monthly volumes receive any handling fees.
(5)(A)If a dealer where a supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located ceases operation for remodeling or for a change of ownership, the operator of that supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall be eligible to apply for handling fees for that site for a period of three months following the date of the closure of the dealer.
(B)Every supermarket site operator, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall promptly notify the department of the closure of the dealer where the supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located.
(C)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any operator who fails to provide notification to the department pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall not be eligible to apply for handling fees.
(b)The department may allocate the amount authorized for expenditure for the payment of handling fees pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14581 on a monthly basis and may carry over any unexpended monthly allocation to a subsequent month or months. However, unexpended monthly allocations shall not be carried over to a subsequent fiscal year for the purpose of paying handling fees but may be carried over for any other purpose pursuant to Section 14581.
(c)Except as provided in Section 14571.6, all of the following apply to the payment of handling fees:
(1)The department shall not make handling fee payments to more than one certified recycling center in a convenience zone. If a dealer is located in more than one convenience zone, the department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a supermarket site located at that dealer. This handling fee payment shall not be split between the affected zones. The department shall stop making handling fee payments if another recycling center certifies to operate within the convenience zone without receiving payments pursuant to this section, if the department monitors the performance of the other recycling center for 60 days and determines that the recycling center is in compliance with this division. Any recycling center that locates in a convenience zone, thereby causing a preexisting recycling center to become ineligible to receive handling fee payments, is ineligible to receive any handling fee payments in that convenience zone.
(2)The department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a rural region recycler located anywhere inside a convenience zone, if that convenience zone is not served by another certified recycling center and the rural region recycler does either of the following:
(A)Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week in one convenience zone.
(B)Serves two or more convenience zones, and meets all of the following criteria:
(i)Is the only certified recycler within each convenience zone.
(ii)Is open and operating at least eight hours per week in each convenience zone and is certified at each location.
(iii)Operates at least 30 hours per week in total for all convenience zones served.
(d)The department may require an operator of a supermarket site, or an operator of a rural region recycler, receiving handling fees to maintain records for each location where beverage containers are redeemed, and may require the supermarket site or rural region recycler to take any other action necessary for the department to determine that the supermarket site or rural region recycler does not receive an excessive handling fee.
(e)The department may determine and use a standard container per pound rate, for each material type, for purposes of calculating volumes and making handling fee payments.
(f)(1)On or before January 1, 2008, and every two years thereafter, the department shall conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision of a statistically significant sample of handling fee payment recipients to determine the actual cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers by those handling fee payment recipients. The department shall conduct these cost surveys in conjunction with the cost surveys performed by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575 to determine processing payments and processing fees. The department shall include, in determining the actual costs, only those allowable costs contained in the regulations adopted pursuant to this division that are used by the department to conduct cost surveys pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575.
(2)Using the information obtained pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall then determine the statewide weighted average cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers, per empty beverage container, by handling fee payment recipients.
(3)Except as provided in subdivision (g), the department shall determine the amount of the handling fee to be paid for each empty beverage container as follows:
(A)Until June 30, 2027, and except as provided in subparagraph (B), the amount shall be determined using a methodology established by the department reflecting the cost of providing and maintaining recycling in convenience zones by handling fee recipients, including transportation, labor, volume, consumer convenience, and increasing recycling rates. The methodology may include tiered handling fee rates reflecting differing costs within convenience zones or regions based on respective volume or location. This subparagraph shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027.
(B)On and after June 30, 2026, and if the department has not established a method pursuant to subparagraph (A), the amount shall be determined by subtracting the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container to redeem empty beverage containers by handling fee payment recipients that do not receive handling fees from the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container determined pursuant to paragraph (2).
(4)The department shall adjust the statewide average cost determined pursuant to paragraph (2) for each beverage container annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(5)The cost information collected pursuant to this section for handling fee payment recipients shall not be used in the calculation of the processing payments determined pursuant to Section 14575.
(g)(1)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the per-container handling fee shall not be less than the amount of the per-container handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023. If the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session is after July 1, 2024, the department shall pay eligible handling fee payment recipients the difference between the handling fee in effect on July 1, 2024, and the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023, so that the per-container handling fee for the 202526 fiscal year is no less than the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023.
(2)The department shall adjust the handling fee established by this subdivision annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(h)(1)The department shall adopt emergency regulations that establish the methodology described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) and to establish a handling fee calculated pursuant to the methodology. The regulations shall take effect no later than July 1, 2026.
(2)Until June 30, 2027, the adoption of regulations described in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted from the requirement that it describe facts showing the need for immediate action. Notwithstanding Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, the emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in effect through June 30, 2027.
SEC. 5.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 6.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to remove barriers to the implementation of Senate Bill 1013 of the 202122 Regular Session to provide beverage container redemption services to consumers throughout the State of California where there is a lack of redemption infrastructure, it is necessary that this bill go into immediate effect.
Supermarket means a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of five million dollars ($5,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry groceries, canned goods, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items, or some perishable items, regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or a deli.
SEC. 2.Section 14571.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:14571.6.(a)Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, all of the following apply if a reverse vending machine is certified to operate as a recycling center:
(1)The reverse vending machine shall not make an unserved convenience zone served, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 14571, regardless of the number of hours it operates. The reverse vending machine shall still be required to operate the minimum hours specified in Section 14571.
(2)The operation of multiple reverse vending machines may be deemed by the department to serve an unserved convenience zone, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 14571, regardless of the number of hours it operates, if the operation of multiple reverse vending machines is determined by the department to accept 100 percent of the beverage containers sold by dealers within that unserved zone.(3)(2)A reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not preclude either of the following from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone:
(A)A dealer cooperative under Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 14578).
(B)A mobile unit as defined in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(4)(3)The reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not make an existing recycling center certified in that convenience zone ineligible for handling fees pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14585.
(5)(4)A reverse vending machine is not made ineligible for handling fees pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14585 because another recycling center becomes certified to operate in the convenience zone in which the reverse vending machine is already certified. The reverse vending machine is eligible for handling fees as otherwise specified in Section 14585.
(b)Except as provided in subdivision (a), a reverse vending machine that is certified as a recycling center remains subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers.
SEC. 3.Section 14578.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14578.5.(a)By January 1, 2024, the department may provide one or more model dealer cooperative redemption plans for dealer cooperatives to adopt to comply with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14578 and this section.
(b)(1)By January 1, 2024, the department shall adopt emergency regulations that provide access and convenience for consumers that are comparable to subdivision (a) of Section 14571. The regulations shall include the registration process for dealers, the application and registration process for the dealer cooperative, and the process for updating information after registration as needed, and other regulations necessary for the implementation and enforcement of this subdivision.
(2)Upon the expiration of the emergency regulations no more than 180 days after adoption, the department shall adopt regulations pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code to implement this section.
(c)A dealer cooperative shall do all of the following:
(1)Submit a redemption plan to the department to provide redemption in one or more unserved convenience zones. Redemption programs shall include sufficient redemption opportunities for consumers that have comparable consumer convenience to the requirements of Section 14571 and include, but are not limited to, pilot projects described in Section 14571.9.
(2)Assess fees on the dealers in the zone or zones covered by the redemption plan necessary to cover operational costs and implementation of the approved plan.
(3)(A)Redeem all material types and offer one or more redemption locations within the dealer cooperative zone.
(B)The dealer cooperative may contract to provide the redemption opportunities approved in the plan.
(4)Be operational and fully implement the approved redemption plan.
(5)Register as a dealer cooperative with the department.
(6)Provide reports as required by the department, which may include, but are not limited to, the amount of empty beverage containers, by material type and weight of container or material, redeemed in the past month and any other relevant information the department requests in the form and manner that the department may prescribe.
(d)(1)Except as provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14571.6, dealer cooperatives may be eligible for reimbursement of California Redemption Value funds paid to consumers, processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees unless a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone in which a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located.
(2)In order to receive payment from a processor, dealer cooperative redemption identification shall be verified.
(3)The department may delay payments to a dealer cooperative for up to seven days until the verification of the received weight versus the actual redemption weight of beverage containers occurs.
(e)The department may revoke a dealer cooperatives registration or the plan for failure to provide redemption for consumers.
(f)The department shall audit each cooperative at least once every 24 months to ensure that proper program payments are made to consumers and cooperative fees are being utilized for the operation of the approved redemption model.
(g)The department may assess civil penalties under Section 14591.1 for violations of this section.
SEC. 4.Section 14585 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14585.(a)The department shall adopt guidelines and methods for paying handling fees to supermarket sites, nonprofit convenience zone recyclers, or rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Handling fees shall be paid on a monthly basis, in the form and manner adopted by the department. The department shall require that claims for the handling fee be filed with the department not later than the first day of the second month following the month for which the handling fee is claimed as a condition of receiving any handling fee.
(2)The department shall determine the number of eligible containers per site for which a handling fee will be paid in the following manner:
(A)Each eligible sites combined monthly volume of glass and plastic beverage containers shall be divided by the sites total monthly volume of all empty beverage container types.
(B)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is equal to, or more than, 10 percent, the total monthly volume of the site shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(C)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is less than 10 percent, the department shall divide the volume of glass and plastic beverage containers by 10 percent. That quotient shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(3)(A)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g).
(B)On and after July 1, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivision (f).
(4)If the eligible volume in any given month would result in handling fee payments that exceed the allocation of funds for that month, as provided in subdivision (b), sites with higher eligible monthly volumes shall receive handling fees for their entire eligible monthly volume before sites with lower eligible monthly volumes receive any handling fees.
(5)(A)If a dealer where a supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located ceases operation for remodeling or for a change of ownership, the operator of that supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall be eligible to apply for handling fees for that site for a period of three months following the date of the closure of the dealer.
(B)Every supermarket site operator, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall promptly notify the department of the closure of the dealer where the supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located.
(C)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any operator who fails to provide notification to the department pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall not be eligible to apply for handling fees.
(b)The department may allocate the amount authorized for expenditure for the payment of handling fees pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14581 on a monthly basis and may carry over any unexpended monthly allocation to a subsequent month or months. However, unexpended monthly allocations shall not be carried over to a subsequent fiscal year for the purpose of paying handling fees but may be carried over for any other purpose pursuant to Section 14581.
(c)Except as provided in Section 14571.6, all of the following apply to the payment of handling fees:
(1)The department shall not make handling fee payments to more than one certified recycling center in a convenience zone. If a dealer is located in more than one convenience zone, the department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a supermarket site located at that dealer. This handling fee payment shall not be split between the affected zones. The department shall stop making handling fee payments if another recycling center certifies to operate within the convenience zone without receiving payments pursuant to this section, if the department monitors the performance of the other recycling center for 60 days and determines that the recycling center is in compliance with this division. Any recycling center that locates in a convenience zone, thereby causing a preexisting recycling center to become ineligible to receive handling fee payments, is ineligible to receive any handling fee payments in that convenience zone.
(2)The department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a rural region recycler located anywhere inside a convenience zone, if that convenience zone is not served by another certified recycling center and the rural region recycler does either of the following:
(A)Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week in one convenience zone.
(B)Serves two or more convenience zones, and meets all of the following criteria:
(i)Is the only certified recycler within each convenience zone.
(ii)Is open and operating at least eight hours per week in each convenience zone and is certified at each location.
(iii)Operates at least 30 hours per week in total for all convenience zones served.
(d)The department may require an operator of a supermarket site, or an operator of a rural region recycler, receiving handling fees to maintain records for each location where beverage containers are redeemed, and may require the supermarket site or rural region recycler to take any other action necessary for the department to determine that the supermarket site or rural region recycler does not receive an excessive handling fee.
(e)The department may determine and use a standard container per pound rate, for each material type, for purposes of calculating volumes and making handling fee payments.
(f)(1)On or before January 1, 2008, and every two years thereafter, the department shall conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision of a statistically significant sample of handling fee payment recipients to determine the actual cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers by those handling fee payment recipients. The department shall conduct these cost surveys in conjunction with the cost surveys performed by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575 to determine processing payments and processing fees. The department shall include, in determining the actual costs, only those allowable costs contained in the regulations adopted pursuant to this division that are used by the department to conduct cost surveys pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575.
(2)Using the information obtained pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall then determine the statewide weighted average cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers, per empty beverage container, by handling fee payment recipients.
(3)Except as provided in subdivision (g), the department shall determine the amount of the handling fee to be paid for each empty beverage container as follows:
(A)Until June 30, 2027, and except as provided in subparagraph (B), the amount shall be determined using a methodology established by the department reflecting the cost of providing and maintaining recycling in convenience zones by handling fee recipients, including transportation, labor, volume, consumer convenience, and increasing recycling rates. The methodology may include tiered handling fee rates reflecting differing costs within convenience zones or regions based on respective volume or location. This subparagraph shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027.
(B)On and after June 30, 2026, and if the department has not established a method pursuant to subparagraph (A), the amount shall be determined by subtracting the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container to redeem empty beverage containers by handling fee payment recipients that do not receive handling fees from the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container determined pursuant to paragraph (2).
(4)The department shall adjust the statewide average cost determined pursuant to paragraph (2) for each beverage container annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(5)The cost information collected pursuant to this section for handling fee payment recipients shall not be used in the calculation of the processing payments determined pursuant to Section 14575.
(g)(1)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the per-container handling fee shall not be less than the amount of the per-container handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023. If the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session is after July 1, 2024, the department shall pay eligible handling fee payment recipients the difference between the handling fee in effect on July 1, 2024, and the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023, so that the per-container handling fee for the 202526 fiscal year is no less than the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023.
(2)The department shall adjust the handling fee established by this subdivision annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(h)(1)The department shall adopt emergency regulations that establish the methodology described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) and to establish a handling fee calculated pursuant to the methodology. The regulations shall take effect no later than July 1, 2026.
(2)Until June 30, 2027, the adoption of regulations described in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted from the requirement that it describe facts showing the need for immediate action. Notwithstanding Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, the emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in effect through June 30, 2027.
SEC. 5.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 6.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to remove barriers to the implementation of Senate Bill 1013 of the 202122 Regular Session to provide beverage container redemption services to consumers throughout the State of California where there is a lack of redemption infrastructure, it is necessary that this bill go into immediate effect.
Supermarket means a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two five million dollars ($2,000,000), ($5,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, groceries, canned goods, or alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items and items, or some perishable items. For purposes of determining which dealers are supermarkets, the department shall use the annual updates of the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and any computer printouts developed in conjunction with the guidebook. items, regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or a deli.
SEC. 2.Section 14571.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:14571.6.(a)Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, all of the following apply if a reverse vending machine is certified to operate as a recycling center:
(1)The reverse vending machine shall not make an unserved convenience zone served, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 14571, regardless of the number of hours it operates. The reverse vending machine shall still be required to operate the minimum hours specified in Section 14571.
(2)The operation of multiple reverse vending machines may be deemed by the department to serve an unserved convenience zone, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 14571, regardless of the number of hours it operates, if the operation of multiple reverse vending machines is determined by the department to accept 100 percent of the beverage containers sold by dealers within that unserved zone.
(3)A reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not preclude either of the following from operating and receiving program payments in the same convenience zone:
(A)A dealer cooperative under Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 14578).
(B)A mobile unit as defined in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(4)The reverse vending machine located in a convenience zone shall not make an existing recycling center certified in that convenience zone ineligible for handling fees pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14585.
(5)A reverse vending machine is not made ineligible for handling fees pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14585 because another recycling center becomes certified to operate in the convenience zone in which the reverse vending machine is already certified. The reverse vending machine is eligible for handling fees as otherwise specified in Section 14585.
(b)Except as provided in subdivision (a), a reverse vending machine that is certified as a recycling center remains subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers.
SEC. 3.Section 14578.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14578.5.(a)By January 1, 2024, the department may provide one or more model dealer cooperative redemption plans for dealer cooperatives to adopt to comply with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14578 and this section.
(b)(1)By January 1, 2024, the department shall adopt emergency regulations that provide access and convenience for consumers that are comparable to subdivision (a) of Section 14571. The regulations shall include the registration process for dealers, the application and registration process for the dealer cooperative, and the process for updating information after registration as needed, and other regulations necessary for the implementation and enforcement of this subdivision.
(2)Upon the expiration of the emergency regulations no more than 180 days after adoption, the department shall adopt regulations pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code to implement this section.
(c)A dealer cooperative shall do all of the following:
(1)Submit a redemption plan to the department to provide redemption in one or more unserved convenience zones. Redemption programs shall include sufficient redemption opportunities for consumers that have comparable consumer convenience to the requirements of Section 14571 and include, but are not limited to, pilot projects described in Section 14571.9.
(2)Assess fees on the dealers in the zone or zones covered by the redemption plan necessary to cover operational costs and implementation of the approved plan.
(3)(A)Redeem all material types and offer one or more redemption locations within the dealer cooperative zone.
(B)The dealer cooperative may contract to provide the redemption opportunities approved in the plan.
(4)Be operational and fully implement the approved redemption plan.
(5)Register as a dealer cooperative with the department.
(6)Provide reports as required by the department, which may include, but are not limited to, the amount of empty beverage containers, by material type and weight of container or material, redeemed in the past month and any other relevant information the department requests in the form and manner that the department may prescribe.
(d)(1)Dealer Except as provided in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 14571.6, dealer cooperatives may be eligible for reimbursement of California Redemption Value funds paid to consumers, processing payments, handling fees, and administrative fees unless a certified recycling center operates in a convenience zone in which a dealer participating in the dealer cooperative is located.
(2)In order to receive payment from a processor, dealer cooperative redemption identification shall be verified.
(3)The department may delay payments to a dealer cooperative for up to seven days until the verification of the received weight versus the actual redemption weight of beverage containers occurs.
(e)The department may revoke a dealer cooperatives registration or the plan for failure to provide redemption for consumers.
(f)The department shall audit each cooperative at least once every 24 months to ensure that proper program payments are made to consumers and cooperative fees are being utilized for the operation of the approved redemption model.
(g)The department may assess civil penalties under Section 14591.1 for violations of this section.
SEC. 4.Section 14585 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:14585.(a)The department shall adopt guidelines and methods for paying handling fees to supermarket sites, nonprofit convenience zone recyclers, or rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1)Handling fees shall be paid on a monthly basis, in the form and manner adopted by the department. The department shall require that claims for the handling fee be filed with the department not later than the first day of the second month following the month for which the handling fee is claimed as a condition of receiving any handling fee.
(2)The department shall determine the number of eligible containers per site for which a handling fee will be paid in the following manner:
(A)Each eligible sites combined monthly volume of glass and plastic beverage containers shall be divided by the sites total monthly volume of all empty beverage container types.
(B)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is equal to, or more than, 10 percent, the total monthly volume of the site shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(C)If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is less than 10 percent, the department shall divide the volume of glass and plastic beverage containers by 10 percent. That quotient shall be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that month.
(3)(A)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g).
(B)On and after July 1, 2026, the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to subdivision (f).
(4)If the eligible volume in any given month would result in handling fee payments that exceed the allocation of funds for that month, as provided in subdivision (b), sites with higher eligible monthly volumes shall receive handling fees for their entire eligible monthly volume before sites with lower eligible monthly volumes receive any handling fees.
(5)(A)If a dealer where a supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located ceases operation for remodeling or for a change of ownership, the operator of that supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall be eligible to apply for handling fees for that site for a period of three months following the date of the closure of the dealer.
(B)Every supermarket site operator, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler shall promptly notify the department of the closure of the dealer where the supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located.
(C)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any operator who fails to provide notification to the department pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall not be eligible to apply for handling fees.
(b)The department may allocate the amount authorized for expenditure for the payment of handling fees pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14581 on a monthly basis and may carry over any unexpended monthly allocation to a subsequent month or months. However, unexpended monthly allocations shall not be carried over to a subsequent fiscal year for the purpose of paying handling fees but may be carried over for any other purpose pursuant to Section 14581.
(c)(1)The Except as provided in Section 14571.6, all of the following apply to the payment of handling fees:
(1)The department shall not make handling fee payments to more than one certified recycling center in a convenience zone. If a dealer is located in more than one convenience zone, the department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a supermarket site located at that dealer. This handling fee payment shall not be split between the affected zones. The department shall stop making handling fee payments if another recycling center certifies to operate within the convenience zone without receiving payments pursuant to this section, if the department monitors the performance of the other recycling center for 60 days and determines that the recycling center is in compliance with this division. Any recycling center that locates in a convenience zone, thereby causing a preexisting recycling center to become ineligible to receive handling fee payments, is ineligible to receive any handling fee payments in that convenience zone.
(2)The department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a rural region recycler located anywhere inside a convenience zone, if that convenience zone is not served by another certified recycling center and the rural region recycler does either of the following:
(A)Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week in one convenience zone.
(B)Serves two or more convenience zones, and meets all of the following criteria:
(i)Is the only certified recycler within each convenience zone.
(ii)Is open and operating at least eight hours per week in each convenience zone and is certified at each location.
(iii)Operates at least 30 hours per week in total for all convenience zones served.
(d)The department may require an operator of a supermarket site, or an operator of a rural region recycler, receiving handling fees to maintain records for each location where beverage containers are redeemed, and may require the supermarket site or rural region recycler to take any other action necessary for the department to determine that the supermarket site or rural region recycler does not receive an excessive handling fee.
(e)The department may determine and use a standard container per pound rate, for each material type, for purposes of calculating volumes and making handling fee payments.
(f)(1)On or before January 1, 2008, and every two years thereafter, the department shall conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision of a statistically significant sample of handling fee payment recipients to determine the actual cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers by those handling fee payment recipients. The department shall conduct these cost surveys in conjunction with the cost surveys performed by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575 to determine processing payments and processing fees. The department shall include, in determining the actual costs, only those allowable costs contained in the regulations adopted pursuant to this division that are used by the department to conduct cost surveys pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575.
(2)Using the information obtained pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall then determine the statewide weighted average cost incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers, per empty beverage container, by handling fee payment recipients.
(3)Except as provided in subdivision (g), the department shall determine the amount of the handling fee to be paid for each empty beverage container as follows:
(A)Until June 30, 2027, and except as provided in subparagraph (B), the amount shall be determined using a methodology established by the department reflecting the cost of providing and maintaining recycling in convenience zones by handling fee recipients, including transportation, labor, volume, consumer convenience, and increasing recycling rates. The methodology may include tiered handling fee rates reflecting differing costs within convenience zones or regions based on respective volume or location. This subparagraph shall become inoperative on July 1, 2027.
(B)On and after June 30, 2026, and if the department has not established a method pursuant to subparagraph (A), the amount shall be determined by subtracting the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container to redeem empty beverage containers by handling fee payment recipients that do not receive handling fees from the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container determined pursuant to paragraph (2).
(4)The department shall adjust the statewide average cost determined pursuant to paragraph (2) for each beverage container annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(5)The cost information collected pursuant to this section for handling fee payment recipients shall not be used in the calculation of the processing payments determined pursuant to Section 14575.
(g)(1)On and after the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session, and until June 30, 2026, the per-container handling fee shall not be less than the amount of the per-container handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023. If the effective date of the act amending this section during the 202324 Regular Session is after July 1, 2024, the department shall pay eligible handling fee payment recipients the difference between the handling fee in effect on July 1, 2024, and the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023, so that the per-container handling fee for the 202526 fiscal year is no less than the handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2023.
(2)The department shall adjust the handling fee established by this subdivision annually to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the United States government.
(h)(1)The department shall adopt emergency regulations that establish the methodology described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) and to establish a handling fee calculated pursuant to the methodology. The regulations shall take effect no later than July 1, 2026.
(2)Until June 30, 2027, the adoption of regulations described in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted from the requirement that it describe facts showing the need for immediate action. Notwithstanding Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, the emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in effect through June 30, 2027.
SEC. 5.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 6.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to remove barriers to the implementation of Senate Bill 1013 of the 202122 Regular Session to provide beverage container redemption services to consumers throughout the State of California where there is a lack of redemption infrastructure, it is necessary that this bill go into immediate effect.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 319, Statutes of 2026. |
| Sep 18, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep 2, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m. |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 5986.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Ordered to special consent calendar. |
| Aug 24, 2026 | In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending. |
| Aug 24, 2026 | Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 6421.) Ordered to the Senate. |
| Aug 24, 2026 | Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. |
| Aug 17, 2026 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 13, 2026 | Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading. |
| Aug 13, 2026 | From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (August 13). |
| Aug 13, 2026 | Assembly Rule 63 suspended. |
| Aug 5, 2026 | August 5 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file. |
| Jun 23, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (June 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 23, 2026 | Coauthors revised. |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Referred to Com. on NAT. RES. |
| May 22, 2026 | In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. |
| May 22, 2026 | Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. (Ayes 33. Noes 0. Page 4417.) Ordered to the Assembly. |
| May 22, 2026 | Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. (Ayes 33. Noes 0.) Ordered to the Assembly. |
| May 20, 2026 | Ordered to special consent calendar. |
| May 19, 2026 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 18, 2026 | Read third time and amended. |
| May 18, 2026 | Ordered to second reading. |
| May 14, 2026 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 14, 2026 | From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (May 14). |
| May 14, 2026 | From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 4259.) (May 14). |
| May 8, 2026 | Set for hearing May 14. |
| Apr 20, 2026 | April 20 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file. |
| Apr 14, 2026 | Set for hearing April 20. |
| Apr 9, 2026 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 8, 2026 | From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (April 8). |
| Apr 8, 2026 | From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 3792.) (April 8). |
| Mar 18, 2026 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.Q. |
| Mar 11, 2026 | Set for hearing April 8. |
| Mar 9, 2026 | March 18 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Feb 25, 2026 | Set for hearing March 18. |
| Feb 11, 2026 | Referred to Com. on E.Q. |
| Feb 3, 2026 | From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 5. |
| Feb 2, 2026 | Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27, 2026 | Special Consent SB955 Blakespear et al. Urgency Clause | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 24, 2026 | SB 955 Blakespear Third Reading Urgency By Michelle Rodriguez | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 13, 2026 | Do pass as amended. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jun 22, 2026 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar | Assembly Standing Committee on Natural Resources |
Passed |
|
| May 22, 2026 | Special Consent SB955 Blakespear Urgency Clause | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| May 14, 2026 | Do pass | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 20, 2026 | Placed on suspense file | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 8, 2026 | Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Quality |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| A Voice for Choice Advocacy | ** Support | |
| Allan Company | ** Against | |
| Cal Pac Recycling, INC. | ** Support | |
| California Grocers Association | ** Support | |
| California State Association Of Counties | ** Support | |
| Circular CRV | ** Support | |
| Circular-crv Association | ** Support | |
| Climate Reality Project, California Coalition | ** Support | |
| Container Recycling Institute | ** Support | |
| Glass Packaging Institute | ** Support | |
| Ivan's Recycling | ** Support | |
| Olyns | ** Against | |
| Our Planet Recycling SF | ** Support | |
| Pet Recycling Corp of California | ** Support | |
| Rural County Representatives of California | ** Support | |
| Simply Recycle | ** Support | |
| StopWaste | ** Support | |
| The Climate Reality Project, Los Angeles Chapter | ** Support | |
| The Climate Reality Project, Orange County Chapter | ** Support | |
| The Climate Reality Project, Sacramento Chapter | ** Support | |
| The Climate Reality Project, San Diego Chapter | ** Support | |
| The Climate Reality Project, San Fernando Valley CA Chapter | ** Support | |
| Tomra North America, INC. | ** Support |
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-4171 | SB 955 |
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 955
Author: Blakespear (D), et al.
Amended: 8/13/26
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 6-0, 4/8/26
AYES: Blakespear, Valladares, Allen, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Menjivar
NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/14/26
AYES: Cervantes, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab
SENATE FLOOR: 33-0, 5/22/26
AYES: Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, McNerney, Menjivar, Ochoa Bogh, Pérez, Reyes, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Becker, Hurtado, Niello, Padilla, Stern
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Passed, 8/24/26
SUBJECT: Beverage containers: supermarkets: reverse vending machines
SOURCE: Circular CRV
DIGEST:
This bill 1) precludes a reverse vending machine from serving a convenience zone; and 2) redefines “supermarket” to grocery stores with more than $6 million of gross annual sales regardless of the presence of a bakery or deli.
Assembly Amendments
increase the annual sales to be defined as a “supermarket” from $5 million to $6 million, clarify that recycling centers currently eligible for handling fees remain eligible, and allow CalRecycle to continue to use their methodology for calculating handling fees until 2032.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (Bottle Bill), which requires beverage containers, as defined, to have a California redemption value (CRV) of 5 to 10 cents. Requires beverage distributors to pay a redemption payment to CalRecycle for every beverage container sold in the state. Provides that these funds are continuously appropriated to CalRecycle for, among other things, the payment of refund values and processing payments. (Public Resources Code (PRC) § 14500 et seq.)
- Defines convenience zones as a 1-mile radius around a supermarket (PRC § 14509.4), or a 3- to 5-mile radius in rural areas (PRC § 14571.5)
- Requires there to be at least one certified recycling center or location within every convenience zone which pays the full refund price for all types of empty CRV containers and is open for business at least 30 hours per week, with a minimum of 5 hours and maximum of 50% of its hours of operation occurring during periods other than Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm to be “served” (PRC § 14571 (a)). Allows recycling centers to operate fewer than 30 hours in rural areas or on an alternative schedule with approval from CalRecycle (PRC § 14571 (c)).
- Requires beverage dealers in unserved convenience zones to redeem CRV containers at the register (PRC § 14571.6).
- Establishes dealer cooperative program through SB 1013 (Atkins, Chapter 610, Statutes of 2022) through which beverage dealers may collectively arrange for the collection of beverage containers. Requires that dealer cooperatives redeem all beverage types and submit a redemption plan to CalRecycle for approval. (PRC § 14578 et seq.)
- Requires CalRecycle to pay handling fees to supermarket sites, non-profit convenience zone recyclers, and rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in a convenience zone (PRC § 14585).
- Allows CalReycle to develop a methodology for establishing handling fees reflecting the cost of providing and maintaining recycling in convenience zones by handling fee recipients, including transportation, labor, volume, consumer convenience, and increasing recycling rates, until July 1, 2027. (PRC § 14585)
- Requires the following for a reverse vending machine to be considered a certified recycling center, through AB 1311 (Wood, Chapter 506, Statutes of 2021):
- Accepts all empty beverage containers; or
- Provides an attendant to accept all containers that the reverse vending machine cannot accept (such as large containers or pouches); and
- Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week. (PRC § 14571 (f-j))
- Defines a “supermarket” as “a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items. For purposes of determining which dealers are supermarkets, the department shall use the annual updates of the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and any computer printouts developed in conjunction with the guidebook.” (PRC § 14526.5).
This bill:
- Defines supermarkets as a full-line, self-service retail store which:
- Has at least six million dollars of gross annual sales;
- Sells a line of groceries, canned goods, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items, or some perishable items; and
- Regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or deli
- Requires CalRecycle to consult the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook when determining which beverage dealers are supermarkets;
- Stipulates that a reverse vending machine:
- Shall not make an unserved convenience zone served;
- Shall not preclude a dealer cooperative (pursuant to Section 14578) or a mobile unit (pursuant to Section 2000) from operating or receiving payments in the same convenience zone; and
- Shall not make an existing recycling center ineligible for handling fees pursuant to Section 14585(c).
- Stipulates that a recycling center that was eligible to receive handling fees immediately before the effective date of the bill will continue to be eligible.
- Allows CalReycle to continue to determine handling fees using the methodology developed pursuant to PRC § 14585 until July 1, 2032.
- Includes an urgency clause.
Background
- Bottle bill background. The bottle bill was established through legislation in 1986 (AB 2020 Margolin, Chapter 1290, Statutes of 1986) with the joint goals of reducing litter and achieving an 80% recycling rate for all CRV containers in the program. In 2025, CalRecycle reported a 70% recycling rate for CRV containers in the “Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns, Redemption, and Recycling Rates.”
The bottle bill operates by adding a 5-25 cent CRV payment to beverage containers in the program. Beverage distributors pay CRV on all new beverage containers they sell in California into the Beverage Container Recycling Fund (BCRF). Distributors then pass the cost of the CRV on to retailers, who in turn pass that 5-25 cents per bottle on to consumers at checkout. Individuals and businesses are incentivized to return bottles to recycling centers where they can redeem the value of the CRV. Once a consumer is ready to dispose of a bottle, they can return bottles to a certified recycling center and redeem their CRV, or consumers can put their bottles in residential curbside recycling collection, wherein the curbside programs, not consumers, keep the CRV on these containers. The redemption rate (the rate at which CRV containers are returned at recycling centers and supermarkets) was 60% for 2024.[1] According to a CalRecycle 2022 Fact Sheet, curbside programs collect about 12% of CRV containers.[2]
- Recycling center scarcity. The Beverage Container Recycling Program (BCRP) requires CalRecycle to set convenience zones and requires that each convenience zone have at least one certified recycling center. A convenience zone is typically a 1-mile radius around a large supermarket in an urban area and a 3- to 5-mile radius in a rural area. Convenience zones without certified recycling centers are considered “unserved.” Dealers, any retailer which sells CRV containers, are required to collect and provide redemption for CRV if they are in unserved zones.
California currently has approximately 1,200 certified recycling centers (or buy back centers) across the state.2,[3] Many rural counties have only one or two recycling centers to service large geographic areas. Alpine and Sierra County have none.[4] Between 2014 to 2024, approximately half of California’s recycling centers closed.[5]
Though dealers are required to redeem CRV containers if they are in an unserved convenience zone, this does not always happen. Without proper communication to customers (and enforcement from CalRecycle), customers might not realize they can redeem beverage containers at the cash register. If recycling centers are scarce or lack capacity, not only do recycling rates decline, but consumers are left without an opportunity to recover the 5-25 cents per bottle they paid up-front at check-out.
- Supermarkets and beverage dealers. A supermarket is defined as a “full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items,” in conjunction with the Progressive Grocers Guidebook (PRC § 14526, California Code of Regulations (California Code of Regulations (CCR) Tit. 14, § 17987.2). The Progressive Grocer Guidebook is a useful tool which provides estimates of gross sales of food retail locations and whether those locations carry a full line of groceries. Notably, the Progressive Grocery Guide is a proprietary, industry tool which is not openly available.
Additionally, there is an important distinction between supermarkets and dealers. All supermarkets are dealers, but not all dealers are supermarkets. Supermarkets are both beverage dealers and anchor convenience zones. Within a convenience zone, every dealer (supermarket or not) bears some responsibility for CRV container redemption. In an unserved convenience zone, every dealer is obligated to redeem CRV containers at the register. Therefore, every dealer is incentivized in the creation of a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative within their zone.
- Reverse vending machines in convenience zones. A reverse vending machine (RVM) is an automated system in which a user can insert an eligible bottle and redeem the CRV. The machine identifies the CRV container (typically by scanning the barcode) to pay out the proper amount. The machine then cleans, sorts, and stores the containers. RVMs offer consumers an accessible and easy to use system to redeem CRV containers for an immediate payout. In contrast, other recycling centers have more limited operating or are further away. However, RVMs also have disadvantages: the machines can only accept one bottle at a time, may be limited in the material or size of container accepted, and have a smaller capacity than other recycling centers. Once an RVM is full, it cannot accept more containers until it is emptied. RVMs vary in size but typically accept between 200 and 600 containers, with some accepting more than one thousand.[6],[7] In contrast, recycling centers can take up to 200 containers or 1,200 pounds of containers per person per day; there is effectively no limit on what a certified recycling center can accept per day.[8]
RVMs have different requirements for hours of operation than traditional recycling centers. A certified recycling center must be open for 30 hours per week with between 30 and 50% of those hours occurring outside of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and sufficiently staffed to accept all beverage types (PRC § 14571 (a-e)). RVMs are exempted from the staffing requirement and are instead considered “open for business” as long as the equipment is functioning (PRC § 14571 (f)).
Currently, reverse vending machines alone cannot serve a convenience zone. However, reverse vending machines operated by a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative and with a host dealer (the beverage dealer collocated with the reverse vending machine) can serve a convenience zone. Due to the limited capacity of RVMs and limited capacity for enforcement, a full or broken RVM without sufficient signage may leave customers without the ability to redeem containers within a “served” convenience zone.
Comments
- Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program, originally enacted in 1984, significantly reduced litter and dramatically improved recycling rates. It did this by establishing a California Redemption Value (CRV) paid on beverage containers when purchased that could be collected when the containers were returned. However, outdated definitions and limited infrastructure have created recycling “dead zones” in some parts of the state where consumers have few or no practical redemption options, thereby undercutting the state’s recycling efforts.
“Under current law, some high-volume beverage retailers are not required to participate due to antiquated grocery store definitions, and a single reverse vending machine can qualify as “serving” an area even when its limited capacity cannot accommodate the volume of containers sold in that area.
“SB 955 builds on reforms enacted in SB 1013 (Atkins, 2021) by requiring all high-volume beverage retailers to participate in the program and mandating that collection facilities within each community have sufficient capacity to collect all bottles and cans sold there.”
- A Supermarket by any other name. SB 955 aims to shift the responsibility of CRV redemption from small, full line grocers to large beverage dealers which may not be considered a supermarket under existing statute. Under existing law, some beverage dealers aren’t supermarkets and therefore are not contributing to the bottle bill by anchoring a convenience zone, despite acting as a grocery store for an area. Often, these beverage dealers sell a partial line of groceries (such as a limited selection of fruits and vegetables) and a large volume of CRV containers. In such cases, a smaller grocer with a full line of groceries could bear more responsibility for CRV redemption in a convenience zone than a megastore with a partial line of groceries.
Beverage dealers outside of a convenience zone do not have the same responsibilities. These beverage dealers could have millions in sales of CRV containers without increasing redemption opportunities for customers. Importantly, any change to statute which decreases the number of convenience zones could exacerbate this problem.
SB 955 increases the gross annual sales threshold for a supermarket from $2 million to $6 million, to adjust for inflation and to shift the burden of CRV redemption from small, full line grocers. While increasing the gross sales to $6 million could decrease the number of eligible supermarkets, it is still less than if the value had been adjusted for inflation (which would be upward of $8 million according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator between 1980 and 2026). It is unclear to what extent raising the gross sales from $2 million to $6 million will impact the number of “supermarkets.”
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
“1) The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) estimates ongoing annual costs of about $328,000 for two positions (Beverage Container Recycling Fund (BCRF)) to implement the bill. CalRecycle asserts the proposed changes to the definition of “supermarket” will alter CZs and require the department to (a) redefine the maps associated with CZs and (2) provide ongoing technical assistance to recycling centers and dealer cooperatives related to their monthly handling fees.
“The Budget Act of 2026 includes seven permanent positions and about $1 million ongoing (BCRF) for CalRecycle to perform compliance and enforcement tasks associated with the requirements related to dealers and dealer cooperatives enacted by SB 1013 (Atkins), Chapter 610, Statutes of 2023. Given these recently approved resources, it is not clear to the committee that the workload associated with implementing this bill requires two additional positions in an ongoing capacity.
“2) CalRecycle does not anticipate an increase in California Redemption Value (CRV) redemption, processing payments, or handling fees, because the department does not expect the volume of CRV containers returned to change significantly because of this bill. Dealers redeeming in-store are not reimbursed for redemption and are not eligible for program payments, such as handling fees, so even if there is a large increase in dealers required to redeem in-store, CalRecycle does not anticipate there will be a corresponding increase in expenditures from the BCRF.
“CalRecycle reports BCRF had an ending balance of about $822 million in fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 and is projected to have an ending balance of about $718 million at the end of this FY – although this figure could change based on actuals provided at the end of the FY.”
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/24/26)
Circular CRV (source)
A Voice for Choice Advocacy
California Grocers Association
Glass Packaging Institute
Pet Recycling Corp of California
Rural County Representatives of California
Tomra North America, INC.
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/24/26)
Allan Company
Olyns
Prepared by: Alyssa Poletti / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
8/24/26 16:40:37
**** END ****
Container Recycling Institute (2025) Bottle Bill Resource Guide: California, https://www.bottlebill.org/index.php/current-and-proposed-laws/usa/california ↑
CalRecycle (2023) Beverage Container Recycling in California Fact Sheet Calendar Year 2022 (DRRR-2023-1726), https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Docs/Publications/Details/1726 ↑
CalRecycle (2025) Beverage Container Recycling in California Fact Sheet Calendar Year 2023 (DRRR-2025-1749), https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Docs/Publications/Details/1750 ↑
CalRecycle (2026) Beverage Container Recycling Centers, https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/RecyclingCenters/ ↑
Rodd, S. (2024) Diminishing returns: California’s unclaimed bottle deposits hit $820M as recycling centers close, KPBS, https://www.kpbs.org/news/environment/2024/06/20/californias-unclaimed-bottle-deposits-820m-recycling-centers-close ↑
Fortune Business Insights (2026) Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) Market Size, Share, and Industry Analysis, https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/reverse-vending-machine-market-113029 ↑
Recyclever, RVM5-1200 Reverse Vending Machine, https://www.recyclever.com/blog/articles-10/rvm5-1200-reverse-vending-machine-323 ↑
CalRecycle (2023) Beverage Container Recycling Program Fact Sheet, https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/RecyclingCenters/ ↑
SENATE THIRD READING
STR Bill Id:SB 955
Author:(Blakespear)
As Amended Ver:August 13, 2026
2/3 vote. Urgency
SUMMARY
Clarifies that a reverse vending machine (RVM) cannot serve as a convenience zone (CZ) recycler and revises the definition of "supermarket" to include grocery stores with more than $6 million in gross annual sales regardless of the presence of a bakery or deli.
Major Provisions
- Defines a "supermarket" as a store with annual sales of $6 million or more, rather than $2 million or more as under existing law, and expands the list of items sold at a store that meets the legal definition of a supermarket to include alcohol and nonalcoholic beverages, regardless of whether the store operates a bakery or deli.
2) Specifies that all of the following apply if an RVM is certified to operate as a recycling center:
a) The RVM shall not make an unserved CZ "served", as specified, regardless of the number of hours it operates and specifies that the RVM is still required to operate the minimum hours specified in existing law (in the Bottle Bill, a CZ is considered served when there is at least one certified recycling center operating within its boundaries.)
b) An RVM located in a CZ shall not preclude a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit from operating or receiving program payments in the same convenience zone, as specified.
c) The RVM located in a CZ shall not make an existing recycling center certified in that CZ ineligible for handling fees, as specified.
3) Specifies that, except as provided in item 2, above, an RVM that is certified as a recycling center is subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers.
- Specifies that recycling centers that are eligible to receive handling fees prior to the effective date of this bill will continue to be eligible to receive handling fees.
- Extends the date, from June 30, 2027, to June 30, 2032, for the formula used by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to determine handling fees.
COMMENTS
Bottle Bill. The Bottle Bill was established in 1986 to be a self-funded program that encourages consumers to recycle beverage containers and to prevent littering. The program accomplishes this goal by requiring consumers to pay a deposit for each eligible container purchased. Then the program guarantees consumers repayment of that deposit, the CRV, for each eligible container returned to a certified recycler. Statute includes two main goals for the program: (1) reducing litter; and, (2) achieving a recycling rate of 80% for eligible containers. Containers recycled through the Bottle Bill's certified recycling centers also provide a consistent, clean, uncontaminated stream of recycled materials with minimal processing.
Funding. The CRV is paid up-front by distributors to CalRecycle for every covered beverage container sold in the state. Next, distributors are paid by retailers for the CRV collected on beverages sold, and retailers collect the CRV from consumers at the time of retail sale. CRV is paid into the Beverage Container Recycling Fund (BCRF), which is used to fund CRV redemption when consumers return beverage containers for recycling. Unredeemed CRV funds are used to fund the administration of the Bottle Bill, grants that advance recycling, and various payments that keep the program running.
When the recycling rate increases, less funding is available to make all the budgeted payments prescribed in statute, including funding CRV redemptions, administration, local grants, and other payments. A structural deficit occurs when funding needs exceed revenue. When recycling rates are high, the BCRF operates in a structural deficit. If a structural deficit persists long enough to threaten funding sufficiency, CalRecycle is required to "proportionally reduce" spending equally across nearly all funding expenditures to preserve sufficient funding to refund CRV to consumers.
Ways to redeem containers. Consumers have a handful of options to redeem their empty beverage containers:
- Return the container to a "convenience zone" recycling center located within 1-mile radius of a supermarket. These are generally small centers that only accept beverage containers and receive handling fees from the BCRF.
- Return to a dealer or a dealer cooperative recycling center. In convenience zones without a convenience zone recycler, beverage dealers, primarily supermarkets, are required to either accept containers for redemption or join a dealer cooperative that meets specified statutory requirements and accepts all beverage containers in the zone.
- Return the container to an "old line" recycling center, which refers to a recycler that does not receive handling fees and usually accepts large quantities of materials, frequently by truckload from municipal or commercial waste collection services.
- Consumers can also forfeit their CRV and "donate" their containers to residential curbside recycling collection. Curbside programs keep the CRV on these containers.
California currently has approximately 1,200 certified recycling centers throughout the state. However, many recycling zones are "unserved," meaning they don't have a certified recycling center. Additionally, many rural counties have only one or two recycling centers to service large geographic areas. Alpine and Sierra County have none. Between 2014 to 2024, approximately half of California's recycling centers closed.
Though dealers are required to redeem CRV containers if they are in an unserved convenience zone, they don't always accept them, and many individuals don't realize that the option for in-store redemption is an option. If recycling centers are scarce or lack capacity, not only do recycling rates decline, but consumers are left without an opportunity to recover the 5-25 cents per bottle deposit they paid at the time of purchase.
Dealers. All supermarkets are dealers, but not all dealers are supermarkets. Under the Bottle Bill, a "dealer" is a retail establishment that offers the sale of beverages in beverage containers to consumers in the state. A supermarket is defined as a "full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items," in conjunction with the Progressive Grocers Guidebook. Both are tasked with collecting and remitting the CRV, but only supermarkets anchor convenience zones. Within a convenience zone, every dealer bears some responsibility for CRV container redemption. In an unserved convenience zone, every dealer is obligated to redeem CRV containers. Therefore, every dealer is incentivized in the creation of a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative within their zone.
Dealer cooperatives. SB 1013 (Atkins), Chapter 610, Statutes of 2022, among other changes to the Bottle Bill, established the requirement that dealers must either redeem beverage containers in-store or join a dealer cooperative to serve unserved zones. Dealer cooperatives allow beverage dealers to jointly form an organization to plan and arrange for the redemption of CRV containers in an unserved zone. There is currently only one approved dealer cooperative, the Circular CRV Association, whose stewardship plan was approved by CalRecycle in 2025.
Reverse Vending Machines. A RVM is a machine that allows a person to insert an empty beverage container and redeem the CRV. The RVM identifies the CRV container (typically by scanning the barcode) to pay out the proper amount. The machine sorts and stores the containers until the RVM is serviced. RVMs can offer consumers an accessible and easy to use system to redeem beverage containers for an immediate payout. While RVMs increase convenience in some cases, they can reduce convenience in other ways. For example, they can only process one beverage container at a time and they generally cannot accept all container types. Moreover, they have to be properly maintained; a RVM that is full or broken cannot redeem containers. RVMs vary in size but typically accept between 200 and 600 containers, with some accepting more than one thousand containers before they need to be emptied. In contrast, recycling centers can take up to 200 containers or 1,200 pounds of containers per person per day.
RVMs have different requirements for hours of operation than traditional recycling centers. A certified recycling center must be open for 30 hours per week with between 30 and 50% of those hours occurring outside of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and sufficiently staffed to accept all beverage types. RVMs are exempted from the staffing requirement and are instead considered "open for business" as long as the equipment is functioning.
Currently, a RVM alone cannot serve a convenience zone. However, RVMs operated by a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative and collocated with a dealer (a host dealer) can serve a convenience zone. The host dealer is responsible for maintaining the RVM, posting signage, and accepting some CRV containers, including those that the RVM cannot redeem, at the register.
According to the Author
California's Beverage Container Recycling Program, originally enacted in 1984, significantly reduced litter and dramatically improved recycling rates. It did this by establishing a California Redemption Value (CRV) paid on beverage containers when purchased that could be collected when the containers were returned. However, outdated definitions and limited infrastructure have created recycling "dead zones" in some parts of the state where consumers have few or no practical redemption options, thereby undercutting the state's recycling efforts.
Under current law, some high-volume beverage retailers are not required to participate due to antiquated grocery store definitions, and a single reverse vending machine can qualify as "serving" an area even when its limited capacity cannot accommodate the volume of containers sold in that area.
SB 955 builds on reforms enacted in SB 1013 by requiring all high-volume beverage retailers to participate in the program and mandating that collection facilities within each community have sufficient capacity to collect all bottles and cans sold there.
Arguments in Support
According to StopWaste, "SB 955 restores accountability and strengthens the infrastructure necessary for the program to work equitably across communities."
Arguments in Opposition
According to the Allan Company, “Dealer cooperatives were created to fill real gaps in redemption service and give retailers in unserved zones an alternative to in-store takeback. They should not be used to subsidize competition with established CRV operators that have already invested in facilities, equipment, employees, and regulatory compliance. Spreading a limited volume of containers among several publicly supported operations could make existing services less viable and ultimately leave consumers with fewer dependable redemption options.”
FISCAL COMMENTS
- CalRecycle estimates ongoing annual costs of about $328,000 for two positions (BCRF)) to implement the bill. CalRecycle asserts the proposed changes to the definition of "supermarket" will alter CZs and require the department to (a) redefine the maps associated with CZs and (2) provide ongoing technical assistance to recycling centers and dealer cooperatives related to their monthly handling fees.
The Budget Act of 2026 includes seven permanent positions and about $1 million ongoing (BCRF) for CalRecycle to perform compliance and enforcement tasks associated with the requirements related to dealers and dealer cooperatives enacted by SB 1013 (Atkins), Chapter 610, Statutes of 2023. Given these recently approved resources, it is not clear to the committee that the workload associated with implementing this bill requires two additional positions in an ongoing capacity.
- CalRecycle does not anticipate an increase in California Redemption Value (CRV) redemption, processing payments, or handling fees, because the department does not expect the volume of CRV containers returned to change significantly because of this bill. Dealers redeeming in-store are not reimbursed for redemption and are not eligible for program payments, such as handling fees, so even if there is a large increase in dealers required to redeem in-store, CalRecycle does not anticipate there will be a corresponding increase in expenditures from the BCRF.
CalRecycle reports BCRF had an ending balance of about $822 million in fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 and is projected to have an ending balance of about $718 million at the end of this FY – although this figure could change based on actuals provided at the end of the FY.
VOTES
SENATE FLOOR: 33-0-7
YES: Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, McNerney, Menjivar, Ochoa Bogh, Pérez, Reyes, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener
ABS, ABST OR NV: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Becker, Hurtado, Niello, Padilla, Stern
ASM NATURAL RESOURCES: 14-0-0
YES: Bryan, Ellis, Alanis, Connolly, Garcia, Haney, Hoover, Kalra, Macedo, Muratsuchi, Pellerin, Schultz, Wicks, Zbur
ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-4
YES: Wicks, Arambula, Calderon, Caloza, Fong, Mark González, Krell, Pacheco, Pellerin, Sharp-Collins, Solache
ABS, ABST OR NV: Hoover, Dixon, Ta, Tangipa
UPDATED
VERSION: August 13, 2026
CONSULTANT: Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. /(916) 319-2092 FN: 0003672
SENATE THIRD READING
STR Bill Id:SB 955
Author:(Blakespear)
As Amended Ver:August 13, 2026
2/3 vote. Urgency
SUMMARY
Clarifies that a reverse vending machine (RVM) cannot serve as a convenience zone (CZ) recycler and revises the definition of "supermarket" to include grocery stores with more than $6 million in gross annual sales regardless of the presence of a bakery or deli.
Major Provisions
- Defines a "supermarket" as a store with annual sales of $6 million or more, rather than $2 million or more as under existing law, and expands the list of items sold at a store that meets the legal definition of a supermarket to include alcohol and nonalcoholic beverages, regardless of whether the store operates a bakery or deli.
2) Specifies that all of the following apply if an RVM is certified to operate as a recycling center:
a) The RVM shall not make an unserved CZ "served", as specified, regardless of the number of hours it operates and specifies that the RVM is still required to operate the minimum hours specified in existing law (in the Bottle Bill, a CZ is considered served when there is at least one certified recycling center operating within its boundaries.)
b) An RVM located in a CZ shall not preclude a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit from operating or receiving program payments in the same convenience zone, as specified.
c) The RVM located in a CZ shall not make an existing recycling center certified in that CZ ineligible for handling fees, as specified.
3) Specifies that, except as provided in item 2, above, an RVM that is certified as a recycling center is subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers.
- Specifies that recycling centers that are eligible to receive handling fees prior to the effective date of this bill will continue to be eligible to receive handling fees.
- Extends the date, from June 30, 2027, to June 30, 2032, for the formula used by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to determine handling fees.
COMMENTS
Bottle Bill. The Bottle Bill was established in 1986 to be a self-funded program that encourages consumers to recycle beverage containers and to prevent littering. The program accomplishes this goal by requiring consumers to pay a deposit for each eligible container purchased. Then the program guarantees consumers repayment of that deposit, the CRV, for each eligible container returned to a certified recycler. Statute includes two main goals for the program: (1) reducing litter; and, (2) achieving a recycling rate of 80% for eligible containers. Containers recycled through the Bottle Bill's certified recycling centers also provide a consistent, clean, uncontaminated stream of recycled materials with minimal processing.
Funding. The CRV is paid up-front by distributors to CalRecycle for every covered beverage container sold in the state. Next, distributors are paid by retailers for the CRV collected on beverages sold, and retailers collect the CRV from consumers at the time of retail sale. CRV is paid into the Beverage Container Recycling Fund (BCRF), which is used to fund CRV redemption when consumers return beverage containers for recycling. Unredeemed CRV funds are used to fund the administration of the Bottle Bill, grants that advance recycling, and various payments that keep the program running.
When the recycling rate increases, less funding is available to make all the budgeted payments prescribed in statute, including funding CRV redemptions, administration, local grants, and other payments. A structural deficit occurs when funding needs exceed revenue. When recycling rates are high, the BCRF operates in a structural deficit. If a structural deficit persists long enough to threaten funding sufficiency, CalRecycle is required to "proportionally reduce" spending equally across nearly all funding expenditures to preserve sufficient funding to refund CRV to consumers.
Ways to redeem containers. Consumers have a handful of options to redeem their empty beverage containers:
- Return the container to a "convenience zone" recycling center located within 1-mile radius of a supermarket. These are generally small centers that only accept beverage containers and receive handling fees from the BCRF.
- Return to a dealer or a dealer cooperative recycling center. In convenience zones without a convenience zone recycler, beverage dealers, primarily supermarkets, are required to either accept containers for redemption or join a dealer cooperative that meets specified statutory requirements and accepts all beverage containers in the zone.
- Return the container to an "old line" recycling center, which refers to a recycler that does not receive handling fees and usually accepts large quantities of materials, frequently by truckload from municipal or commercial waste collection services.
- Consumers can also forfeit their CRV and "donate" their containers to residential curbside recycling collection. Curbside programs keep the CRV on these containers.
California currently has approximately 1,200 certified recycling centers throughout the state. However, many recycling zones are "unserved," meaning they don't have a certified recycling center. Additionally, many rural counties have only one or two recycling centers to service large geographic areas. Alpine and Sierra County have none. Between 2014 to 2024, approximately half of California's recycling centers closed.
Though dealers are required to redeem CRV containers if they are in an unserved convenience zone, they don't always accept them, and many individuals don't realize that the option for in-store redemption is an option. If recycling centers are scarce or lack capacity, not only do recycling rates decline, but consumers are left without an opportunity to recover the 5-25 cents per bottle deposit they paid at the time of purchase.
Dealers. All supermarkets are dealers, but not all dealers are supermarkets. Under the Bottle Bill, a "dealer" is a retail establishment that offers the sale of beverages in beverage containers to consumers in the state. A supermarket is defined as a "full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items," in conjunction with the Progressive Grocers Guidebook. Both are tasked with collecting and remitting the CRV, but only supermarkets anchor convenience zones. Within a convenience zone, every dealer bears some responsibility for CRV container redemption. In an unserved convenience zone, every dealer is obligated to redeem CRV containers. Therefore, every dealer is incentivized in the creation of a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative within their zone.
Dealer cooperatives. SB 1013 (Atkins), Chapter 610, Statutes of 2022, among other changes to the Bottle Bill, established the requirement that dealers must either redeem beverage containers in-store or join a dealer cooperative to serve unserved zones. Dealer cooperatives allow beverage dealers to jointly form an organization to plan and arrange for the redemption of CRV containers in an unserved zone. There is currently only one approved dealer cooperative, the Circular CRV Association, whose stewardship plan was approved by CalRecycle in 2025.
Reverse Vending Machines. A RVM is a machine that allows a person to insert an empty beverage container and redeem the CRV. The RVM identifies the CRV container (typically by scanning the barcode) to pay out the proper amount. The machine sorts and stores the containers until the RVM is serviced. RVMs can offer consumers an accessible and easy to use system to redeem beverage containers for an immediate payout. While RVMs increase convenience in some cases, they can reduce convenience in other ways. For example, they can only process one beverage container at a time and they generally cannot accept all container types. Moreover, they have to be properly maintained; a RVM that is full or broken cannot redeem containers. RVMs vary in size but typically accept between 200 and 600 containers, with some accepting more than one thousand containers before they need to be emptied. In contrast, recycling centers can take up to 200 containers or 1,200 pounds of containers per person per day.
RVMs have different requirements for hours of operation than traditional recycling centers. A certified recycling center must be open for 30 hours per week with between 30 and 50% of those hours occurring outside of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and sufficiently staffed to accept all beverage types. RVMs are exempted from the staffing requirement and are instead considered "open for business" as long as the equipment is functioning.
Currently, a RVM alone cannot serve a convenience zone. However, RVMs operated by a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative and collocated with a dealer (a host dealer) can serve a convenience zone. The host dealer is responsible for maintaining the RVM, posting signage, and accepting some CRV containers, including those that the RVM cannot redeem, at the register.
According to the Author
California's Beverage Container Recycling Program, originally enacted in 1984, significantly reduced litter and dramatically improved recycling rates. It did this by establishing a California Redemption Value (CRV) paid on beverage containers when purchased that could be collected when the containers were returned. However, outdated definitions and limited infrastructure have created recycling "dead zones" in some parts of the state where consumers have few or no practical redemption options, thereby undercutting the state's recycling efforts.
Under current law, some high-volume beverage retailers are not required to participate due to antiquated grocery store definitions, and a single reverse vending machine can qualify as "serving" an area even when its limited capacity cannot accommodate the volume of containers sold in that area.
SB 955 builds on reforms enacted in SB 1013 by requiring all high-volume beverage retailers to participate in the program and mandating that collection facilities within each community have sufficient capacity to collect all bottles and cans sold there.
Arguments in Support
According to StopWaste, "SB 955 restores accountability and strengthens the infrastructure necessary for the program to work equitably across communities."
Arguments in Opposition
None on file
FISCAL COMMENTS
- CalRecycle estimates ongoing annual costs of about $328,000 for two positions (BCRF)) to implement the bill. CalRecycle asserts the proposed changes to the definition of "supermarket" will alter CZs and require the department to (a) redefine the maps associated with CZs and (2) provide ongoing technical assistance to recycling centers and dealer cooperatives related to their monthly handling fees.
The Budget Act of 2026 includes seven permanent positions and about $1 million ongoing (BCRF) for CalRecycle to perform compliance and enforcement tasks associated with the requirements related to dealers and dealer cooperatives enacted by SB 1013 (Atkins), Chapter 610, Statutes of 2023. Given these recently approved resources, it is not clear to the committee that the workload associated with implementing this bill requires two additional positions in an ongoing capacity.
- CalRecycle does not anticipate an increase in California Redemption Value (CRV) redemption, processing payments, or handling fees, because the department does not expect the volume of CRV containers returned to change significantly because of this bill. Dealers redeeming in-store are not reimbursed for redemption and are not eligible for program payments, such as handling fees, so even if there is a large increase in dealers required to redeem in-store, CalRecycle does not anticipate there will be a corresponding increase in expenditures from the BCRF.
CalRecycle reports BCRF had an ending balance of about $822 million in fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 and is projected to have an ending balance of about $718 million at the end of this FY – although this figure could change based on actuals provided at the end of the FY.
VOTES
SENATE FLOOR: 33-0-7
YES: Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, McNerney, Menjivar, Ochoa Bogh, Pérez, Reyes, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener
ABS, ABST OR NV: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Becker, Hurtado, Niello, Padilla, Stern
ASM NATURAL RESOURCES: 14-0-0
YES: Bryan, Ellis, Alanis, Connolly, Garcia, Haney, Hoover, Kalra, Macedo, Muratsuchi, Pellerin, Schultz, Wicks, Zbur
ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-4
YES: Wicks, Arambula, Calderon, Caloza, Fong, Mark González, Krell, Pacheco, Pellerin, Sharp-Collins, Solache
ABS, ABST OR NV: Hoover, Dixon, Ta, Tangipa
UPDATED
VERSION: August 13, 2026
CONSULTANT: Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. /(916) 319-2092 FN: 0003672
Date of Hearing: August 5, 2026
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Buffy Wicks, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 955
Author:(Blakespear) – As Amended Ver:May 18, 2026
Policy Committee: | Natural Resources | Vote: | 14 - 0 |
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Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill specifies that a reverse vending machine (RVM) certified to operate as a recycling center does not make an unserved convenience zone (CZ) served and redefines “supermarket” for purposes of the Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (also referred to as the “Bottle Bill”).
Specifically, this bill, among other things:
- Defines a “supermarket” as a store with annual sales of $5 million or more, rather than $2 million or more as under existing law, and expands the list of items sold at a store that meets the legal definition of a supermarket to include alcohol and nonalcoholic beverages, regardless of whether the store operates a bakery or deli.
2) Specifies that all of the following apply if an RVM is certified to operate as a recycling center:
a) The RVM shall not make an unserved CZ “served”, as specified, regardless of the number of hours it operates and specifies that the RVM is still required to operate the minimum hours specified in existing law (in the Bottle Bill, a CZ is considered served when there is at least one certified recycling center operating within its boundaries.)
b) An RVM located in a CZ shall not preclude a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit from operating or receiving program payments in the same convenience zone, as specified.
c) The RVM located in a CZ shall not make an existing recycling center certified in that CZ ineligible for handling fees, as specified.
3) Specifies that, except as provided in item 2, above, an RVM that is certified as a recycling center is subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1) The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) estimates ongoing annual costs of about $328,000 for two positions (Beverage Container Recycling Fund (BCRF)) to implement the bill. CalRecycle asserts the proposed changes to the definition of “supermarket” will alter CZs and require the department to (a) redefine the maps associated with CZs and (2) provide ongoing technical assistance to recycling centers and dealer cooperatives related to their monthly handling fees.
The Budget Act of 2026 includes seven permanent positions and about $1 million ongoing (BCRF) for CalRecycle to perform compliance and enforcement tasks associated with the requirements related to dealers and dealer cooperatives enacted by SB 1013 (Atkins), Chapter 610, Statutes of 2023. Given these recently approved resources, it is not clear to the committee that the workload associated with implementing this bill requires two additional positions in an ongoing capacity.
2) CalRecycle does not anticipate an increase in California Redemption Value (CRV) redemption, processing payments, or handling fees, because the department does not expect the volume of CRV containers returned to change significantly because of this bill. Dealers redeeming in-store are not reimbursed for redemption and are not eligible for program payments, such as handling fees, so even if there is a large increase in dealers required to redeem in-store, CalRecycle does not anticipate there will be a corresponding increase in expenditures from the BCRF.
CalRecycle reports BCRF had an ending balance of about $822 million in fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 and is projected to have an ending balance of about $718 million at the end of this FY – although this figure could change based on actuals provided at the end of the FY.
COMMENTS:
1) Purpose. According to the author:
Outdated definitions and limited infrastructure have created recycling “dead zones” in some parts of the state where consumers have few or no practical redemption options, thereby undercutting the state’s recycling efforts. Under current law, some high-volume beverage retailers are not required to participate due to antiquated grocery store definitions, and a single reverse vending machine can qualify as “serving” an area even when its limited capacity cannot accommodate the volume of containers sold in that area.
SB 955 builds on reforms enacted in SB 1013 by requiring all high-volume beverage retailers to participate in the program and mandating that collection facilities within each community have sufficient capacity to collect all bottles and cans sold there.
2) Background. Background. Bottle Bill and Redemption Options. The Bottle Bill, established in 1986 to be a self-funded program that encourages consumers to recycle beverage containers and to prevent littering, requires consumers to pay a deposit (CRV) for each eligible container purchased. The program then guarantees consumers repayment of that CRV for each eligible container returned to a certified recycler. CRV is paid into the BCRF, which is used to fund CRV redemption when consumers return beverage containers for recycling. Unredeemed CRV funds are used to fund the administration of the Bottle Bill, grants that advance recycling, and various payments that keep the program running.
Consumers have a handful of options to redeem their empty beverage containers. They may return the containers to a CZ recycling center located within a one-mile radius of a supermarket (these are generally small centers that only accept beverage containers and receive handling fees from the BCRF); return the containers to a dealer or a dealer cooperative recycling center; return the containers to an “old line” recycling center (a recycler that does not receive handling fees and usually accepts large quantities of materials, frequently by truckload from municipal or commercial waste collection services); or forfeit their CRV and “donate” their containers to residential curbside recycling collection,
There are approximately 1,200 certified recycling centers throughout the state. However, many recycling zones are “unserved,” meaning they do not have a certified recycling center.
Though dealers are required to redeem CRV containers if they are in an unserved CZ, they do not always accept containers, and many individuals do not realize they have the option of in-store redemption. If recycling centers are scarce or lack capacity, not only do recycling rates decline, but consumers are left without an opportunity to recover the deposit they paid at the time of purchase.
Dealers. All supermarkets are dealers, but not all dealers are supermarkets. Under the Bottle Bill, a “dealer” is a retail establishment that offers the sale of beverages in beverage containers to consumers in the state. A supermarket is defined as a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of $2 million or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items, in conjunction with the Progressive Grocers Guidebook. Dealers must redeem CRV containers if they are located in a one-mile radius around a larger supermarket and the one-mile area does not have a CRV recycling center.
Dealer Cooperatives. Dealer cooperatives allow beverage dealers in unserved CZs to jointly form an organization to plan and arrange for the redemption of CRV containers in an unserved zone.
RVMs. An RVM is a machine that allows a person to insert an empty beverage container and redeem the CRV. While RVMs increase convenience in some cases, they can reduce convenience in other ways. For example, they can only process one beverage container at a time and they generally cannot accept all container types. RVMs have different requirements for hours of operation than traditional recycling centers. RVMs are exempted from staffing requirements and are instead considered "open for business" as long as the equipment is functioning.
Currently, an RVM alone cannot serve a convenience zone. However, RVMs operated by a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative and collocated with a dealer (a host dealer) can serve a CZ. The host dealer is responsible for maintaining the RVM, posting signage, and accepting some CRV containers, including those that the RVM cannot redeem, at the register.
This bill revises the requirements for RVM operations to ensure that consumers continue to have access to recycling for all beverage container types and that the presence of an RVM does not unintentionally defund other recycling centers in a CZ.
Analysis Prepared by: Nikita Koraddi / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: June 22, 2026
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Isaac G. Bryan, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 955
Author:(Blakespear) – As Amended Ver:May 18, 2026
SENATE VOTE: 33-0
SUBJECT: Beverage containers: supermarkets: reverse vending machines
SUMMARY: Clarifies that a reverse vending machine (RVM) can not serve as a convenience zone recycler and revises the definition of “supermarket” to include grocery stores with more than $5 million in gross annual sales regardless of the presence of a bakery or deli.
EXISTING LAW establishes the Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (Bottle Bill), which:
- Requires beverage containers, as defined, sold in-state to have a California redemption value (CRV) of 5 to 25 cents. Requires beverage distributors to pay a redemption payment to Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) for every beverage container sold in the state. Continuously appropriates these funds to CalRecycle for, among other things, the payment of refund values and processing payments. (Public Resources Code (PRC) 14500 et seq.)
- Defines “beverage” as:
- Beer and other malt beverages;
- Wine and distilled spirit coolers;
- Carbonated water;
- Noncarbonated water;
- Carbonated soft drinks;
- Noncarbonated soft drinks and sports drinks;
- Noncarbonated fruit juice drinks that contain any percentage of fruit juice;
- Coffee and tea drinks;
- Carbonated fruit drinks;
- Vegetable juice;
- Wine and sparkling wine; and,
- Distilled spirits. (PRC 14505)
- Defines “beverage container” as the individual, separate bottle, can, jar, carton, or other receptacle in which a beverage is sold, and which is constructed of metal, glass, plastic, or any other material, or any combination of these materials. Specifies that “beverage container” does not include cups or other similar open or loosely sealed receptacles. (PRC 14505)
- Defines convenience zones as either the 1-mile radius around a supermarket (PRC 14509.4) or a 3- to 5-mile radius, as specified, in rural areas. (PRC 14571.5)
- Requires there to be at least one certified recycling center or location within every convenience zone that pays the full refund for all types of empty CRV containers and is open for business at least 30 hours per week, with a minimum of 5 hours and maximum of 50% of its hours of operation occurring during periods other than Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm to be “served.” (PRC 14571).
- Establishes the dealer cooperative program, which authorizes beverage dealers to collectively arrange for the redemption of beverage containers. Requires that dealer cooperatives redeem all beverage types and submit a redemption plan to CalRecycle for approval. (PRC 14578 et seq.)
- Requires CalRecycle to pay handling fees to supermarket sites, non-profit convenience zone recyclers, and rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in a convenience zone. (PRC 14585).
- Requires the following for a reverse vending machine to be considered a certified recycling center:
- Accepts all empty beverage containers or provides an attendant to accept all containers that the reverse vending machine cannot accept (such as large containers or pouches); and,
- Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week. (PRC 14571)
- Accepts all empty beverage containers or provides an attendant to accept all containers that the reverse vending machine cannot accept (such as large containers or pouches); and,
- Defines a “supermarket” as “a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of $2 million, or more, and that sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items. For purposes of determining which dealers are supermarkets, the department shall use the annual updates of the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and any computer printouts developed in conjunction with the guidebook.” (PRC 14526.5).
THIS BILL:
- Revises the definition of “supermarket” by increasing the annual sales amount from $2 million to $5 million and expanding the list of sales items to include alcohol and nonalcoholic beverages, regardless of whether the store operates a bakery or deli.
- Specifies that all of the following apply if an RVM is certified to operate as a recycling center:
- The RVM shall not make an unserved convenience zone served, as specified, regardless of the number of hours it operates. Specifies that the RVM must operate the minimum hours required by PRC 14571.
- An RVM located in a convenience zone shall not preclude a dealer cooperative or a mobile unit from operating or receiving program payments in the same convenience zone.
- The RVM located in a convenience zone shall not make an existing recycling center certified in that convenience zone ineligible for handling fees.
- Specifies that an RVM that is certified as a recycling center is subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers.
- Makes technical, conforming changes to related laws.
- Specifies that no reimbursement is required by this bill pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution, as specified.
- Declares that this bill is an urgency bill necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, as specified, and shall go into effect immediately.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- Unknown, potentially significant one-time costs (Beverage Container Recycling Fund [BCRF]) for CalRecycle to update administration and enforcement in response to the provisions of this bill.
- To the extent this bill results in increased beverage container redemptions and BCRF program payments, unknown but potentially significant ongoing costs (BCRF) due to increased program expenditures.
COMMENTS:
- Bottle Bill. The Bottle Bill was established in 1986 to be a self-funded program that encourages consumers to recycle beverage containers and to prevent littering. The program accomplishes this goal by requiring consumers to pay a deposit for each eligible container purchased. Then the program guarantees consumers repayment of that deposit, the CRV, for each eligible container returned to a certified recycler. Statute includes two main goals for the program: (1) reducing litter; and, (2) achieving a recycling rate of 80% for eligible containers. Containers recycled through the Bottle Bill’s certified recycling centers also provide a consistent, clean, uncontaminated stream of recycled materials with minimal processing.
- Funding. The CRV is paid up-front by distributors to CalRecycle for every covered beverage container sold in the state. Next, distributors are paid by retailers for the CRV collected on beverages sold, and retailers collect the CRV from consumers at the time of retail sale. CRV is paid into the BCRF, which is used to fund CRV redemption when consumers return beverage containers for recycling. Unredeemed CRV funds are used to fund the administration of the Bottle Bill, grants that advance recycling, and various payments that keep the program running.
When the recycling rate increases, less funding is available to make all the budgeted payments prescribed in statute, including funding CRV redemptions, administration, local grants, and other payments. A structural deficit occurs when funding needs exceed revenue. When recycling rates are high, the BCRF operates in a structural deficit. If a structural deficit persists long enough to threaten funding sufficiency, CalRecycle is required to “proportionally reduce” spending equally across nearly all funding expenditures to preserve sufficient funding to refund CRV to consumers.
- Ways to redeem containers. Consumers have a handful of options to redeem their empty beverage containers:
- Return the container to a “convenience zone” recycling center located within 1-mile radius of a supermarket. These are generally small centers that only accept beverage containers and receive handling fees from the BCRF.
- Return to a dealer or a dealer cooperative recycling center. In convenience zones without a convenience zone recycler, beverage dealers, primarily supermarkets, are required to either accept containers for redemption or join a dealer cooperative that meets specified statutory requirements and accepts all beverage containers in the zone.
- Return the container to an “old line” recycling center, which refers to a recycler that does not receive handling fees and usually accepts large quantities of materials, frequently by truckload from municipal or commercial waste collection services.
- Consumers can also forfeit their CRV and “donate” their containers to residential curbside recycling collection. Curbside programs keep the CRV on these containers.
- Return the container to a “convenience zone” recycling center located within 1-mile radius of a supermarket. These are generally small centers that only accept beverage containers and receive handling fees from the BCRF.
California currently has approximately 1,200 certified recycling centers throughout the state. However, many recycling zones are “unserved,” meaning they don’t have a certified recycling center. Additionally, many rural counties have only one or two recycling centers to service large geographic areas. Alpine and Sierra County have none. Between 2014 to 2024, approximately half of California’s recycling centers closed.
Though dealers are required to redeem CRV containers if they are in an unserved convenience zone, they don’t always accept them, and many individuals don’t realize that the option for in-store redemption is an option. If recycling centers are scarce or lack capacity, not only do recycling rates decline, but consumers are left without an opportunity to recover the 5-25 cents per bottle deposit they paid at the time of purchase.
- Dealers. All supermarkets are dealers, but not all dealers are supermarkets. Under the Bottle Bill, a “dealer” is a retail establishment that offers the sale of beverages in beverage containers to consumers in the state. A supermarket is defined as a "full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items," in conjunction with the Progressive Grocers Guidebook. Both are tasked with collecting and remitting the CRV, but only supermarkets anchor convenience zones. Within a convenience zone, every dealer bears some responsibility for CRV container redemption. In an unserved convenience zone, every dealer is obligated to redeem CRV containers. Therefore, every dealer is incentivized in the creation of a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative within their zone.
- Dealer cooperatives. SB 1013 (Atkins), Chapter 610, Statutes of 2022, among other changes to the Bottle Bill, established the requirement that dealers must either redeem beverage containers in-store or join a dealer cooperative to serve unserved zones. Dealer cooperatives allow beverage dealers to jointly form an organization to plan and arrange for the redemption of CRV containers in an unserved zone. There is currently only one approved dealer cooperative, the Circular CRV Association, whose stewardship plan was approved by CalRecycle in 2025.
- Reverse Vending Machines. A RVM is a machine that allows a person to insert an empty beverage container and redeem the CRV. The RVM identifies the CRV container (typically by scanning the barcode) to pay out the proper amount. The machine sorts and stores the containers until the RVM is serviced. RVMs can offer consumers an accessible and easy to use system to redeem beverage containers for an immediate payout. While RVMs increase convenience in some cases, they can reduce convenience in other ways. For example, they can only process one beverage container at a time and they generally cannot accept all container types. Moreover, they have to be properly maintained; a RVM that is full or broken cannot redeem containers. RVMs vary in size but typically accept between 200 and 600 containers, with some accepting more than one thousand containers before they need to be emptied. In contrast, recycling centers can take up to 200 containers or 1,200 pounds of containers per person per day.
RVMs have different requirements for hours of operation than traditional recycling centers. A certified recycling center must be open for 30 hours per week with between 30 and 50% of those hours occurring outside of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and sufficiently staffed to accept all beverage types. RVMs are exempted from the staffing requirement and are instead considered "open for business" as long as the equipment is functioning.
Currently, a RVM alone cannot serve a convenience zone. However, RVMs operated by a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative and collocated with a dealer (a host dealer) can serve a convenience zone. The host dealer is responsible for maintaining the RVM, posting signage, and accepting some CRV containers, including those that the RVM cannot redeem, at the register.
- Author’s statement:
California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program, originally enacted in 1984, significantly reduced litter and dramatically improved recycling rates. It did this by establishing a California Redemption Value (CRV) paid on beverage containers when purchased that could be collected when the containers were returned. However, outdated definitions and limited infrastructure have created recycling “dead zones” in some parts of the state where consumers have few or no practical redemption options, thereby undercutting the state’s recycling efforts.
Under current law, some high-volume beverage retailers are not required to participate due to antiquated grocery store definitions, and a single reverse vending machine can qualify as “serving” an area even when its limited capacity cannot accommodate the volume of containers sold in that area.
SB 955 builds on reforms enacted in SB 1013 by requiring all high-volume beverage retailers to participate in the program and mandating that collection facilities within each community have sufficient capacity to collect all bottles and cans sold there.
- This bill. SB 955 updates and clarifies the definition of “supermarket” by increasing the gross annual sales threshold from $2 million to $5 million, to adjust for inflation and to shift the burden of CRV redemption to larger stores, and specifying that dealers can be supermarkets "regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or deli."
Additionally, this bill revises the requirements for RVM operations to ensure that consumers continue to have access to recycling for all beverage container types and that the presence of an RVM does not unintentionally de-fund other recycling centers in a convenience zone.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
A Voice for Choice Advocacy
Cal Pac Recycling, INC.
California Grocers Association
California State Association of Counties
Circular-CRV Association
Climate Reality Project, California Coalition
Container Recycling Institute
Ivan's Recycling
Our Planet Recycling SF
Rural County Representatives of California
Simply Recycle
Stopwaste
The Climate Reality Project, Los Angeles Chapter
The Climate Reality Project, Orange County Chapter
The Climate Reality Project, Sacramento Chapter
The Climate Reality Project, San Diego Chapter
The Climate Reality Project, San Fernando Valley CA Chapter
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by: Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. /
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-4171 | SB 955 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 955
Author: Blakespear (D)
Amended: 5/18/26
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 6-0, 4/8/26
AYES: Blakespear, Valladares, Allen, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Menjivar
NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/14/26
AYES: Cervantes, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab
SUBJECT: Beverage containers: supermarkets: reverse vending machines
SOURCE: Circular-CRV Association
DIGEST:
This bill (1) precludes a reverse vending machine from serving a convenience zone; (2) redefines “supermarket” to grocery stores with more than $5 million of gross annual sales regardless of the presence of a bakery or deli.
Senate Floor Amendments of 5/18/2026 require CalRecycle to consult the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook when identifying supermarkets.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (Bottle Bill), which requires beverage containers, as defined, to have a California redemption value (CRV) of 5 to 10 cents. Requires beverage distributors to pay a redemption payment to CalRecycle for every beverage container sold in the state. Provides that these funds are continuously appropriated to CalRecycle for, among other things, the payment of refund values and processing payments. (Public Resources Code (PRC) § 14500 et seq.)
- Defines convenience zones as a 1-mile radius around a supermarket (PRC § 14509.4), or a 3- to 5-mile radius in rural areas (PRC § 14571.5)
- Requires there to be at least one certified recycling center or location within every convenience zone which pays the full refund price for all types of empty CRV containers and is open for business at least 30 hours per week, with a minimum of 5 hours and maximum of 50% of its hours of operation occurring during periods other than Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm to be “served” (PRC § 14571 (a)). Allows recycling centers to operate fewer than 30 hours in rural areas or on an alternative schedule with approval from CalRecycle (PRC § 14571 (c)).
- Requires beverage dealers in unserved convenience zones to redeem CRV containers at the register (PRC § 14571.6).
- Establishes dealer cooperative program through SB 1013 (Atkins, Chapter 610, Statutes of 2022) through which beverage dealers may collectively arrange for the collection of beverage containers. Requires that dealer cooperatives redeem all beverage types and submit a redemption plan to CalRecycle for approval. (PRC § 14578 et seq.)
- Requires CalRecycle to pay handling fees to supermarket sites, non-profit convenience zone recyclers, and rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in a convenience zone (PRC § 14585).
- Requires the following for a reverse vending machine to be considered a certified recycling center, through AB 1311 (Wood, Chapter 506, Statutes of 2021):
- Accepts all empty beverage containers; or
- Provides an attendant to accept all containers that the reverse vending machine cannot accept (such as large containers or pouches); and
- Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week. (PRC § 14571 (f-j))
- Defines a “supermarket” as “a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items. For purposes of determining which dealers are supermarkets, the department shall use the annual updates of the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and any computer printouts developed in conjunction with the guidebook.” (PRC § 14526.5).
This bill:
- Defines supermarkets as a full-line, self-service retail store which:
- Has at least five million dollars of gross annual sales;
- Sells a line of groceries, canned goods, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items, or some perishable items; and
- Regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or deli
- Requires CalRecycle to consult the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook when determining which beverage dealers are supermarkets;
- Stipulates that a reverse vending machine:
- Shall not make an unserved convenience zone served;
- Shall not preclude a dealer cooperative (pursuant to Section 14578) or a mobile unit (pursuant to Section 2000) from operating or receiving payments in the same convenience zone; and
- Shall not make an existing recycling center ineligible for handling fees pursuant to Section 14585(c).
- Includes an urgency clause.
Background
- Bottle bill background. The bottle bill was established through legislation in 1986 (AB 2020 Margolin, Chapter 1290, Statutes of 1986) with the joint goals of reducing litter and achieving an 80% recycling rate for all CRV containers in the program. In 2025, CalRecycle reported a 70% recycling rate for CRV containers in the “Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns, Redemption, and Recycling Rates.”
The bottle bill operates by adding a 5-25 cent CRV payment to beverage containers in the program. Beverage distributors pay CRV on all new beverage containers they sell in California into the Beverage Container Recycling Fund (BCRF). Distributors then pass the cost of the CRV on to retailers, who in turn pass that 5-25 cents per bottle on to consumers at checkout. Individuals and businesses are incentivized to return bottles to recycling centers where they can redeem the value of the CRV. Once a consumer is ready to dispose of a bottle, they can return bottles to a certified recycling center and redeem their CRV, or consumers can put their bottles in residential curbside recycling collection, wherein the curbside programs, not consumers, keep the CRV on these containers. The redemption rate (the rate at which CRV containers are returned at recycling centers and supermarkets) was 60% for 2024.[1] According to a CalRecycle 2022 Fact Sheet, curbside programs collect about 12% of CRV containers.[2]
- Recycling center scarcity. The Beverage Container Recycling Program (BCRP) requires CalRecycle to set convenience zones and requires that each convenience zone have at least one certified recycling center. A convenience zone is typically a 1-mile radius around a large supermarket in an urban area and a 3- to 5-mile radius in a rural area. Convenience zones without certified recycling centers are considered “unserved.” Dealers, any retailer which sells CRV containers, are required to collect and provide redemption for CRV if they are in unserved zones.
California currently has approximately 1,200 certified recycling centers (or buy back centers) across the state.2,[3] Many rural counties have only one or two recycling centers to service large geographic areas. Alpine and Sierra County have none.[4] Between 2014 to 2024, approximately half of California’s recycling centers closed.[5]
Though dealers are required to redeem CRV containers if they are in an unserved convenience zone, this does not always happen. Without proper communication to customers (and enforcement from CalRecycle), customers might not realize they can redeem beverage containers at the cash register. If recycling centers are scarce or lack capacity, not only do recycling rates decline, but consumers are left without an opportunity to recover the 5-25 cents per bottle they paid up-front at check-out.
- Supermarkets and beverage dealers. A supermarket is defined as a “full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items,” in conjunction with the Progressive Grocers Guidebook (PRC § 14526, California Code of Regulations (California Code of Regulations (CCR) Tit. 14, § 17987.2). The Progressive Grocer Guidebook is a useful tool which provides estimates of gross sales of food retail locations and whether those locations carry a full line of groceries. Notably, the Progressive Grocery Guide is a proprietary, industry tool which is not openly available.
Additionally, there is an important distinction between supermarkets and dealers. All supermarkets are dealers, but not all dealers are supermarkets. Supermarkets are both beverage dealers and anchor convenience zones. Within a convenience zone, every dealer (supermarket or not) bears some responsibility for CRV container redemption. In an unserved convenience zone, every dealer is obligated to redeem CRV containers at the register. Therefore, every dealer is incentivized in the creation of a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative within their zone.
- SB 1013: dealer cooperatives. In 2022, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 1013 (Atkins, Chapter 610, Statutes of 2022). Among other changes to the bottle bill, SB 1013 changes bottle redemption opportunities by establishing “dealer cooperatives” to service unserved zones. Dealer cooperatives allow beverage dealers to jointly form an organization to plan and arrange for the redemption of CRV containers across an unserved zone. Additionally, dealers could no longer pay a $100 per day fee in lieu of providing redemption services. Presently, there is only one approved dealer cooperative, the Circular CRV Association, whose stewardship plan was approved by CalRecycle in 2025[6]. Conveniences zones without a dealer cooperative are either served by a certified recycling center or are “unserved,” requiring beverage dealers to redeem CRV containers at the register.
- Reverse vending machines in convenience zones. A reverse vending machine (RVM) is an automated system in which a user can insert an eligible bottle and redeem the CRV. The machine identifies the CRV container (typically by scanning the barcode) to pay out the proper amount. The machine then cleans, sorts, and stores the containers. RVMs offer consumers an accessible and easy to use system to redeem CRV containers for an immediate payout. In contrast, other recycling centers have more limited operating or are further away. However, RVMs also have disadvantages: the machines can only accept one bottle at a time, may be limited in the material or size of container accepted, and have a smaller capacity than other recycling centers. Once an RVM is full, it cannot accept more containers until it is emptied. RVMs vary in size but typically accept between 200 and 600 containers, with some accepting more than one thousand.[7],[8] In contrast, recycling centers can take up to 200 containers or 1,200 pounds of containers per person per day; there is effectively no limit on what a certified recycling center can accept per day.[9]
RVMs have different requirements for hours of operation than traditional recycling centers. A certified recycling center must be open for 30 hours per week with between 30 and 50% of those hours occurring outside of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and sufficiently staffed to accept all beverage types (PRC § 14571 (a-e)). RVMs are exempted from the staffing requirement and are instead considered “open for business” as long as the equipment is functioning (PRC § 14571 (f)).
Currently, reverse vending machines alone cannot serve a convenience zone. However, reverse vending machines operated by a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative and with a host dealer (the beverage dealer collocated with the reverse vending machine) can serve a convenience zone. The host dealer has responsibilities such as maintaining the RVM, posting signage, and accepting some CRV containers at the register. An RVM which cannot accept large bottles or boxed wine pouches requires the host dealer to accept such items at the cash register (PRC § 14571 (i)). Host dealers must post a sign on the RVM that “states that beverage containers may be redeemed by the host dealer if the machine is nonoperational at any time during the required hours of operation” (PRC § 14571 (j)). However, enforcing the above requirements is burdensome on CalRecycle. Due to the limited capacity of RVMs and limited capacity for enforcement, a full or broken RVM without sufficient signage may leave customers without the ability to redeem containers within a “served” convenience zone.
Comments
- Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program, originally enacted in 1984, significantly reduced litter and dramatically improved recycling rates. It did this by establishing a California Redemption Value (CRV) paid on beverage containers when purchased that could be collected when the containers were returned. However, outdated definitions and limited infrastructure have created recycling “dead zones” in some parts of the state where consumers have few or no practical redemption options, thereby undercutting the state’s recycling efforts.
“Under current law, some high-volume beverage retailers are not required to participate due to antiquated grocery store definitions, and a single reverse vending machine can qualify as “serving” an area even when its limited capacity cannot accommodate the volume of containers sold in that area.
“SB 955 builds on reforms enacted in SB 1013 (Atkins, 2021) by requiring all high-volume beverage retailers to participate in the program and mandating that collection facilities within each community have sufficient capacity to collect all bottles and cans sold there.”
- A Supermarket by any other name. SB 955 aims to shift the responsibility of CRV redemption from small, full line grocers to large beverage dealers which may not be considered a supermarket under existing statute. Under existing law, some beverage dealers aren’t supermarkets and therefore are not contributing to the bottle bill by anchoring a convenience zone, despite acting as a grocery store for an area. Often, these beverage dealers sell a partial line of groceries (such as a limited selection of fruits and vegetables) and a large volume of CRV containers. In such cases, a smaller grocer with a full line of groceries could bear more responsibility for CRV redemption in a convenience zone than a megastore with a partial line of groceries.
SB 955 tries to address this issue by updating the definition of a “supermarket,” which was last updated in the 1980s. Specifically, the bill states that the definition of “supermarket” includes retailers “regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or deli.” However, neither the statute (PRC § 14526), the regulation (14 CCR § 2000, 14 CCR § 18982) nor the Progressive Grocer’s Guide states that a supermarket must have a bakery or deli. While this definition may add clarity onto what is and is not a supermarket, it is unclear whether the new definition truly expands the number of supermarkets beyond the status quo.
Additionally, large volume beverage dealers who are not supermarkets still bear some responsibility under existing law. In contrast, beverage dealers outside of a convenience zone do not have the same responsibilities. Large volume beverage dealers with a partial line of groceries which are not in convenience zones cannot anchor a new convenience zone nor can they contribute to the bottle bill through the convenience zone of a nearby supermarket. These beverage dealers could have millions in sales of CRV containers without increasing redemption opportunities for customers. Importantly, any change to statute which decreases the number of convenience zones could exacerbate this problem.
SB 955 increases the gross annual sales threshold for a supermarket from $2 million to $5 million, to adjust for inflation and to shift the burden of CRV redemption from small, full line grocers. While increasing the gross sales to $5 million could decrease the number of eligible supermarkets, it is still less than if the value had been adjusted for inflation (which would be upward of $8 million according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator between 1980 and 2026). It is unclear to what extent raising the gross sales from $2 million to $5 million will impact the number of “supermarkets.”
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 1341 of the current legislative session allows CalRecycle to reduce the processing fee (paid by a beverage manufacturer for a CRV beverage container) if the processing fee is larger than the processing payment (paid from CalRecycle to processor and recycling centers) by an unspecified amount. This bill is pending hearing on the Senate floor.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- Unknown, potentially significant one-time costs (Beverage Container Recycling Fund [BCRF]) for the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to update administration and enforcement in response to the provisions of this bill.
- To the extent this bill results in increased beverage container redemptions and BCRF program payments, unknown but potentially significant ongoing costs (BCRF) due to increased program expenditures.
SUPPORT: (Verified 5/18/26)
Circular-CRV Association (Source) A Voice for Choice Advocacy |
California Grocers Association |
Glass Packaging Institute |
Pet Recycling Corp of California |
Rural County Representatives of California |
Tomra North America, INC. |
OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/18/2026)
Olyns
Prepared by: Alyssa Poletti / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
5/19/26 17:12:28
**** END ****
Container Recycling Institute (2025) Bottle Bill Resource Guide: California, https://www.bottlebill.org/index.php/current-and-proposed-laws/usa/california ↑
CalRecycle (2023) Beverage Container Recycling in California Fact Sheet Calendar Year 2022 (DRRR-2023-1726), https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Docs/Publications/Details/1726 ↑
CalRecycle (2025) Beverage Container Recycling in California Fact Sheet Calendar Year 2023 (DRRR-2025-1749), https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Docs/Publications/Details/1750 ↑
CalRecycle (2026) Beverage Container Recycling Centers, https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/RecyclingCenters/ ↑
Rodd, S. (2024) Diminishing returns: California’s unclaimed bottle deposits hit $820M as recycling centers close, KPBS, https://www.kpbs.org/news/environment/2024/06/20/californias-unclaimed-bottle-deposits-820m-recycling-centers-close ↑
CalRecycle (2025) Approved Stewardship Plans, https://calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer/dealercooperatives/plans/ ↑
Fortune Business Insights (2026) Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) Market Size, Share, and Industry Analysis, https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/reverse-vending-machine-market-113029 ↑
Recyclever, RVM5-1200 Reverse Vending Machine, https://www.recyclever.com/blog/articles-10/rvm5-1200-reverse-vending-machine-323 ↑
CalRecycle (2023) Beverage Container Recycling Program Fact Sheet, https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/RecyclingCenters/ ↑
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-4171 | SB 955 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 955
Author: Blakespear (D)
Amended: 4/9/26
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 6-0, 4/8/26
AYES: Blakespear, Valladares, Allen, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Menjivar
NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/14/26
AYES: Cervantes, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab
SUBJECT: Beverage containers: supermarkets: reverse vending machines
SOURCE: Circular CRV
DIGEST:
This bill precludes a reverse vending machine from serving a convenience zone. This bill also redefines “supermarket” to grocery stores with more than $5 million of gross annual sales regardless of the presence of a bakery or deli.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (Bottle Bill), which requires beverage containers, as defined, to have a California redemption value (CRV) of 5 to 10 cents. Requires beverage distributors to pay a redemption payment to CalRecycle for every beverage container sold in the state. Provides that these funds are continuously appropriated to CalRecycle for, among other things, the payment of refund values and processing payments. (Public Resources Code (PRC) § 14500 et seq.)
- Defines convenience zones as a 1-mile radius around a supermarket (PRC § 14509.4), or a 3- to 5-mile radius in rural areas (PRC § 14571.5)
- Requires there to be at least one certified recycling center or location within every convenience zone which pays the full refund price for all types of empty CRV containers and is open for business at least 30 hours per week, with a minimum of 5 hours and maximum of 50% of its hours of operation occurring during periods other than Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm to be “served” (PRC § 14571 (a)). Allows recycling centers to operate fewer than 30 hours in rural areas or on an alternative schedule with approval from CalRecycle (PRC § 14571 (c)).
- Requires beverage dealers in unserved convenience zones to redeem CRV containers at the register (PRC § 14571.6).
- Establishes dealer cooperative program through SB 1013 (Atkins, Chapter 610, Statutes of 2022) through which beverage dealers may collectively arrange for the collection of beverage containers. Requires that dealer cooperatives redeem all beverage types and submit a redemption plan to CalRecycle for approval. (PRC § 14578 et seq.)
- Requires CalRecycle to pay handling fees to supermarket sites, non-profit convenience zone recyclers, and rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in a convenience zone (PRC § 14585).
- Requires the following for a reverse vending machine to be considered a certified recycling center, through AB 1311 (Wood, Chapter 506, Statutes of 2021):
- Accepts all empty beverage containers; or
- Provides an attendant to accept all containers that the reverse vending machine cannot accept (such as large containers or pouches); and
- Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week. (PRC § 14571 (f-j))
- Defines a “supermarket” as “a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items. For purposes of determining which dealers are supermarkets, the department shall use the annual updates of the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and any computer printouts developed in conjunction with the guidebook.” (PRC § 14526.5).
This bill:
- Defines supermarkets as a full-line, self-service retail store which:
- Has at least five million dollars of gross annual sales;
- Sells a line of groceries, canned goods, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items, or some perishable items; and
- Regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or deli
- Stipulates that a reverse vending machine:
- Shall not make an unserved convenience zone served;
- Shall not preclude a dealer cooperative (pursuant to Section 14578) or a mobile unit (pursuant to Section 2000) from operating or receiving payments in the same convenience zone; and
- Shall not make an existing recycling center ineligible for handling fees pursuant to Section 14585(c).
- Includes an urgency clause.
Background
- Bottle bill background. The bottle bill was established through legislation in 1986 (AB 2020 Margolin, Chapter 1290, Statutes of 1986) with the joint goals of reducing litter and achieving an 80% recycling rate for all CRV containers in the program. In 2025, CalRecycle reported a 70% recycling rate for CRV containers in the “Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns, Redemption, and Recycling Rates.”
The bottle bill operates by adding a 5-25 cent CRV payment to beverage containers in the program. Beverage distributors pay CRV on all new beverage containers they sell in California into the Beverage Container Recycling Fund (BCRF). Distributors then pass the cost of the CRV on to retailers, who in turn pass that 5-25 cents per bottle on to consumers at checkout. Individuals and businesses are incentivized to return bottles to recycling centers where they can redeem the value of the CRV. Once a consumer is ready to dispose of a bottle, they can return bottles to a certified recycling center and redeem their CRV, or consumers can put their bottles in residential curbside recycling collection, wherein the curbside programs, not consumers, keep the CRV on these containers. The redemption rate (the rate at which CRV containers are returned at recycling centers and supermarkets) was 60% for 2024.[1] According to a CalRecycle 2022 Fact Sheet, curbside programs collect about 12% of CRV containers.[2]
- Recycling center scarcity. The Beverage Container Recycling Program (BCRP) requires CalRecycle to set convenience zones and requires that each convenience zone have at least one certified recycling center. A convenience zone is typically a 1-mile radius around a large supermarket in an urban area and a 3- to 5-mile radius in a rural area. Convenience zones without certified recycling centers are considered “unserved.” Dealers, any retailer which sells CRV containers, are required to collect and provide redemption for CRV if they are in unserved zones.
California currently has approximately 1,200 certified recycling centers (or buy back centers) across the state.2,[3] Many rural counties have only one or two recycling centers to service large geographic areas. Alpine and Sierra County have none.[4] Between 2014 to 2024, approximately half of California’s recycling centers closed.[5]
Though dealers are required to redeem CRV containers if they are in an unserved convenience zone, this does not always happen. Without proper communication to customers (and enforcement from CalRecycle), customers might not realize they can redeem beverage containers at the cash register. If recycling centers are scarce or lack capacity, not only do recycling rates decline, but consumers are left without an opportunity to recover the 5-25 cents per bottle they paid up-front at check-out.
- Supermarkets and beverage dealers. A supermarket is defined as a “full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items,” in conjunction with the Progressive Grocers Guidebook (PRC § 14526, California Code of Regulations (California Code of Regulations (CCR) Tit. 14, § 17987.2). The Progressive Grocer Guidebook is a useful tool which provides estimates of gross sales of food retail locations and whether those locations carry a full line of groceries. Notably, the Progressive Grocery Guide is a proprietary, industry tool which is not openly available.
Additionally, there is an important distinction between supermarkets and dealers. All supermarkets are dealers, but not all dealers are supermarkets. Supermarkets are both beverage dealers and anchor convenience zones. Within a convenience zone, every dealer (supermarket or not) bears some responsibility for CRV container redemption. In an unserved convenience zone, every dealer is obligated to redeem CRV containers at the register. Therefore, every dealer is incentivized in the creation of a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative within their zone.
- SB 1013: dealer cooperatives. In 2022, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 1013 (Atkins, Chapter 610, Statutes of 2022). Among other changes to the bottle bill, SB 1013 changes bottle redemption opportunities by establishing “dealer cooperatives” to service unserved zones. Dealer cooperatives allow beverage dealers to jointly form an organization to plan and arrange for the redemption of CRV containers across an unserved zone. Additionally, dealers could no longer pay a $100 per day fee in lieu of providing redemption services. Presently, there is only one approved dealer cooperative, the Circular CRV Association, whose stewardship plan was approved by CalRecycle in 2025[6]. Conveniences zones without a dealer cooperative are either served by a certified recycling center or are “unserved,” requiring beverage dealers to redeem CRV containers at the register.
- Reverse vending machines in convenience zones. A reverse vending machine (RVM) is an automated system in which a user can insert an eligible bottle and redeem the CRV. The machine identifies the CRV container (typically by scanning the barcode) to pay out the proper amount. The machine then cleans, sorts, and stores the containers. RVMs offer consumers an accessible and easy to use system to redeem CRV containers for an immediate payout. In contrast, other recycling centers have more limited operating or are further away. However, RVMs also have disadvantages: the machines can only accept one bottle at a time, may be limited in the material or size of container accepted, and have a smaller capacity than other recycling centers. Once an RVM is full, it cannot accept more containers until it is emptied. RVMs vary in size but typically accept between 200 and 600 containers, with some accepting more than one thousand.[7],[8] In contrast, recycling centers can take up to 200 containers or 1,200 pounds of containers per person per day; there is effectively no limit on what a certified recycling center can accept per day.[9]
RVMs have different requirements for hours of operation than traditional recycling centers. A certified recycling center must be open for 30 hours per week with between 30 and 50% of those hours occurring outside of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and sufficiently staffed to accept all beverage types (PRC § 14571 (a-e)). RVMs are exempted from the staffing requirement and are instead considered “open for business” as long as the equipment is functioning (PRC § 14571 (f)).
Currently, reverse vending machines alone cannot serve a convenience zone. However, reverse vending machines operated by a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative and with a host dealer (the beverage dealer collocated with the reverse vending machine) can serve a convenience zone. The host dealer has responsibilities such as maintaining the RVM, posting signage, and accepting some CRV containers at the register. An RVM which cannot accept large bottles or boxed wine pouches requires the host dealer to accept such items at the cash register (PRC § 14571 (i)). Host dealers must post a sign on the RVM that “states that beverage containers may be redeemed by the host dealer if the machine is nonoperational at any time during the required hours of operation” (PRC § 14571 (j)). However, enforcing the above requirements is burdensome on CalRecycle. Due to the limited capacity of RVMs and limited capacity for enforcement, a full or broken RVM without sufficient signage may leave customers without the ability to redeem containers within a “served” convenience zone.
Comments
- Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program, originally enacted in 1984, significantly reduced litter and dramatically improved recycling rates. It did this by establishing a California Redemption Value (CRV) paid on beverage containers when purchased that could be collected when the containers were returned. However, outdated definitions and limited infrastructure have created recycling “dead zones” in some parts of the state where consumers have few or no practical redemption options, thereby undercutting the state’s recycling efforts.
“Under current law, some high-volume beverage retailers are not required to participate due to antiquated grocery store definitions, and a single reverse vending machine can qualify as “serving” an area even when its limited capacity cannot accommodate the volume of containers sold in that area.
“SB 955 builds on reforms enacted in SB 1013 (Atkins, 2021) by requiring all high-volume beverage retailers to participate in the program and mandating that collection facilities within each community have sufficient capacity to collect all bottles and cans sold there.”
- A Supermarket by any other name. SB 955 aims to shift the responsibility of CRV redemption from small, full line grocers to large beverage dealers which may not be considered a supermarket under existing statute. Under existing law, some beverage dealers aren’t supermarkets and therefore are not contributing to the bottle bill by anchoring a convenience zone, despite acting as a grocery store for an area. Often, these beverage dealers sell a partial line of groceries (such as a limited selection of fruits and vegetables) and a large volume of CRV containers. In such cases, a smaller grocer with a full line of groceries could bear more responsibility for CRV redemption in a convenience zone than a megastore with a partial line of groceries.
SB 955 tries to address this issue by updating the definition of a “supermarket,” which was last updated in the 1980s. Specifically, the bill states that the definition of “supermarket” includes retailers “regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or deli.” However, neither the statute (PRC § 14526), the regulation (14 CCR § 2000, 14 CCR § 18982) nor the Progressive Grocer’s Guide states that a supermarket must have a bakery or deli. While this definition may add clarity onto what is and is not a supermarket, it is unclear whether the new definition truly expands the number of supermarkets beyond the status quo.
Additionally, large volume beverage dealers who are not supermarkets still bear some responsibility under existing law. In contrast, beverage dealers outside of a convenience zone do not have the same responsibilities. Large volume beverage dealers with a partial line of groceries which are not in convenience zones cannot anchor a new convenience zone nor can they contribute to the bottle bill through the convenience zone of a nearby supermarket. These beverage dealers could have millions in sales of CRV containers without increasing redemption opportunities for customers. Importantly, any change to statute which decreases the number of convenience zones could exacerbate this problem.
SB 955 increases the gross annual sales threshold for a supermarket from $2 million to $5 million, to adjust for inflation and to shift the burden of CRV redemption from small, full line grocers. While increasing the gross sales to $5 million could decrease the number of eligible supermarkets, it is still less than if the value had been adjusted for inflation (which would be upward of $8 million according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator between 1980 and 2026). It is unclear to what extent raising the gross sales from $2 million to $5 million will impact the number of “supermarkets.” However, this definition necessarily decreases the number of supermarkets, therefore decreasing the number of convenience zones.
Finally, this bill removes the Progressive Grocer’s Guide from the supermarket definition. The Progressive Grocer’s Guide is a proprietary document, leaving Californians in the dark on CalRecycle’s definition of a supermarket. Removing the guide from the definition may increase clarity and transparency. However, the Progressive Grocer’s Guide remains a useful tool for agencies such as CalRecycle to identify supermarkets, with data on gross annual sales and lines of groceries sold. There may be value in identifying a definition of supermarket which increases transparency, maintains a sufficient number of convenience zones, and allows the use of tools such as the Progressive Grocer’s Guide where appropriate.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 1341 of the current legislative session allows CalRecycle to reduce the processing fee (paid by a beverage manufacturer for a CRV beverage container) if the processing fee is larger than the processing payment (paid from CalRecycle to processor and recycling centers) by an unspecified amount. This bill is pending hearing on the Senate floor.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- Unknown, potentially significant one-time costs (Beverage Container Recycling Fund [BCRF]) for the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to update administration and enforcement in response to the provisions of this bill.
- To the extent this bill results in increased beverage container redemptions and BCRF program payments, unknown but potentially significant ongoing costs (BCRF) due to increased program expenditures.
SUPPORT: (Verified 5/14/2026)
Circular-CRV Association (Source) A Voice for Choice Advocacy |
California Grocers Association |
Glass Packaging Institute |
Pet Recycling Corp of California |
Rural County Representatives of California |
Tomra North America, INC. |
OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/14/2026)
Olyns
Prepared by: Alyssa Poletti / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
5/14/26 16:34:12
**** END ****
Container Recycling Institute (2025) Bottle Bill Resource Guide: California, https://www.bottlebill.org/index.php/current-and-proposed-laws/usa/california ↑
CalRecycle (2023) Beverage Container Recycling in California Fact Sheet Calendar Year 2022 (DRRR-2023-1726), https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Docs/Publications/Details/1726 ↑
CalRecycle (2025) Beverage Container Recycling in California Fact Sheet Calendar Year 2023 (DRRR-2025-1749), https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Docs/Publications/Details/1750 ↑
CalRecycle (2026) Beverage Container Recycling Centers, https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/RecyclingCenters/ ↑
Rodd, S. (2024) Diminishing returns: California’s unclaimed bottle deposits hit $820M as recycling centers close, KPBS, https://www.kpbs.org/news/environment/2024/06/20/californias-unclaimed-bottle-deposits-820m-recycling-centers-close ↑
CalRecycle (2025) Approved Stewardship Plans, https://calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer/dealercooperatives/plans/ ↑
Fortune Business Insights (2026) Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) Market Size, Share, and Industry Analysis, https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/reverse-vending-machine-market-113029 ↑
Recyclever, RVM5-1200 Reverse Vending Machine, https://www.recyclever.com/blog/articles-10/rvm5-1200-reverse-vending-machine-323 ↑
CalRecycle (2023) Beverage Container Recycling Program Fact Sheet, https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/RecyclingCenters/ ↑
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
Senator Sabrina Cervantes, Chair
2025 - 2026 Regular Session
SB 955 (Blakespear) - Beverage containers: supermarkets: reverse vending machines
Version: | Policy Vote: |
Urgency: | Mandate: |
Hearing Date: | Consultant: |
Bill Summary:
This bill would preclude a reverse vending machine from serving a convenience zone. It would also redefine “supermarket” to grocery stores with more than $5 million of gross annual sales regardless of the presence of a bakery or deli.
Fiscal Impact:
- Unknown, potentially significant one-time costs (Beverage Container Recycling Fund [BCRF]) for the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to update administration and enforcement in response to the provisions of this bill.
- To the extent this bill results in increased beverage container redemptions and BCRF program payments, unknown but potentially significant ongoing costs (BCRF) due to increased program expenditures.
Background:
he BCRP was established over 30 years ago with the enactment of Chapter 1290, Statutes of 1986 (AB 2020, Margolin). The purpose of the program is to be a self–funded program that encourages consumers to recycle certain beverage containers. The program accomplishes this goal by first requiring consumers to pay a deposit for each eligible container purchased. Then the program guarantees consumers repayment of that deposit—the California Redemption Value, or “CRV”—for each eligible container returned to a certified recycler. Statute includes two main goals for the program: (1) reducing litter and (2) achieving a recycling rate of 80 percent for eligible containers.
Eligible beverage containers. Only certain beverage containers are part of the CRV program. Whether a particular container is part of the program depends on the material, size, and content of the container. Most containers made from glass, plastic, aluminum, and bimetal (consisting of one or more metals, including steel usually) are eligible, though there are exceptions.
Program expenditures. Not all CRV–eligible containers are recycled, and therefore the CRV deposit paid when a consumer purchased these containers is never redeemed. This means that distributors pay more CRV into the BCRF than is claimed by consumers. For example, for the past few years the BCRF has received roughly $1.5 billion in deposits, but only about $1.1 billion—or roughly 75 percent—was spent on redemption payments. State law requires that much of the unredeemed CRV be spent on specified recycling–related programs.
Reverse vending machines. A reverse vending machine (RVM) is an automated system in which a user can insert an eligible bottle and redeem the CRV. The machine identifies the CRV container (typically by scanning the barcode) to pay out the proper amount. The machine then cleans, sorts, and stores the containers. RVMs offer consumers an accessible and easy to use system to redeem CRV containers for an immediate payout. In contrast, other recycling centers have more limited operating or are further away.
However, RVMs also have disadvantages: the machines can only accept one bottle at a time, may be limited in the material or size of container accepted, and have a smaller capacity than other recycling centers. Once an RVM is full, it cannot accept more containers until it is emptied. RVMs vary in size but typically accept between 200 and 600 containers, with some accepting more than one thousand. In contrast, recycling centers can take up to 200 containers or 1,200 pounds of containers per person per day; there is effectively no limit on what a certified recycling center can accept per day.
RVMs have different requirements for hours of operation than traditional recycling centers. A certified recycling center must be open for 30 hours per week with between 30 and 50% of those hours occurring outside of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and sufficiently staffed to accept all beverage types (PRC § 14571 (a-e)). RVMs are exempted from the staffing requirement and are instead considered “open for business” as long as the equipment is functioning (PRC § 14571 (f)).
Currently, reverse vending machines alone cannot serve a convenience zone. However, reverse vending machines operated by a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative and with a host dealer (the beverage dealer collocated with the reverse vending machine) can serve a convenience zone. The host dealer has responsibilities such as maintaining the RVM, posting signage, and accepting some CRV containers at the register. An RVM which cannot accept large bottles or boxed wine pouches requires the host dealer to accept such items at the cash register (PRC § 14571 (i)). Host dealers must post a sign on the RVM that “states that beverage containers may be redeemed by the host dealer if the machine is nonoperational at any time during the required hours of operation” (PRC § 14571 (j)). However, enforcing the above requirements is burdensome on CalRecycle.
Due to the limited capacity of RVMs and limited capacity for enforcement, a full or broken RVM without sufficient signage may leave customers without the ability to redeem containers within a “served” convenience zone.
Proposed Law:
This bill would:
- Define supermarkets as a full-line, self-service retail stores which:
- Have at least five million dollars of gross annual sales;
- Sell a line of groceries, canned goods, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items, or some perishable items;
- Regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or deli.
- Stipulate that a reverse vending machine:
- Shall not make an unserved convenience zone served;
- Shall not preclude a dealer cooperative (pursuant to Section 14578) or a mobile unit (pursuant to Section 2000) from operating or receiving payments in the same convenience zone; and
- Include an urgency clause.
Related Legislation:
SB 1341 (Cabaldon, 2026) allows CalRecycle to reduce the processing fee (paid by a beverage manufacturer for a CRV beverage container) if the processing fee is larger than the processing payment (paid from CalRecycle to processor and recycling centers) by an unspecified amount. This bill has been referred to this committee.
AB 2381 (Choi, 2020) required supplemental handling fees of $0.0015 to $0.002 to recycling centers and suspend the use of surveys and calculations of recycling costs to calculate processing payments. This bill died in committee.
SB 402 (Wolk, 2009) made many changes to the bottle bill including setting goals and creating incentives to reduce the number of unserved convenience zones. This bill was vetoed.
Staff Comments:
By far, the largest expenditure from the BCRF is the CRV paid out when containers are returned. Total CRV expenditure amounts fluctuate based on the recycling rate but have made up more than 80 percent of all BCRF spending in recent years. When additional containers are redeemed and recycling rates increase, it results in additional BCRF expenditures to pay out the CRV on those containers. Moreover, some supplemental program expenditures—such as handling fees and processing payments—are paid on a per container basis, and therefore these expenditures also increase as the number of containers redeemed increases.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Blakespear, Chair
2025 - 2026 Regular
Bill No: SB 955
Author: | Blakespear | ||
Version: | 3/18/2026 | Hearing Date: | 4/8/2026 |
Urgency: | Yes | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | Alyssa Poletti | ||
SUBJECT: Beverage containers: supermarkets: reverse vending machines
DIGEST: This bill precludes a reverse vending machine from serving a convenience zone. This bill also redefines “supermarket” to grocery stores with more than $5 million of gross annual sales regardless of the presence of a bakery or deli.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (Bottle Bill), which requires beverage containers, as defined, to have a California redemption value (CRV) of 5 cents for containers that hold fewer than 24 ounces and 10 cents for containers that hold 24 ounces or more. Requires beverage distributors to pay a redemption payment to CalRecycle for every beverage container sold in the state. Provides that these funds are continuously appropriated to CalRecycle for, among other things, the payment of refund values and processing payments. (Public Resources Code (PRC) § 14500 et seq.)
- Defines convenience zones as a 1-mile radius around a supermarket (PRC § 14509.4), or a 3- to 5-mile radius in rural areas (PRC § 14571.5)
- Requires there to be at least one certified recycling center or location within every convenience zone which pays the full refund price for all types of empty CRV containers and is open for business at least 30 hours per week, with a minimum of 5 hours and maximum of 50% of its hours of operation occurring during periods other than Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm to be “served” (PRC § 14571 (a)). Allows recycling centers to operate fewer than 30 hours in rural areas or on an alternative schedule with approval from CalRecycle (PRC § 14571 (c)).
- Requires beverage dealers in unserved convenience zones to redeem CRV containers at the register (PRC § 14571.6).
- Establishes dealer cooperative program through SB 1013 (Atkins, Chapter 610, Statutes of 2022) through which beverage dealers may collectively arrange for the collection of beverage containers. Requires that dealer cooperatives redeem all beverage types and submit a redemption plan to CalRecycle for approval. (PRC § 14578 et seq.)
- Requires CalRecycle to pay handling fees to supermarket sites, non-profit convenience zone recyclers, and rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in a convenience zone (PRC § 14585).
- Requires the following for a reverse vending machine to be considered a certified recycling center, through AB 1311 (Wood, Chapter 506, Statutes of 2021):
- accepts all empty beverage containers; or
- provides an attendant to accept all containers that the reverse vending machine cannot accept (such as large containers or pouches); and
- operates a minimum of 30 hours per week. (PRC § 14571 (f-j))
- Defines a “supermarket” as “a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items. For purposes of determining which dealers are supermarkets, the department shall use the annual updates of the Progressive Grocer Marketing Guidebook and any computer printouts developed in conjunction with the guidebook.” (PRC § 14526.5).
This bill:
- Defines supermarkets as a full-line, self-service retail store which:
- Has at least five million dollars of gross annual sales;
- Sells a line of groceries, canned goods, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, nonfood items, or some perishable items; and
- Regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or deli
- Stipulates that a reverse vending machine:
- Shall not make an unserved convenience zone served;
- Shall not preclude a dealer cooperative (pursuant to Section 14578) or a mobile unit (pursuant to Section 2000) from operating or receiving payments in the same convenience zone; and
- Shall not make an existing recycling center ineligible for handling fees pursuant to Section 14585(c).
- Includes an urgency clause.
Background
- Bottle bill background. The bottle bill was established through legislation in 1986 (AB 2020 Margolin, Chapter 1290, Statutes of 1986) with the joint goals of reducing litter and achieving an 80% recycling rate for all CRV containers in the program. In 2025, CalRecycle reported a 70% recycling rate for CRV containers in the “Biannual Report of Beverage Container Sales, Returns, Redemption, and Recycling Rates.” While the program does not encompass all containers, it does encompass most beverage containers made from glass, plastic, aluminum, and bimetal (consisting of one or more metals).
The bottle bill operates by adding a 5-25 cent CRV payment to beverage containers in the program. Beverage distributors pay CRV on all new beverage containers they sell in California into the Beverage Container Recycling Fund (BCRF). Distributors then pass the cost of the CRV on to retailers, who in turn pass that 5-25 cents per bottle on to consumers at checkout. Individuals and businesses are incentivized to return bottles to recycling centers where they can redeem the value of the CRV. Once a consumer is ready to dispose of a bottle, they can return bottles to a certified recycling center and redeem their CRV, or consumers can put their bottles in residential curbside recycling collection, wherein the curbside programs, not consumers, keep the CRV on these containers. The redemption rate (the rate at which CRV containers are returned at recycling centers and supermarkets) was 60% for 2024.[1] According to a CalRecycle 2022 Fact Sheet, curbside programs collect about 12% of CRV containers.[2]
- Recycling center scarcity. The Beverage Container Recycling Program (BCRP) has long struggled with providing an adequate number of recycling centers for consumers wanting to return their bottles and receive CRV money. The BCRP requires CalRecycle to set convenience zones and requires that each convenience zone have at least one certified recycling center. A convenience zone is typically a 1-mile radius around a large supermarket in an urban area and a 3- to 5-mile radius in a rural area. Convenience zones without certified recycling centers are considered “unserved.” Dealers, any retailer which sells CRV containers, are required to collect and provide redemption for CRV if they are in unserved zones.
California currently has approximately 1,200 certified recycling centers (or buy back centers) across the state.2,[3] Many rural counties have only one or two recycling centers to service large geographic areas. Alpine and Sierra County have none.[4] The shortage of recycling centers has been exacerbated over the last decade. Between 2014 to 2024, approximately half of California’s recycling centers closed.[5] One major example was rePlanet, the largest recycling network in California at the time, which closed all 284 of its recycling centers in the state in 2019.[6]
Though dealers are required to redeem CRV containers if they are in an unserved convenience zone, this does not always happen. Without proper communication to customers (and enforcement from CalRecycle), customers might not realize they can redeem beverage containers at the cash register. If recycling centers are scarce or lack capacity, not only do recycling rates decline, but consumers are left without an opportunity to recover the 5-25 cents per bottle they paid up-front at check-out.
- Supermarkets and beverage dealers. A supermarket is defined as a “full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items,” in conjunction with the Progressive Grocers Guidebook (PRC § 14526, California Code of Regulations (CCR) Tit. 14, § 17987.2). The Progressive Grocer Guidebook is a useful tool which provides estimates of gross sales of food retail locations and whether those locations carry a full line of groceries. Notably, the Progressive Grocery Guide is a proprietary, industry tool which is not openly available.
Additionally, there is an important distinction between supermarkets and dealers. All supermarkets are dealers, but not all dealers are supermarkets. Supermarkets are both beverage dealers and anchor convenience zones. Within a convenience zone, every dealer (supermarket or not) bears some responsibility for CRV container redemption. In an unserved convenience zone, every dealer is obligated to redeem CRV containers at the register. Therefore, every dealer is incentivized in the creation of a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative within their zone.
- SB 1013: dealer cooperatives. In 2022, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 1013 (Atkins, Chapter 610, Statutes of 2022). Among other changes to the bottle bill, SB 1013 changes bottle redemption opportunities by establishing “dealer cooperatives” to service unserved zones. Dealer cooperatives allow beverage dealers to jointly form an organization to plan and arrange for the redemption of CRV containers across an unserved zone. This allows dealers to share responsibilities and costs of compliance while increasing customer access to CRV redemption in areas lacking certified recycling centers. Additionally, dealers could no longer pay a $100 per day fee in lieu of providing redemption services.
Dealers must either provide redemption services individually or be part of a dealer cooperative by January 1, 2025. CalRecycle regulations for SB 1013 were finalized and became effective April 24, 2025. Presently, there is only one approved dealer cooperative, the Circular CRV Association, whose stewardship plan was approved by CalRecycle in 2025[7]. The Circular CRV Association represents one or more locations of several supermarket chains including Whole Foods, Ralph’s, Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Walmart, as per their final 2025 stewardship plan. Circular CRV operates across several convenience zones and agrees to accept all CRV containers redeemed within those convenience zones. Conveniences zones without a dealer cooperative are either served by a certified recycling center or are “unserved,” requiring beverage dealers to redeem CRV containers at the register.
- Reverse vending machines in convenience zones. A reverse vending machine (RVM) is an automated system in which a user can insert an eligible bottle and redeem the CRV. The machine identifies the CRV container (typically by scanning the barcode) to pay out the proper amount. The machine then cleans, sorts, and stores the containers. RVMs offer consumers an accessible and easy to use system to redeem CRV containers for an immediate payout. In contrast, other recycling centers have more limited operating or are further away. However, RVMs also have disadvantages: the machines can only accept one bottle at a time, may be limited in the material or size of container accepted, and have a smaller capacity than other recycling centers. Once an RVM is full, it cannot accept more containers until it is emptied. RVMs vary in size but typically accept between 200 and 600 containers, with some accepting more than one thousand.[8],[9] In contrast, recycling centers can take up to 200 containers or 1,200 pounds of containers per person per day; there is effectively no limit on what a certified recycling center can accept per day.[10]
RVMs have different requirements for hours of operation than traditional recycling centers. A certified recycling center must be open for 30 hours per week with between 30 and 50% of those hours occurring outside of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and sufficiently staffed to accept all beverage types (PRC § 14571 (a-e)). RVMs are exempted from the staffing requirement and are instead considered “open for business” as long as the equipment is functioning (PRC § 14571 (f)).
Currently, reverse vending machines alone cannot serve a convenience zone. However, reverse vending machines operated by a certified recycling center or dealer cooperative and with a host dealer (the beverage dealer collocated with the reverse vending machine) can serve a convenience zone. The host dealer has responsibilities such as maintaining the RVM, posting signage, and accepting some CRV containers at the register. An RVM which cannot accept large bottles or boxed wine pouches requires the host dealer to accept such items at the cash register (PRC § 14571 (i)). Host dealers must post a sign on the RVM that “states that beverage containers may be redeemed by the host dealer if the machine is nonoperational at any time during the required hours of operation” (PRC § 14571 (j)). However, enforcing the above requirements is burdensome on CalRecycle.
Due to the limited capacity of RVMs and limited capacity for enforcement, a full or broken RVM without sufficient signage may leave customers without the ability to redeem containers within a “served” convenience zone.
Comments
- Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “California’s Beverage Container Recycling Program, originally enacted in 1984, significantly reduced litter and dramatically improved recycling rates. It did this by establishing a California Redemption Value (CRV) paid on beverage containers when purchased that could be collected when the containers were returned. However, outdated definitions and limited infrastructure have created recycling “dead zones” in some parts of the state where consumers have few or no practical redemption options, thereby undercutting the state’s recycling efforts.
“Under current law, some high-volume beverage retailers are not required to participate due to antiquated grocery store definitions, and a single reverse vending machine can qualify as “serving” an area even when its limited capacity cannot accommodate the volume of containers sold in that area.
“SB 955 builds on reforms enacted in SB 1013 (Atkins, 2021) by requiring all high-volume beverage retailers to participate in the program and mandating that collection facilities within each community have sufficient capacity to collect all bottles and cans sold there.”
- A Supermarket by any other name. SB 955 aims to shift the responsibility of CRV redemption from small, full line grocers to large beverage dealers which may not be considered a supermarket under existing statute. Under existing law, some beverage dealers aren’t supermarkets and therefore are not contributing to the bottle bill by anchoring a convenience zone, despite acting as a grocery store for an area. Often, these beverage dealers sell a partial line of groceries (such as a limited selection of fruits and vegetables) and a large volume of CRV containers. In such cases, a smaller grocer with a full line of groceries could bear more responsibility for CRV redemption in a convenience zone than a megastore with a partial line of groceries.
SB 955 tries to address this issue by updating the definition of a “supermarket,” which was last updated in the 1980s. Specifically, the bill states that the definition of “supermarket” includes retailers “regardless of whether the retail store operates a bakery or deli.” On paper, this would seem to expand the number of supermarkets to include retailers that were previously excluded (those with millions in gross sales but without a bakery or deli). However, neither the statute (PRC § 14526), the regulation (14 CCR § 2000, 14 CCR § 18982) nor the Progressive Grocer’s Guide states that a supermarket must have a bakery or deli. While this definition may add clarity onto what is and is not a supermarket, it is unclear whether the new definition truly expands the number of supermarkets beyond the status quo.
Additionally, large volume beverage dealers who are not supermarkets still bear some responsibility under existing law. All beverage dealers must redeem containers at the register (if they are in an unserved convenience zone) or join a dealer cooperative (which serves the convenience zone). However, beverage dealers outside of a convenience zone do not have the same responsibilities. Large volume beverage dealers with a partial line of groceries which are not in convenience zones cannot anchor a new convenience zone nor can they contribute to the bottle bill through the convenience zone of a nearby supermarket. These beverage dealers could have millions in sales of CRV containers without increasing redemption opportunities for customers. Importantly, any change to statute which decreases the number of convenience zones could exacerbate this problem.
SB 955 increases the gross annual sales threshold for a supermarket from $2 million to $5 million, to adjust for inflation and to shift the burden of CRV redemption from small, full line grocers. While increasing the gross sales to $5 million could decrease the number of eligible supermarkets, it is still less than if the value had been adjusted for inflation (which would be upward of $8 million according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator between 1980 and 2026). Additionally, the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) estimates that in 2019, food stores sold on average $6.2 million.[11] The 2025 sales are possibly higher due to inflation. It is unclear to what extent raising the gross sales from $2 million to $5 million will impact the number of “supermarkets.” However, this definition necessarily decreases the number of supermarkets, therefore decreasing the number of convenience zones. This could exacerbate the problem of large beverage dealers without a full line of groceries which are outside of convenience zones.
Finally, the bill removes the Progressive Grocer’s Guide from the supermarket definition. The Progressive Grocer’s Guide is a proprietary document, leaving Californians in the dark on CalRecycle’s definition of a supermarket. Removing the guide from the definition may increase clarity and transparency. However, the Progressive Grocer’s Guide remains a useful tool for agencies such as CalRecycle to identify supermarkets, with data on gross annual sales and lines of groceries sold. The author may consider working further with CalRecycle to identify a definition of supermarket which increases transparency, maintains a sufficient number of convenience zones, and allows the use of tools such as the Progressive Grocer’s Guide where appropriate.
- Conflicting handling fee provisions require clarification. Under existing law, recycling centers and dealer cooperatives which serve a previously unserved zone are eligible for handling fees from CalRecycle. This is meant to incentivize serving convenience zones that would otherwise be unprofitable to operate within. If a second, certified recycling center begins operating in a convenience zone, neither center is eligible for handling fees (PRC § 14585). Under Section 14571.6(a)(1) of SB 955, RVMs would not be eligible to serve a convenience zone, and by extension would be ineligible for handling fees.
SB 955 allows a beverage dealer to operate an RVM for their own redemption purposes without precluding a recycling center or dealer cooperative from serving a convenience zone and receiving handling fees. Potentially, this could increase the number of certified recycling centers or dealer cooperatives serving convenience zones, rather than zones served by an RVM at a host dealer. Importantly, Section 14571.6 (a)(4) of SB 955 stipulates that an RVM in a convenience zone shall not make an existing certified recycling center ineligible for handling fees. While this is redundant, since RVMs already cannot be certified recycling centers under SB 955, this bill language may provide additional clarity.
However, part of the bill in print is at odds with the above provisions. Section 14571.6 (a)(5) of SB 955 states, in part, that an RVM is eligible for handling fees (pursuant to PRC § 14585). This contradicts the provision described above that makes RVMs unable to receive handling fees. The bill language is similarly unclear in subdivision (b) of Section 14571.6 which states “a reverse vending machine that is certified as a recycling center remains subject to all laws and regulations applicable to recycling centers” when, once again, SB 955 precludes RVMs from being certified as recycling centers. This seems to be an issue resulting from previous versions of the bill’s language conflicting with newer provisions. The author’s stated intent is that RVMs would not receive handling fees, thus reserving that incentive exclusively for recycling centers and dealer cooperatives. The committee may wish to consider striking Sections 14571.6 (a)(4) to clarify the author’s intent.
- Committee amendments. Staff recommends the committee adopt the amendments bolded in comment 3 above.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 1341 (Cabaldon, 2026) allows CalRecycle to reduce the processing fee (paid by a beverage manufacturer for a CRV beverage container) if the processing fee is larger than the processing payment (paid from CalRecycle to processor and recycling centers) by an unspecified amount. This bill has been referred to this committee.
AB 2381 (Choi, 2020) required supplemental handling fees of $0.0015 to $0.002 to recycling centers and suspend the use of surveys and calculations of recycling costs to calculate processing payments. This bill died in committee.
SB 402 (Wolk, 2009) made many changes to the bottle bill including setting goals and creating incentives to reduce the number of unserved convenience zones. This bill was vetoed.
SOURCE:
Circular-crv Association
SUPPORT:
|
OPPOSITION:
Olyns
-- END --
Container Recycling Institute (2025) Bottle Bill Resource Guide: California, https://www.bottlebill.org/index.php/current-and-proposed-laws/usa/california ↑
CalRecycle (2023) Beverage Container Recycling in California Fact Sheet Calendar Year 2022 (DRRR-2023-1726), https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Docs/Publications/Details/1726 ↑
CalRecycle (2025) Beverage Container Recycling in California Fact Sheet Calendar Year 2023 (DRRR-2025-1749), https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Docs/Publications/Details/1750 ↑
CalRecycle (2026) Beverage Container Recycling Centers, https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/RecyclingCenters/ ↑
Rodd, S. (2024) Diminishing returns: California’s unclaimed bottle deposits hit $820M as recycling centers close, KPBS, https://www.kpbs.org/news/environment/2024/06/20/californias-unclaimed-bottle-deposits-820m-recycling-centers-close ↑
Toto, D. (2019) California’s rePlanet closes CRV redemption network, Recycling Today, https://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/replanet-closes-california-crv-redemption-network/ ↑
CalRecycle (2025) Approved Stewardship Plans, https://calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer/dealercooperatives/plans/ ↑
Fortune Business Insights (2026) Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) Market Size, Share, and Industry Analysis, https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/reverse-vending-machine-market-113029 ↑
Recyclever, RVM5-1200 Reverse Vending Machine, https://www.recyclever.com/blog/articles-10/rvm5-1200-reverse-vending-machine-323 ↑
CalRecycle (2023) Beverage Container Recycling Program Fact Sheet, https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/BevContainer/RecyclingCenters/ ↑
USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) Retail Food Sales and Sales Growth, https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-markets-prices/retailing-wholesaling/retail-trends ↑
Discussed in Hearing
1MIN
Assembly Floor
7MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Quality
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):
