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SB 54 Regulation Review and Update
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Requested Action(s)
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Receive an informational update on Senate Bill 54 (SB 54), the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, including the Tehama County Solid Waste Management Agency’s review of SB 54 Covered Material Categories List and the Red Bluff/Tehama County Landfill’s current recycling collection program.
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Financial Impact:
None.
Background Information:
Senate Bill 54 (SB 54), also known as the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, was signed into California law in 2022. The law establishes a statewide producer responsibility framework for certain packaging and single-use food service ware.
SB 54 is intended to reduce plastic pollution, increase recycling and reuse, and shift responsibility for covered materials toward producers. The law establishes statewide reduction, recycling, and composability targets beginning in 2027 and continuing through 2032.
CalRecycle is responsible for implementing SB 54 and has established a Covered Material Categories (CMC) List identifying the types of materials subject to the program. The current list was updated in January 2026. The categories include six broad material classes: glass, ceramic, metal, paper and fiber, plastic, wood, and other organics. The CMC list contains 56 items that are currently determined to be recyclable or compostable. The list will continue to be updated annually by CalRecycle.
The Tehama County Solid Waste Management Agency is reviewing the CMC list to compare the materials identified by CalRecycle with the materials currently collected and processed through the Red Bluff/Tehama County Landfill’s material recovery facility, operated by Waste Connections. The CMC list review will help The Agency’s staff identify materials the Red Bluff/Tehama County Landfill currently accepts and can comply with, materials the County intends to bring into compliance, and materials that may require an exemption or extension based on collection, processing, end-market, or other operational considerations.
The City of Corning has a separate waste hauling arrangement through WM, and recyclable materials collected within the City are transported to a different material recovery facility. The City of Corning and WM will conduct a separate review of the CMC List for materials collected and processed through their respective material recovery facilities.
If the jurisdictions do not review and comply with the Covered Materials Categories (CMC) list, or obtain applicable exemptions or extensions, the jurisdiction could be subject to a Corrective Action Plan and, if noncompliance continues, administrative civil penalties of up to $50,000 per day per violation under the Public Resource Code, section 42081(a).
Current Review
• The Agency staff reviewed the CMC list with Waste Connections and identified materials that are currently collected, materials that may require additional program consideration, and materials for which an exemption or extension may be appropriate. Waste Connections found that 23 out of 56 items are currently being accepted at the Red Bluff/Tehama County Landfill.
• Following discussions with The Agency staff and the Waste Connections team, we will consult our findings with Circular Action Alliance (CAA) for further guidance on the remaining 33 items identified by Waste Connections and will submit the applicable exemption and/or extension requests to CalRecycle. Agency staff will coordinate with Waste Connections regarding the submittals and monitor the status of the requests.
• WM intends to follow up with the CMC list review for the City of Corning.