Beverage containers: recycling.

Senator Blakespear's beverage container recycling legislation expands manufacturer reporting requirements for recycled plastic content used in California Redemption Value containers, adding new verification measures and transparency standards to the state's existing recycling program.

The bill establishes two key additions to current annual reporting mandates: manufacturers must now document the country of origin for imported recycled plastic materials and provide third-party validation that their recycled content meets state specifications. These requirements supplement existing obligations for manufacturers to report the amounts of virgin and recycled plastic used in their California beverage containers each year by March 1st.

The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery maintains responsibility for collecting these reports and must publish manufacturers' submitted information on its website within 45 days. The legislation preserves current requirements for plastic material reclaimers to report collection and sales data, and for recycled plastic manufacturers to document their food-grade material production. All reporting continues under penalty of perjury using standardized departmental forms, with refillable containers remaining exempt from these provisions.