1. (a) Packaging and food service ware that meet the requirements to be deemed “reusable” or “refillable” pursuant to this subdivision and subdivision (af) of section 42041 of the Public Resources Code are not covered material.

   1. (1) For purposes of this subdivision and subdivision (af) of section 42041 of the Public Resources Code:

      1. (A) The term “producer” includes a person that would be a producer pursuant to subdivision (w) of section 42041 of packaging and food service ware items that are reusable or refillable if the items were instead single-use and thus covered material items. The term “producers” also includes retailers and wholesalers that are alleged by the Department to be producers under subdivision (w) of section 42041 of the Public Resources Code because packaging or food service ware they claim to be reusable or refillable do not satisfy the applicable requirements under subdivision (af) of section 42041 and this subdivision.
      2. (B) The term “consumer” means the end user of an item, or the last person in the supply chain who acquires and uses an item. For example, a retailer that obtains and uses a covered material item in its business operations, without selling or otherwise further distributing the item, is the consumer of the item.
   2. (2) Whether packaging or food service ware is reusable or refillable shall be assessed with respect to the circumstances under which items of the packaging or food service ware are potentially reused or refilled. Packaged goods or food service ware items sold, offered for sale, or distributed under circumstances that cause the good's packaging or the food service ware items not to satisfy a requirement of subdivision (af) of section 42041 of the Public Resources Code shall be considered covered material, despite otherwise identical items being reusable or refillable because they satisfy the applicable requirements under the different circumstances present where they are sold, offered for sale, or distributed.

   3. (3) For purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (af) of section 42041 of the Public Resources Code:

      1. (A) To be considered “reused or refilled by a producer,” packaging or food service ware items must be recovered from users of the items and returned into the supply chain. Subject to the limitations in this subdivision, recovery of items must use any systematic means, such as drop-off locations, return to the original point of sale, and pickup directly from consumers. Packaging or food service ware recovered through systems operated by third parties in the supply chain at the direction of, on behalf of, or otherwise directly or indirectly for a producer shall be considered returned to and reused or refilled by that producer.
      2. (B) To be considered “reused or refilled by a consumer,” packaging or food service ware items must be utilized multiple times by consumers for the same good without being recovered from the consumers or returned into the supply chain.

   4. (4) For purposes of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (af) of section 42041 of the Public Resources Code, “infrastructure to ensure the packaging or food service ware can be conveniently and safely reused or refilled for multiple cycles” is adequate if the requirements of this paragraph are met when an item is offered for sale, sold, or distributed.

      1. (A) Unless the item was delivered directly to a consumer, there is at least one location for returning the item that is either:

         1. (i) the same location where the item was obtained or delivered; or
         2. (ii) within one mile of the location where the original item was obtained and has hours of operation that encompass, at a minimum, the hours of operation of the location where the item was obtained.
      2. (B) If the item was ordered via remote means (e.g., Internet, phone, or any method not requiring the purchaser to visit any particular physical location) and was delivered directly to a consumer, the same means must be available for return of the item without requiring travel to a location other than the delivery location. If the item was ordered by visiting a particular physical location, such as a retail store, and was delivered directly to a consumer, return of the item must be able to be arranged via remote means or by visiting that physical location or a location described in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A).

   5. (5) For purposes of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (af) of section 42041 of the Public Resources Code, the “infrastructure for bulk or large format packaging that may be refilled” is adequate and convenient, such that it enables the original packaging or food service ware item associated with a particular physical good to be conveniently and safely reused or refilled by the consumer multiple times with that good, if it meets the requirements of this paragraph. Meeting the requirements of this paragraph does not necessarily require that the original item be returned or brought back to a store or other location.

      1. (A) The good must be readily available (i.e., in stock), in a form that enables the original item to be reused or refilled with it, at one or more of the following locations:

         1. (i) the same physical location where the original item is available;
         2. (ii) a physical location within one mile of the location where the original item is available, provided that such location's hours of operation encompass, at a minimum, the hours of operation of the location where the original item is available;
         3. (iii) the website where the original item is available; or
         4. (iv) a website to which the consumer is directed, by labeling on the item or by the website specified in clause (iii), for purposes of obtaining the good.
      2. (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), this requirement shall be deemed fulfilled with respect to food service ware items that, by their nature, do not require infrastructure for bulk or large format packaging to be conveniently and safely used multiple times. Without limitation, such items include food service ware items used multiple times with food provided directly to consumers by food service establishments, food service ware items not sold or distributed in association with food, and food service ware items that are reused or refilled only at the same location where it is first used.
2. (b) The producer of items sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state is in violation of the Act if, despite the producer's claim that such items are reusable or refillable for purposes of the Act, the items are not reusable or refillable and selling, offering for sale, or distributing them results in a violation of the Act. Violations may result from conditions that exist throughout the state or conditions present only at certain locations or in geographic regions where the criteria for items to be considered reusable or refillable are not satisfied.
3. (c) Nothing in this section precludes the Department from conducting investigations pursuant to subdivision (a) of section 42080 of the Public Resources Code, including to determine whether packaging or food service ware is covered material.

Note: Authority cited: Sections 40401, 40502, 42060 and 42080, Public Resources Code. Reference: Sections 40062, 42040, 42041, 42050, 42057 and 42080, Public Resources Code.

History

1. New section filed 5-1-2026; operative 5-1-2026 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2026, No. 19).