Circular Action Alliance (CAA), the Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) implementing California’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law (CA SB 54) for paper and packaging, has submitted its program plan to the SB 54 Advisory Board. The plan is open for public comment until August 14, providing an opportunity for stakeholder input to strengthen it. The plan outlines how CAA will implement the requirements of SB 54.  

The California Department of Resources and Recovery (CalRecycle) recently published a new SB 54 extensions, exemptions, and exclusions webpage. ISPA encourages its members to review this guidance to determine applicability. Extensions, exemptions, and exclusions may apply to a business entity or to a packaging material.   

CAA’s plan submission coincides with multiple lawsuits challenging SB 54. Environmental groups including Oceana, NRDC and Californians Against Waste filed a lawsuit against the CalRecycle, alleging that the final regulations create loopholes for certain packaging materials and improperly allow certain technologies (such as advanced recycling) to count toward recycling targets. In addition, a coalition of 17 states led by Nebraska’s Attorney General and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) sued both CalRecycle and CAA. This lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of SB 54 regarding the First Amendment, the Commerce Clause, and due process, among other issues. NAW filed a similar lawsuit against Oregon’s Packaging EPR Law and was granted a temporary injunction from complying with the law. The  trial is set to begin on July 13th. 

ISPA encourages its members to visit the website for Circular Action Alliance (CAA) for their compliance needs related to packaging EPR. Please contact ISPA’s GA Team (Alison Keane, Shawn Swearingen, and Marty Salamone) if you have any questions.