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Packaging rule · United States · Recycled content

California minimum recycled content for plastic beverage containers (AB 793)

Recycled content rule covering plastic in California, United States, set by California Legislature / CalRecycle. Applies since 1 January 2022.

By the SPI teamRule ID PR-US-009Source consulted 13 October 2026Verified 13 October 2026
Sourced facts

The rule

Recorded from the official source named below. Rates and dates are as the source states them on the date it was consulted.

Jurisdiction
United States · California
Authority
California Legislature / CalRecycle
Rule type
Recycled content
Materials
Plastic
Status
In force Enacted
Rate or target
25%Current requirement from 1 Jan 2025; rises to 50% on 1 Jan 2030.
Adopted or published
24 September 2020
Applies from
1 January 2022
From the source

“25% on January 1, 2025”

Official source CalRecycle: Plastic Minimum Content Standards and Reporting (AB 793)Official (government or regulator) · consulted 13 October 2026

Deadlines

Key dates

  1. Adopted or published 6 years ago

  2. Applies from 4 years and 9 months ago

  3. Source consulted by the SPI team 1 day ago

  4. Re-checked by a second SPI team member 1 day ago

SPI analysis

What it means

SPI analysis Our reading of the official source above. Not legal advice; always rely on the official text.

SPI summary

Plastic beverage containers subject to California's redemption value must contain postconsumer recycled plastic: 15% from 2022, 25% from 1 January 2025, and 50% from 1 January 2030. Shortfalls are penalised at $0.20 per pound.

In practice

Beverage manufacturers that fill or import plastic beverage containers carrying the California Redemption Value have to meet an annual average share of postconsumer recycled plastic: 25% since 1 January 2025, rising to 50% on 1 January 2030. Compliance is measured as an annual aggregate, so a brand can balance high and low PCR formats. For preform and bottle converters and resin suppliers, this drives demand for documented postconsumer PET and other resins, since post-industrial material does not count.

Where the record is unclear

  • CalRecycle's page does not describe an appeal process or any mechanism to adjust the percentages or the USD 0.20 per pound penalty rate.
  • Penalty reductions depend on CalRecycle approving a corrective action plan; criteria beyond the page summary were not reviewed.

Where it sits in the tracker

  • One of 13 packaging rules we track in the United States, of which 2 are recycled content rules.
  • In all, 6 recycled content rules are tracked across 3 jurisdictions. Compare them below

Company profiles that map to this rule

Companies whose SPI profile lists this rule in its regulatory exposure, based on where they report selling. Not company-reported.

SPI analysis

Overview

AB 793 (Chapter 115, Statutes of 2020) was signed on 24 September 2020 and placed a minimum postconsumer recycled plastic content standard in Public Resources Code section 145471. The standard applies only to plastic beverage containers that carry the California Redemption Value, and manufacturers unsure of CRV coverage are referred to CalRecycle's Registration Unit1.

The schedule is 15% from 1 January 2022, 25% from 1 January 2025 and 50% from 1 January 20301. CalRecycle adopted permanent regulations effective 1 January 20241. Those regulations measure compliance as the weight of postconsumer plastic divided by the combined weight of postconsumer and virgin plastic, in pounds, with caps and labels included (proposed 14 CCR § 2240(b)(1))2.

The law also lets the CalRecycle director review the standard each year from 1 January 2025, on the director's own motion or on a petition from an association representing at least 35% of reporting manufacturers; the reasons document gives 234 of 668 manufacturers in 2021 as the benchmark (§ 2250)2. A petition must cover market conditions, recycling rates, supply of recycled plastic, processing capacity and industry progress, and name a preferred reduced percentage2.

Duties

Who must do what

Beverage manufacturer filling or importing CRV plastic containers

  • Meet the annual average postconsumer content standard for all CRV plastic beverage containers filled or imported for sale in California: 25% now, 50% from 1 January 2030 (PRC 14547)1.
  • File the annual report by 1 March with pounds of virgin and postconsumer plastic by resin type, for each registered manufacturer ID, signed under penalty of perjury with the date and place of signing (§ 2240(b))12.
  • Keep PCR documentation, such as material data sheets, bills of lading, purchase records and container certificates, for at least five years (CCR § 2085(b) and § 2235(e))12.

Plastic material reclaimer and PCR resin manufacturer

  • Report annually by 1 March from 2024: reclaimers report weights of empty CRV containers by resin type (§ 2785) and PCR manufacturers report food-grade and bottle-grade output and capacity with a signed attestation (§ 2795)2.

CalRecycle

  • Post manufacturer reports within 45 days of the due date, decide small-manufacturer status, and approve or reject corrective action plans1.
Scope

Are you in scope?

Work through each question. The answers are the SPI team's reading of the sources cited.

  1. Do you fill plastic beverage containers for sale in California, or import filled ones for sale?

    If yes
    You are a reporting beverage manufacturer (PRC 14506)1.
    If no
    The standard does not apply to you directly.

  2. Is the container subject to the California Redemption Value?

    If yes
    It counts toward your annual average1.
    If no
    Non-CRV containers fall outside the standard.

  3. Do you use only glass, aluminium or bi-metal containers, or sell only refillable ones?

    If yes
    You do not need to report1.
    If no
    Report by 1 March each year.

  4. Did you sell 16,000,000 or fewer containers into California in the reporting year?

    If yes
    You are exempt from penalties and the content standard but must still report by 1 March (PRC 14575(g)(3)(A))1.
    If no
    The penalty applies to any shortfall.

  5. Is your recycled plastic post-industrial rather than postconsumer?

    If yes
    It does not count toward the standard1.
    If no
    Documented postconsumer plastic counts.
Checklist

Compliance checklist

  1. Run the 2026 calendar-year calculation

    By Before 1 March 2027

    SPI analysis of the official text. Not legal advice; confirm with the text or counsel. Divide postconsumer pounds by total plastic pounds across all CRV plastic containers, including caps and labels, and compare with 25% without rounding12.

    Evidence to keep Resin-level mass balance per manufacturer ID.

  2. File the annual report

    By 1 March 2027

    Use CalRecycle's standard form; blank or non-numeric PCR entries are treated as zero, and reports are published, so keep confidential data out12.

    Evidence to keep Signed report and submission receipt.

  3. Assemble PCR supplier evidence

    By Now

    Collect data sheets, manifests, bills of lading and container certificates for each resin lot (§ 2235(e))2.

    Evidence to keep Supplier file kept five years.

  4. Prepare a corrective action plan if short

    By 30 days after the penalty invoice

    The plan must give reasons for the shortfall, steps, timeframe and history of earlier plans (§ 2260)2.

    Evidence to keep Plan and CalRecycle decision.

  5. Contract supply for the 2030 step

    By 1 January 2030

    The standard doubles from 25% to 50%, so secure postconsumer PET and HDPE volumes against forecast container weights1.

    Evidence to keep Supply contracts sized to 2030 volumes.

Enforcement

Enforcement and penalties

Who enforces
CalRecycle (Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery)
Powers
CalRecycle assesses shortfall penalties, may reduce them where it approves a corrective action plan, and under PRC 14549.3 may issue notices of violation with civil penalties for reporting failures12.
Enforcement so far
CalRecycle publishes manufacturer reports for 2017 to 2025 but no compliance rates or penalty totals as of 14 October 20261.

Penalties

BreachPenaltyLegal basis
Shortfall against the minimum content standardUSD 0.20 per pound of shortfallPRC 14547, as described by CalRecycle1
Failure to reportUSD 0 to USD 1,000 or more per notice of violation, using the factors in PRC 14591.1(e)PRC 14549.3; proposed 14 CCR § 2100(a)2

Penalties go to the Recycling Enhancement Penalty Account and can be paid quarterly or on an alternative schedule1. A reduction can reflect unusual market conditions or recycled plastic supply disruption, but not a failure to get supplier documentation or an inability to pay (§ 2265)2.

Connections

How it fits with other rules

  • New Jersey Recycled Content Law (P.L.2021, c.391) PR-US-010
    New Jersey's plastic beverage container schedule is 15% now, 20% from 2027 and 50% only in 2044. A brand meeting California's 25% average already clears New Jersey's level until 2030, when the California step to 50% comes 14 years earlier1.
  • RCW 70A.245.020, Washington postconsumer recycled content
    Washington requires 25% for plastic beverage containers from 2026 to 2030 and 50% from 2031, averaged by weight per producer3. That tracks California's schedule with a one-year lag on the 50% step.
  • SUP Directive: recycled content in plastic beverage bottles PR-EU-016
    California measures each manufacturer's annual aggregate across all its CRV plastic containers and resin types1. A global brand's California report is built per California manufacturer ID, so it will not map directly onto EU bottle reporting without re-cutting the data.
  • UK Plastic Packaging Tax PR-GB-001
    The UK tax uses a 30% recycled plastic threshold. California instead averages across a manufacturer's whole CRV container volume and lets high-PCR formats offset low ones1, so a bottle line below 30% can still be compliant in California.
Timeline

History of the rule

  1. AB 793 signed as Chapter 115, Statutes of 20201.

  2. 15% minimum postconsumer content applies1.

  3. Annual administrative penalties begin to accrue, according to CalRecycle1.

  4. Permanent AB 793 regulations take effect1.

  5. First penalty assessments; reclaimer and PCR manufacturer reports first due12.

  6. Standard rises to 25%; the director's annual review option opens12.

  7. Today

  8. Reports due for containers filled or imported in 20261.

  9. Deadline for a legislative appropriation that would let CalRecycle study plastic markets1.

  10. Standard rises to 50%1.

Questions

Questions

What recycled content must California CRV plastic bottles contain in 2026?

An annual average of at least 25% postconsumer recycled plastic, a level in force since 1 January 2025. It rises to 50% on 1 January 20301.

How is the AB 793 penalty calculated?

CalRecycle charges USD 0.20 per pound of shortfall between the postconsumer plastic used and the amount the standard requires. Penalties may be reduced if CalRecycle approves a corrective action plan, which must be filed within 30 days of the invoice12.

Are small beverage brands exempt?

Manufacturers selling 16,000,000 or fewer containers into California in the reporting year are exempt from penalties and the content standard. They must still file the 1 March report1.

Can the percentage be lowered?

From 1 January 2025 the CalRecycle director may review the standard once a year, on the director's own initiative or on a petition from an association representing at least 35% of reporting manufacturers. In 2021 that threshold was 234 of 668 manufacturers2.

Do caps and labels count in the calculation?

Yes. The permanent regulations, effective 1 January 2024, measure postconsumer weight over the combined postconsumer and virgin weight, with caps and labels included12.

Glossary

Definitions

Postconsumer recycled material
Material recovered after consumer use and defined in 14 CCR § 2000(a); post-industrial recycled material, defined separately, does not count toward PRC 1454712.12
Bottle-grade and food-grade
Grades of postconsumer resin that PCR manufacturers report separately under § 2795, defined in § 2000(a)2.2
Sources

Sources for this analysis

  1. CalRecycle: Plastic Minimum Content Standards and Reporting (AB 793) Regulator · Consulted 14 October 2026
  2. CalRecycle: AB 793 Plastic Content Reporting and Compliance Permanent Regulations, Initial Statement of Reasons Regulator · Consulted 14 October 2026
  3. Washington State Legislature: RCW 70A.245.020, Postconsumer recycled content Official · Consulted 14 October 2026

Written by the SPI team on 14 October 2026. Sources checked as of 14 October 2026. SPI analysis, not legal advice; always rely on the official text.

Audit trail

Change history

Verified: a second SPI team member re-checked every fact above against the source on 13 October 2026. Any later change to the facts sends the rule back to Sourced and is logged here.

  1. Verified by a second SPI team member

  2. Added to the tracker

Spotted an error? Write to sales@strategicpackaginginsights.com quoting PR-US-009 and the source. Corrections are logged in this history.

Other jurisdictions

Recycled content rules elsewhere

The same type of rule for the same materials in other jurisdictions, by the date it applies.

RuleWhereTypeMaterialsStatusApplies from
SUP Directive: recycled content in plastic beverage bottlesPR-EU-016European UnionRecycled contentPlasticIn force1 January 2025
Recycled content in plastic packaging (PWM Rules Schedule II, revised 2026)PR-IN-002IndiaRecycled contentPlasticIn force31 March 2026
PPWR: 2030 minimum recycled content in plastic packagingPR-EU-004European UnionRecycled contentPlasticAdopted, not yet applying1 January 2030
PPWR: 2040 minimum recycled content in plastic packagingPR-EU-005European UnionRecycled contentPlasticAdopted, not yet applying1 January 2040

Every recycled content rule in the tracker

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