California’s Final EPR Regulations Now In Effect: Key Deadlines And Action Items For Producers

Highlights

• California's final Senate Bill 54 extended producer responsibility regulations were approved and became effective on May 1, 2026.
• Producers must within 30 days register with the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, join the Circular Action Alliance (CAA), or apply as independent producers and submit or update 2023 baseline data used to set future fee rates and source reduction benchmarks.
• Multiple near-term deadlines follow, including May 31 data submissions to CAA, July 1 source reduction baseline reporting and likely August 1 individual source reduction plan submissions, with significant penalties for noncompliance and continued prohibition on expanded polystyrene food service ware due to unmet recycling thresholds.

The California Office of Administrative Law on May 1, 2026, approved permanent regulations implementing California's Senate Bill (SB) 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, and filed them with the California Secretary of State. The regulations became effective immediately upon filing.

This marks the culmination of a lengthy rulemaking process that included multiple rounds of public comment and a gubernatorial directive to restart the rulemaking process in early 2025. With the final regulations now in place, producers of packaging and plastic food service ware in California are now subject to compliance obligations triggered by the approval of the regulations.

As a follow-on to previous Holland & Knight extended producer responsibility (EPR) alerts (see "Are You Ready to Report Your Packaging Data Next Month?," April 10, 2026, "The Latest Pandora's Box: What You Need to Know Now About State EPR Laws," January 22, 2026, "Washington State Enacts EPR Program for Packaging and Paper Products," May 21, 2025, and "Are You Tracking Your Packaging Data Yet?," October 17, 2024), this alert highlights the most time-sensitive implications of the final regulations for obligated producers in California.

Given the complexity of SB 54 and scope of obligations it covers, members of the packaging industry should carefully review the final regulations in the context of the statute and available guidance and consider seeking compliance support.

The 30-Day Clock Is Running: Registration and Baseline Data

The final regulations and the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) have established that producers have 30 days from May 1, 2026 (or by the next business day, June 1, 2026) to do one of the following: 1) register with the approved producer responsibility organization (PRO), 2) register with CalRecycle and apply to be an independent producer, or 3) register with CalRecycle and apply for the small producer exemption. If producers opt for option one, the approved PRO, Circular Action Alliance (CAA) will register with CalRecycle on behalf of its participant producers. Entities that become producers after this 30-day window but before January 1, 2027, must register within 30 days of becoming a producer. Entities that become producers after January 1, 2027, must register within six months of becoming a producer.

Additionally, the California baseline producer report based on 2023 data is due by July 1, 2026. In addition to registering with CAA under option one, CAA participating producers must also submit to CAA "baseline" supply data covering calendar year 2023 by June 1, 2026. The California baseline producer report within the CAA Producer Portal is currently open so that producers, including those who previously submitted this report voluntarily in 2025, can submit or revise their reports within this 30-day window. CAA will compile and submit baseline data from participant producers to CalRecycle by July 1, 2026. For individual producers not participating in the PRO, the baseline producer report is due directly to CalRecycle on July 1, 2026.

How CAA Will Use 2023 Baseline Data

The 2023 baseline data will serve two primary purposes. First, it will inform draft fee rate ranges for "early fees" to be invoiced in mid-2026, as well as draft fee rate ranges for the 2027 program year. Second, CalRecycle will use the baseline data to update the statewide source reduction baseline by November 1, 2026, which measures progress toward statutory plastic reduction targets.

Notably, producers will not be invoiced based on their 2023 baseline report data. Early fees will instead be invoiced in mid-2026 based on the 2026 annual supply report covering 2025 supply data that is due on May 31, 2026. This means that the 2023 baseline report is used for rate-setting and source reduction benchmarking purposes, not as a direct basis for a fee assessment against the reporting producer. Nonetheless, accurate baseline reporting is essential, as it directly shapes the fee rates applied in subsequent periods and establishes the producer's individual source reduction starting point.

Notable Changes from the January 2026 Proposed Regulations

Though the final regulations largely track the most recent proposed draft from January 2026, a few changes are worth flagging:

• PRO Plan Submission Deadline. The deadline for CAA to submit its producer responsibility plan to the advisory board shifted from April 1, 2026, to May 1, 2026, with the option to submit by June 15, 2026, subject to an expedited review timeline.
• Streamlined Submission Requirements. The final regulations require electronic submission through CalRecycle's online reporting system (or through CAA's system).
• Exemption Justification Standard Tightened. For exemptions based on unique challenges, CalRecycle tightened the standard for the justification an applicant must provide.
• Exemption Termination Grounds Expanded. The final regulations clarify grounds for terminating a granted exemption, consolidating to two bases (incomplete or false information) while adding as a separate ground that "relevant circumstances have materially changed," giving CalRecycle broader authority to revisit previously granted exemptions.
• Expanded Polystyrene. The final regulations include the requirement that expanded polystyrene (EPS) food service ware demonstrate a 25 percent recycling rate and, as CalRecycle has confirmed, that threshold has not been met – meaning EPS food service ware remains prohibited from sale in California.

The authors of this alert are available to assist producers with questions regarding any of these changes and how they may affect their specific compliance posture, particularly those seeking or holding exemptions.

Other Immediate Considerations for California Producers

Annual Supply Reports Due May 31, 2026, to CAA

Reporting entities must begin submitting annual data reports to CalRecycle in 2026, with reports generally due July 1 of each year and covering the prior calendar year's supply data by covered material category. Producers participating in the PRO must submit their annual supply reports covering the 2025 data year to CAA by May 31, 2026, and CAA will compile and submit this data on behalf of producers participating in the PRO by the July 1 deadline. Individual producers must submit their annual supply reports directly to CalRecycle by July 1, 2026.

Annual Source Reduction Report Due May 31, 2026, to CAA

All participating producers must also submit an annual source reduction report, covering source reduction activity in the 2025 data year, to CAA by May 31, 2026.

Individual Source Reduction Plans Due to CAA Mid to Late Summer

Reporting entities will also need to submit individual source reduction plans to CAA detailing how they intend to meet statutory source reduction targets of 10 percent by January 1, 2027, 20 percent by 2030 and 25 percent by 2032. CalRecycle and CAA have both published guidance on source reduction. CAA is requiring participating producers to submit individual source reduction plans later this year, likely August 1, 2026, to fulfill the requirement for it to submit data on behalf of its producers to CalRecycle by January 1, 2027.

Penalties for Noncompliance

Producers that fail to register, report or join the PRO (or comply on an individual basis) face potential delinquency from CAA and enforcement action by CalRecycle, including potentially significant penalties.

Looking Ahead

California's packaging EPR program is among the most expansive in the U.S., regulating an estimated 5,741 producers and requiring $500 million per year in contributions to the Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund beginning in 2027. With the final regulations now in effect, the compliance apparatus is fully operational, and deadlines are immediate.

This is not an area where companies can afford to take a wait-and-see approach. Producers should actively evaluate their obligations, confirm their registration status and ensure data readiness now. The interplay between the statute, final regulations, regulatory guidance, CAA policies and guidance, and reporting timelines creates a web of requirements that demands careful, company- and product-specific analysis.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.