California’s SB 54 EPR Regulations Take Effect: Key Deadlines and Compliance Obligations for Producers

On May 1, 2026, the California Office of Administrative Law approved regulations implementing Senate Bill 54 (SB 54), the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. The regulations took effect on their May 1 filing date. Producers of single-use packaging and single-use plastic food serviceware now face several imminent compliance deadlines, including a producer registration deadline of June 1, 2026. Producers that fail to meet these deadlines risk penalties and administrative enforcement action from the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).

Background

SB 54, enacted in 2022, establishes an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for single-use packaging and single-use plastic food serviceware in California. The law seeks to shift end-of-life product costs upstream along the product value chain, requiring producers—rather than local governments and taxpayers—to bear responsibility for designing less wasteful packaging and funding collection, recycling, and composting systems.

By 2032, SB 54 requires that 100% of single-use packaging sold in California be recyclable or compostable, that 65% of all single-use plastic packaging be recycled, and that a 25% reduction in single-use packaging be achieved. Circular Action Alliance (CAA) is California’s sole producer responsibility organization (PRO) responsible for administering the EPR program, collecting fees from producers, investing in recycling infrastructure, and reporting compliance information to CalRecycle.

Full program implementation is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2027.

June 1 Compliance Obligations

With the permanent regulations now in effect, producers are required to have taken one of the following actions by June 1, 2026—the first business day following the 30-day compliance window that began on May 1:

• Join the PRO. Producers complying through CAA, which is required to register its participant producers with CalRecycle, must register with Circular Action Alliance and submit required supply data to CAA.
• Comply independently. Producers choosing to comply individually must register directly with CalRecycle and apply to be an independent producer.
• Claim the small producer exemption. Producers with gross sales of less than $1 million in California in the most recent calendar year must register with CalRecycle and apply for the exemption.

CalRecycle has launched a new electronic portal for producer registration, data submission, and compliance monitoring.

Additional Upcoming Deadlines

Beyond the June 1 registration deadline, producers should also be aware of additional dates:

• June 15, 2026: CAA will submit its program plan to CalRecycle, followed by a public comment period run through August 14, 2026.
• July 1, 2026: The California baseline producer report, based on 2023 data, is due.

Enforcement Risk

CalRecycle has broad authority to impose administrative civil penalties on non-compliant producers. Under the regulations, CalRecycle may investigate compliance, require production of records, and conduct onsite inspections. If CalRecycle identifies a violation, it issues a notice of violation, after which the producer has a 30-day period before penalties begin to accrue. For ongoing failures—such as a failure to register or submit required reports—the violation is deemed to occur on each day the non-compliance persists after that 30-day window, with statutory penalties of up to $50,000 per violation per day. CalRecycle may permit a violator to propose a corrective action plan, which can pause penalty accrual, but violating the plan itself constitutes a separate enforceable violation. Beyond monetary penalties, CalRecycle may also revoke an approved plan or revoke its approval of the PRO.

Ongoing Legal Challenges to the Regulations

Just days after approving the permanent regulations, CalRecycle began facing legal challenges from multiple directions.

• Environmental group challenges: The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Californians Against Waste announced plans to challenge CalRecycle’s regulations, arguing they exempt certain plastic packaging and allow “polluting technologies” such as chemical recycling to count toward recycling targets, as well as certain plastic packaging exemptions.
• Industry challenges: A coalition including the Flexible Packaging Association and the American Forest & Paper Association has filed a First Amendment challenge to SB 343, California’s companion recyclability-labeling law set to take effect in October 2026, and moved for a preliminary injunction on April 24. Because SB 54 incorporates SB 343’s recyclability determinations, a successful challenge could alter SB 54 compliance obligations as well.
• Oregon precedent: The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors challenge to Oregon’s packaging EPR law is scheduled to go to trial in July 2026, and, while different from SB 54, may influence how courts evaluate producer responsibility frameworks more broadly.

Key Takeaways for Producers

The approval of SB 54’s permanent regulations marks the most significant milestone to date in the implementation of California’s packaging EPR program. Producers should take the following steps:

• Confirm coverage: Entities should determine whether they meet the statutory definition of “producer” under SB 54. CalRecycle has published a screening tool to assist with this determination.
• Register by June 1, 2026: Choose a compliance pathway and complete registration and data submission before the deadline.
• Prepare data systems: Producers should begin assessing their data collection capabilities and preparing for the July 1, 2026 baseline report.
• Evaluate enforcement exposure: Producers facing potential enforcement action from CalRecycle should seek counsel experienced in defending against state agency administrative proceedings and in challenging the scope of CalRecycle’s regulatory authority. Mayer Brown has experience advising producers on CalRecycle enforcement matters and related state court litigation.