Packaging EPR Update: Week of August 3, 2026

Recyclability  |  CA

In a June 24, 2026 update letter issued under PRC 42355.51(d)(1)(B)(iii), CalRecycle identified three additional large volume transfer/processing facilities that sort non-CRV gable-top and aseptic cartons into PSI Grade 52 bales: Western Placer Waste Management Authority MRF (SWIS 31-AA-0001), Pacific Recycling Solutions MRF (SWIS 23-AA-0048) and Cold Canyon Landfill Inc. MRF (SWIS 40-AA-0004). Table 2 of the SB 343 Final Findings Report moved from 18 counties served, 53%, to 21 counties, 62%, for both X02 (Gable-top Cartons, Non-CRV) and X03 (Aseptic Containers, Non-CRV). A follow-up letter on July 23, 2026 restated the same three facilities and the same 62% against the covered material category codes (25_PF15P aseptic, 25_PF5P gable-top) rather than the material type and form codes, so it is a re-expression of the June 24 update and not a second determination. Note also that this is the third carton update to Table 2, not the first: CalRecycle published earlier ones on August 8, 2025 and December 22, 2025, and says it does not anticipate republishing the complete report until the 2027 update. Several trade outlets have reported this as California recognizing carton recyclability. Read against the statute, it is not that. Table 2's percentage is a share of surveyed counties: Attachment 1 states the surveyed facilities serve 34 of California's 58 counties, so 21 of 34 is the 62%, while 21 of all 58 counties is 36%. The SB 343 sortation test in PRC 42355.51(d)(2)(B)(i) is written against facilities collectively serving at least 60% of statewide recycling programs, which is a different denominator from counties, and the same provision separately requires reclamation consistent with the Basel Convention, which CalRecycle's SB 343 FAQ states it was not directed to investigate. That FAQ also states SB 343 does not authorize CalRecycle to make product-by-product labeling determinations. What this means for a producer: cartons remain not deemed recyclable on the January 2026 CMC list (25_PF15P aseptic, 25_PF5P gable-top, recycling rate under 1%), and nothing about a recyclable claim or an eco-modulation position changes today. The signal is real but forward-looking: this data feeds the next Covered Material Categories List, which publishes by January 1, 2027. Source: CalRecycle SB 343 update letter (June 24, 2026), read from the letter itself, which carries the 18-to-21 county and 53%-to-62% table and the quoted disclaimer; CalRecycle carton notice letter (July 23, 2026); CalRecycle SB 343 Final Findings Report Table 2, Attachment 1 (updated June 24, 2026); CalRecycle SB 343 FAQ (August 13, 2025), PRC 42355.51(d)(1)(B)(iii) and (d)(2).

Fee Schedule  |  CA

Circular Action Alliance published the 2026 California Early Fee Schedule on July 20, 2026, setting six flat per-pound rates for program year 2026: Glass and Ceramics 0.3 c/lb, Metal 0.8 c/lb, Paper/Fiber 0.4 c/lb, Plastic Rigid 1.3 c/lb, Plastic Flexible 2.5 c/lb, and Wood and Other Organic Materials 0.8 c/lb. Table 2 of the schedule maps each category to a defined list of covered material categories, so a producer's rate follows the CMC codes already used for reporting. This is a different instrument from the ongoing per-CMC program fee, which begins after plan approval in 2027 and is still in draft. The fee estimator on this site prices the draft 2027 schedule, not this early fee: use the California 2026 Early Fee card on the Fee Estimator tab for a 2026 estimate. Source: CAA, 2026 California Early Fee Schedule (originally published July 20, 2026).

Site Update

EPR Atlas has been running for about two and a half months. What conversations with companies kept showing is that no two are at the same point: some are still working out whether they are obligated at all, some registered months ago and are now looking at what the fee actually depends on. The site was organized around subject matter, which serves the second group and leaves the first guessing. This version is organized around the journey instead. The Overview opens with a stage selector that gives you three concrete moves for wherever you are, the tools are gathered under one Toolkit with each one on its own page, and every page now carries the same navigation so you can get back to any tab from anywhere. Nothing was removed. The state detail, the fee schedules, the litigation tracking and the evidence labels are all still there, and every figure still carries the date it was last checked against its primary source. Source: EPRAtlas.com.

Site Update

What was wrong. California producers are invoiced this program year against a 2026 early fee schedule that CAA published on July 20, 2026: six flat per-pound rates. It is a different instrument from the draft 2027 per-material schedule, and reading the wrong one gives you the wrong number. Between July 20 and August 3, 2026, our EPR fees by state page said California had no published 2026 fee schedule. That was incorrect. What to check. If you looked up California on the fees-by-state page during those two weeks and came away thinking there was nothing published to pay against for 2026, look again. If you used the California state page, the fee calculator or Ask Atlas in that window, those carried the correct rates throughout and nothing you took from them is affected. Resolved August 3, 2026. Source: CAA, 2026 California Early Fee Schedule, published July 20, 2026.