Los Angeles Recycling Lawyer

The California legislature passed the Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act in response to a need to reduce litter and to establish a state-wide recycling system. In January of 2010, administration of the program was changed to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). Recycling centers, operated by independent businesses, must comply with various regulations established by the Act.

The Law Offices of Steven J. Horn provides legal representation to private recyclers concerning certification, compliance and regulatory issues, business matters, litigation, and other services. Recycling and waste management is a specialty of our law firm and our experienced attorneys can provide your business with the highest quality legal help.

What Makes California’s Program Different?

In California, distributors of eligible beverage containers must make payments to CalRecycle, which is passed on to consumers. When a consumer returns these containers to a recycling center, he or she is paid a California Refund Value (CRV). This payment is based on the weight of the beverage containers. CalRecycle has established a minimum reimbursement rate for each type of material. For example, aluminum containers are paid at $1.57 per pound. The goal of the Act is to achieve an 80 percent recycling rate for eligible containers. Containers covered by the Act include those filed with carbonated mineral water and soft drinks, noncarbonated soft drinks, wine coolers, distilled spirit coolers, beer and malt beverages, sport drinks, coffee and tea drinks, and vegetable juice drinks.

Activities Involving Certified Recyclers and Certified Processors

Certified Recyclers and Certified Processors must comply with a variety of requirements under the law. Some of these activities for certified processors include:

Certified Recyclers

• Posting the recycling certificate at the facility (this lets consumers know that the location is a state-certified site).
• Posting the prices paid (this tells consumers the amount of money a recycling center pays for each material type).
• Acceptance of all beverage container types that are listed on your application.
• Proper inspection of all containers presented for redemption. A container is eligible for refund value if:

- the container is made of aluminum, glass, plastic, or bimetal
- the container has been opened
- any contents have been removed (cannot contain sand, rocks, cigarettes, etc.)
- a CRV notice is printed on the container
- the container has an established refund value

• Keeping proper records of material accepted. This includes daily summaries of all receipt and log transactions, including donations, total weight, and refund value for each day of the shipping report period.

• Posting of an “Open” sign to let consumers know when the recycling center is open, as well as an “Hours of Operation” sign.

• Notification of change of facility location, ownership, type of organization, contact persons, agent for service of process, business name, hours of operation, method of operation, business mailing address, and business phone numbers.

• Notification of business closing (a written request to decertify must be submitted to CalRecycle).

Certified Processors

The Law Offices of Steven J. Horn can help certified processors:

• Prepare bids for municipal contracts
• Franchise proposals or agreements
• Prepare contracts

Both Recyclers and Processors

The Law Offices of Steven J. Horn can help certified processors and recyclers with:

• Compliance requirements

• Representing them before CalRecycle or the Local Enforcment Agencies (LEA)

• Litigation representation

What a California Recycling Lawyer Can Do For You

• We represent recycling companies who are:

• Starting up a recycling business

• Closing down a recycling business

Ongoing businesses who may have a violation that subject them to a hearing in front Local Enforcement Agencies (LEA) or CalRecycle for rules violations

• Compliance Requirements

• Documentation Requirements

California Recycling Attorney

California’s unique and progressive recycling laws are helping to reduce litter and encourage recycling of beverage containers. Recycling businesses are also benefiting from these laws as the amount of material submitted for recycling increases. The Law Offices of Steven J. Horn can provide the necessary legal services to your recycling business to keep your operation profitable and in compliance with all recycling regulations.