By Kristen Davis
In March 2019, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) adopted the recycling and disposal reporting regulations mandated by Assembly Bill 901, which was passed in 2015. The new regulations will require reporting entities to submit information directly to CalRecycle on the types, quantities, and destinations of materials that are disposed of, recycled, processed, or transferred inside or outside of the state.
CalRecycle’s objective is to get a better understanding of the movement of recycled and disposed of material within the State’s infrastructure. Reporting entities will be submitting information directly to the State versus to the local lead agencies, who then submit to the State. Unlike the current reporting system where only disposal facilities report, recycling facilities are now included in reporting.
Timeline
All reporting entities were originally required to complete Recycling and Disposal Reporting System (RDRS) registration by April 30, 2019. However, because of confusion over the requirements for reporting entities, in an email notice dated April 25, 2019, CalRecycle stated they will not be taking any action against reporting entities who have not registered by the April 30th deadline, but will expect all reporting entities to register by May 31st.
Record-keeping pursuant to the AB 901 regulations will commence July 1, 2019 for the 3rd quarter 2019.
The RDRS will open for report submittals for the 3rd quarter on October 1, 2019.
Reports for all reporting entities for the first reporting period of the 3rd quarter must be submitted by December 31, 2019. The specific due dates are different for each reporting entity and are listed in their respective sections of the reporting regulations.
The reporting periods are divided by quarter: January 1 – March 31 (Reporting Period 1), April 1 – June 30 (Reporting Period 2), July 1 – September 30 (Reporting Period 3), and October 1 – December 31 (Reporting Period 4).
Reporting Entities
The recycling, processing, and disposal of construction, demolition and inert debris (CDI) are common activities in our industry. Inert debris includes broken concrete, fully cured asphalt, brick, etc.
Reporting entities are classified as the facilities and operations that are required to report according to the new reporting regulations. Reporting entities include recycling facilities, composting facilities, disposal facilities, haulers, transfer/processors, and brokers/transporters. Recycling facilities and transfer/processors are required to report if they recycle, sell, transfer, or process 2,500 tons or more of CDI material in a quarter. Disposal facilities are required to report at any tonnage in a quarter. Composting facilities are required to report if they sell or transfer 100 tons or more of material per quarter. The following operations are required to register and report if they meet the thresholds described above:
• CDI debris processing facilities/operations
• Inert Debris Type A processing operations
• Inert Debris Type A disposal facilities
• CDI waste disposal facilities
• Construction, demolition and inert debris recycling facilities
• Inert debris recycling facilities
• Construction and demolition recycling facilities
• Composting facilities
Exemptions
A number of operations and facilities that are exempt from the new reporting regulations. Some of these exemptions include:
• Generators: those who generate the initial reportable material
• IDEFOs
• Asphalt plants
• Concrete batch plants
• A recycler who only recycles material that they generate
• A person who collects material from a generator and delivers the material directly to a reporting entity or an end user inside the state, unless the person is a contract hauler hauling material to land application.
• A recycler who exclusively uses material for their own end use and does not sell or transfer reportable material.
A complete list of reporting entities and exemptions is included in the full reporting regulations.
Registration
All reporting entities will register in the new RDRS at this link: https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/swfacilities/rdreporting/ (link is in the “Registration” section).
When in doubt, register your facility. CalRecycle has stated there will be an opportunity to delete registration before reporting begins if it is determined a facility is not a reporting entity.
An operation will register the site and then individually register the reporting entity. Information that will need to be input during registration includes site information, operator information, reporting entity type, and authorized signature designation. Sites with multiple reporting entities could have one or more RDRS numbers depending on the type of reporting entities onsite.
Reporting
Operators will need to establish an internal recording system to record the required information. Information that will be recorded and reported does vary based on what reporting entity an operation falls under. For example, a recycling facility will record the tonnages of material sold or removed from the site and the destination county for the materials. This information, along with contact and site information, RDRS number, material type, and calculation method to determine tonnage, is required to be included in all quarterly reports for recycling facilities.
The full reporting regulations give a detailed description of the information that different reporting entities must record at their operation and include in their quarterly reports.
The full reporting regulations can be found in California Code of Regulations Title 14, Division 7, Chapter 9, Article 9.25, Sections 18815.1-18815.13.