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AB-2481 • 2026

Beverage containers: recycling: glass: quality incentive payments.

Beverage containers: recycling: glass: quality incentive payments.

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Soria
Last action
Official status
Senate - Appropriations
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source confirms the $15 million annual cap but does not specify an effective date or exact distribution amounts for individual recipients.

Paying to Recycle Clean Glass Bottles into New Products

This law allows state officials to pay recycling programs extra money for collecting clean glass bottles that factories in California can turn into new products, such as fiberglass insulation.

What This Bill Does

  • Authorizes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to make quality incentive payments from an existing fund.
  • Pays operators who collect empty glass beverage containers that are mostly free from contamination.
  • Supports manufacturers in California that use recycled glass, such as fiberglass insulation makers, for products other than drink bottles.
  • Uses up to $15 million a year already set aside by law for recycling incentives.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Operators of curbside recycling programs or other certified entities that collect glass.
  • Manufacturers in California who use recycled glass cullet to make non-beverage products like fiberglass insulation.
  • The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, which manages the payments.

Terms To Know

Glass cullet
Crushed or broken recycled glass that is used as raw material to make new products.
Quality incentive payment
Extra money paid by the state from a specific fund to encourage recycling programs to collect clean, usable materials.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify exactly how much each program or manufacturer will receive.
  • Payments only apply if the glass is substantially free from contamination and used for specific non-beverage products in California.
  • The text does not state when these new payment rules begin.

Bill History

  1. California Legislative Information

    Senate - Appropriations

Official Summary Text

Beverage containers: recycling: glass: quality incentive payments.