AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 20, 2025

AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 4, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

97

Introduced by Senator McNerney

January 29, 2025

An act to add and repeal Division 31.5 (commencing with Section 55000) of the Public Resources Code, relating to recycling.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law establishes in the California Environmental Protection Agency the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, which administers various solid waste management and recycling programs.

This bill would require the department to draft and submit a report to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2028, relating to the in-state collection, recycling, reuse, and stockpiling for domestic consumption of precious metals, critical minerals, as defined, and other similar valuable materials as reasonably decided by the department, contained within products in the state, as specified. The bill would require the department to provide opportunities for public input and to perform outreach to potentially interested parties, as specified. The bill also would authorize the department to make recommendations to industries on the promote a circular economy for precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials within products, including, but not limited to, best practices for product design to optimize the ability to recycle precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials at the product’s end of life.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) As a result of prior legislation, including Senate Bill 20 of the 2003–04 Regular Session (Sher), which enacted the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (Chapter 526 of the Statutes of 2003), Assembly Bill 2440 of the 2021–22 Regular Session (Irwin), which enacted the Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022 (Chapter 351 of the Statutes of 2022), and Senate Bill 1215 of the 2021–22 Regular Session (Newman), which expanded the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 to include battery-embedded products (Chapter 370 of the Statutes of 2022), hundreds of thousands of cell phones, LED lights, fluorescent lights, computers, printers, televisions, batteries, battery-embedded products, and other forms of electronic waste are now being collected from California consumers and diverted from landfills.

(b) Many of these electronic waste items and other waste items contain precious metals and critical materials, including rare earth elements (REEs). REEs These materials are necessary for many green technologies, including electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines. These green technologies are essential to meeting California’s climate goals and are essential to the world in helping to mitigate climate change.

(c) Currently, REEs many of these materials are mined. According to the United States Geological Survey, about 70 percent of REEs come from China.

(d) The mining of REEs these materials is energy intensive, relies on fossil fuels for extraction and shipping, and can be environmentally destructive to the communities where they are mined.

(e) Further, there is not enough inground supply of many REEs to meet demand. Researchers estimate that, “Among the leading global REE consumers—China, the European Union and the United States—China is projected to be the only nation capable of fulfilling its domestic demand....” (P. Wang, et al., “Regional Rare-Earth Element Supply and Demand Balanced with Circular Economy Strategies” (Jan. 4, 2024) 17 Nature Geoscience 94–102.).

(f) However, current research also reveals that recycling and reusing REEs from old cell phones, hard drives, electric motors, and turbines could meet as much as 40 percent of the demand for REEs in the United States, China, and Europe by 2050, and that the United States, the European Union, and Japan could eventually accumulate REE stockpiles in their old electronics and other products that far exceed what they would find mining the earth.

(g) Although California collects and recycles products containing REEs, precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials, collectors here do not extract this valuable material. Instead, components containing REEs these materials are shipped to other countries, including Korea and Japan, for foreign entities to extract and reuse REEs them in new products.

(h) Because critical minerals and REEs are combined with other materials in products, extracting REEs these materials has historically been a highly toxic process. However, there are scientific breakthroughs being made to use nontoxic techniques so that REEs can be retained as part of a green, circular economy.

SEC. 2.

Division 31.5 (commencing with Section 55000) is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

Division 31.5. Critical Materials in the State: Recycling

55000.

(a) On or before January 1, 2028, the department shall draft and submit a report to the Legislature relating to the in-state collection, recycling, reuse, and stockpiling for domestic consumption of precious metals, critical minerals, as defined by the 2022 list of critical minerals released by the United States Geological Survey, and other similar valuable materials as reasonably decided by the department, contained within products in the state. The department may perform this duty as part of its current duties, using current funding, to the extent feasible. The department may, but is not required to, consult with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development or the Department of Toxic Substances Control to the extent that those agencies have relevant or useful information.

(b) The department shall provide opportunities for public input and shall perform outreach to potentially interested parties, including, but not limited to, researchers, academics, scientists, the business community, manufacturers, and environmental organizations.

(c) The report shall discuss all of the following:

(2) The existing technologies methods and those under development to extract these precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials from products. products described in paragraph (1).

(4) The benefits to ability of California from recycling to recycle these materials in products sold and used sold, used, and disposed in the state to facilitate the transition away from fossil fuels.

(6) The potential for revenue to the state in extracting and creating a stockpile of these materials for domestic manufacturing of green technology.

(7) The current barriers that need to be addressed to incentivize and create create, expand, and incentivize within California the ability to recycle and reuse these materials. materials from products.

(8) Policy recommendations to further California’s ability to recycle and reuse these materials in products in California.

55001.

The department may make recommendations to industries on the promote a circular economy for precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials within products, including, but not limited to, best practices for product design to optimize the ability to recycle precious metals, critical minerals, and other similar valuable materials at the product’s end of life.