(a) (1) The department shall certify an operator of a recycling center pursuant to this section.

(2) The department shall review whether an application for certification or renewal is complete within 30 working days of receipt, including compliance with subdivision (c). If the department deems an application complete, the department shall approve or deny the application no later than 60 calendar days after the date when the application was deemed complete.

(b) The director shall adopt, by regulation, a procedure for the certification of recycling centers, including standards and requirements for certification. These regulations shall require that all information be submitted to the department under penalty of perjury. A recycling center shall meet all of the standards and requirements contained in the regulations for certification. The regulations shall require, but shall not be limited to requiring, that all of the following conditions be met for certification:

(1) The operator of the recycling center demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the department, that the operator will operate in accordance with this division.

(2) If one or more certified entities have operated at the same location within the past five years, the operations at the location of the recycling center exhibit, to the satisfaction of the department, a pattern of operation in compliance with the requirements of this division and regulations adopted pursuant to this division.

(3) The operator of the recycling center notifies the department promptly of any material change in the nature of the operator’s operations that conflicts with information submitted in the operator’s application for certification.

(c) (1) An applicant for certification as a recycling center, and a recycling center applying for renewal of a certification, shall complete the precertification training program required by this subdivision and meet all other qualification requirements prescribed by the department, which may include, but are not limited to, requiring the applicant to obtain a passing score on an examination administered by the department.

(2) The department may use staff or industry experts, or may seek expertise available in other state agencies, to provide the training program required by this subdivision, which shall include providing technical assistance to better prepare recycling centers for successful participation in this division, thereby reducing the potential for errors, fraud, or other activities that compromise the integrity of the implementation of this division.

(d) A certified recycling center shall comply with all of the following requirements for operation:

(1) The operator of the recycling center shall not pay a refund value for, or receive a refund value from any processor for, any food or drink packaging material or any beverage container or other product that does not have a refund value established pursuant to Section 14560.

(2) The operator of a recycling center shall take actions that satisfy the department to prevent the payment of a refund value for any food or drink packaging material or any beverage container or other product that does not have a refund value established pursuant to Section 14560.

(3) (A) Unless exempted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14572, a certified recycling center shall accept, and pay at least the refund value for, all empty beverage containers, regardless of type.

(B) A bag drop recycling center shall pay the refund value for beverage containers within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed three business days. The refund value may be paid electronically in accordance with Section 14531.

(4) A certified recycling center shall not pay any refund values, processing payments, or administrative fees to a noncertified recycler.

(5) A certified recycling center shall not pay any refund values, processing payments, or administrative fees on empty beverage containers or other containers that the certified recycling center knew, or should have known, were coming into the state from out of the state, or are otherwise ineligible for redemption.

(6) (A) A certified recycling center shall not claim refund values, processing payments, or administrative fees on empty beverage containers that the certified recycling center knew, or should have known, were received from noncertified recyclers.

(B) A certified recycling center shall not claim refund values, processing payments, or administrative fees on empty beverage containers that the certified recycling center knew, or should have known, come from out of the state, or are otherwise ineligible for redemption.

(7) A certified recycling center shall prepare and maintain the following documents involving empty beverage containers, as specified by the department by regulation:

(A) Shipping reports that are required to be prepared by the recycling center, or that are required to be obtained from other recycling centers.

(B) Consumer transaction receipts.

(C) Consumer transaction logs.

(D) Rejected container receipts on materials subject to this division.

(E) Receipts for transactions with beverage manufacturers on materials subject to this division.

(F) Receipts for transactions with beverage distributors on materials subject to this division.

(G) Documents authorizing the recycling center to cancel empty beverage containers.

(H) Weight tickets.

(8) In addition to the requirements of paragraph (7), a certified recycling center shall cooperate with the department and make available its records of scrap transactions when the review of these records is necessary for an audit or investigation by the department.

(e) The department may recover, in restitution pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 14591.2, payments made from the fund to the certified recycling center pursuant to Section 14573.5 that are based on the documents specified in paragraph (7) of subdivision (d), that are not prepared or maintained in compliance with the department’s regulations, and that do not allow the department to verify claims for program payments.

(f) The department may certify a recycling center that will operate less than 30 hours a week, as specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 14571.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 574, Sec. 20. (AB 211) Effective September 27, 2022.)