Rigid Plastic Packaging Container Program

Violations and Penalties

California statute allows the California Integrated Waste Management Board (now CalRecycle) to assess penalties of up to $50,000 for any violation of the Rigid Plastic Packaging Container (RPPC) law. The total penalties assessed cannot exceed $100,000 annually. Violations can include, but are not limited to: failure to submit a certification(s) on or by the due date; submittal of incomplete and/or inaccurate certification(s); and/or failure to meet the specific content requirements of rigid plastic packaging containers (RPPCs). A complete history of past penalties assessed to date can be found below.

To better understand the penalties CalRecycle can assess and the amount that can be assessed for a particular violation, review the following:

• Penalties for Late Certifications
• Penalties for Additional Violations
• Public Notice of Violations

Penalties for Late Certifications

All certifications are subject to the following penalties if they are not received by the due date outlined in the certification cycle notice. To avoid penalties, an extension of up to 30 days can be requested. The request for an extension must be received prior to the due date specified in the certification notice. This allows time to analyze the request and verify compliance with the request criteria outlined in the RPPC regulations (Title 14, California Code of Regulations (14 CCR)).

Days Late	Penalty Amount
1–30	$1,000
31–60	$5,000
More than 60 (Considered nonresponsive)	Up to $50,000

Penalties for Additional Violations

The following outlines additional violations of the RPPC law that can be considered for penalties. This section also outlines the range of penalties that CalRecycle can consider issuing. A full description for a specified violation of the RPPC law can be found in the RPPC regulations.

Violation	Description of Violation	Penalty
14 CCR Section 17944; PRC Section 42310	Product manufacturer did not comply with container requirements.	Penalty determined by degree of noncompliance. $5,000–$50,000
14 CCR Section 17946	Product manufacturer did not submit certification by due date.	$1,000–$50,000
14 CCR Section 17946	Product manufacturer did not submit complete or accurate certification by due date. Degree of incompleteness or inaccuracies include, but are not limited to, misreporting exemptions; failure to account for all products; failure to account for subsidiaries and divisions; lack of container manufacturer’s verification of number of containers sold or weight of containers; inconsistencies in information from product manufacturer and container manufacturer; lack of signatures; mathematical inaccuracies.	$1,000–$50,000
14 CCR Section 17946 PRC Section 42321	Product manufacturer submitted false or misleading information on certification.	Referral to Attorney General for prosecution for fraud within 30 days of discovery by CalRecycle; maximum fine $100,000
Other Information
PRC Section 42322	Penalties collected are deposited in the Rigid Container Account. CalRecycle uses this account to assist local governments with the development and implementation of collection and processing systems for the recycling and market development of RPPC materials. Additionally, CalRecycle can direct funds to the implementation of this chapter.

Public Notice of Violations

The following are those product manufacturers who have paid penalties since the 1997 certification cycle, based on a finding of non-compliance by the Board (now CalRecycle). Enforcement of the 2005 certification cycle remains ongoing at this time.

Rigid Plastic Packaging Container Penalties

The following listing is published to meet the requirements to publish penalties (PRC Section 42322 (d)).

2005 RPPC Certification Cycle Penalties

Company Name	Agreement Number	Type of Penalty	Amount of Penalty
PETCO Animal Supplies	No agreement executed.	Container Violation	$42,025.23
Office Max	No agreement executed.	Container Violation	$34,350.61
Sony Corporation	No agreement executed.	Container Violation	$50,000.00
			Total: $126,375.84

The Board did not conduct certification cycles for the years 2002-2004.

2001 RPPC Certification Cycle Penalties

Company Name	Agreement Number	Type of Penalty	Amount of Penalty
Food for Less	IWMA 05-2005-07 RPPC	Late Certification	$1,000.00
Golden Artist	IWMA 05-2005-08 RPPC	Container Violation	$5,000.00
Henkel Corporation	IWMA 05-2005-10 RPPC	Container Violation Inaccurate Certification	$1,439.23 $5,000.00
Office Max	IWMA 05-2005-15 RPPC	Container Violation	$40,259.16
PETCO Animal Supplies	IWMA 05-2005-17 RPPC	Late Certification Container Violation	$5,000.00 $8,410.62
Rite-Aid Corporation	IWMA 05-2005-18 RPPC	Late Certification	$1,000.00
Sony Corporation	IWMA 05-2005-22 RPPC	Container Violation	$50,000.00
Walgreen Company	IWMA 05-2005-27 RPPC	Late Certification	$4,000.00
			Total: $121,109.01

1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 RPPC Certification Cycle Penalties

Company Name	Agreement Number	Type of Penalty	Amount of Penalty
Beacon	IWMA 11-2000-01 RPPC	Inaccurate Certification Container Violation	$11,859.00
Holmes Group	IWMA 11-2000-02 RPPC	Container Violation Inaccurate Certification	$15,000.00 $25,000.00
ITW Dymon	IWMA 05-2005-30 RPPC	Container Violation Inaccurate Certification	$15,000.00 $1,000.00
			Total: $67,859.00