Bill > SB235

This bill requires the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to draft and submit a comprehensive report to the Legislature by January 1, 2028, focusing on the collection, recycling, reuse, and potential stockpiling of precious metals, critical minerals, and other valuable materials found in California's products. The report must provide opportunities for public input and involve outreach to researchers, academics, scientists, manufacturers, and environmental organizations. Specifically, the bill mandates an examination of the materials available in electronic waste programs, existing extraction technologies, current in-state extraction processes, the potential benefits of recycling these materials for transitioning away from fossil fuels, potential state revenue from creating a domestic manufacturing stockpile, and barriers to recycling these materials. The bill aims to support California's green technology goals by understanding how to better recycle rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals currently being shipped abroad for extraction, with the ultimate objective of promoting a circular economy and reducing reliance on environmentally destructive mining practices. The department is also authorized to make recommendations to industries about best practices for product design that optimize material recycling at a product's end of life. The division created by this bill will be automatically repealed on January 1, 2032.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Budget and Finance

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB235