Dive Brief:

•  Updated data from CalRecycle shows cartons are being sorted for recycling by three additional California MRFs, with 62% of the state’s counties now providing carton recycling. It’s a key data point carton recyclers say will help their packaging be deemed “recyclable” under an upcoming state labeling law, following concerns that arose in December about falling below the recyclability threshold.
• California’s SB 343, a “truth in labeling” law that affects recycling messaging on product packaging, goes into effect in October. It requires that most kinds of packaging be sorted into a “defined stream” by MRFs that serve at least 60% of counties in order to be labeled as recyclable, among other requirements.
• The threshold of carton-sorting MRFs dipped to 53% in December amid an announcement that an WM MRF would temporarily pause sorting cartons, sparking concerns over how the future of carton labeling when the new law takes effect. CalRecycle has said its updated data is not a final determination of any material’s recyclability.

Dive Insight:

The upcoming launch of SB 343 has particularly notable implications for carton recycling in the state, even though the law also applies to other kinds of packaging.

SB 343 is meant to protect consumers from false recycling claims by prohibiting use of the well-known “chasing arrows” symbol, or other recyclability claims on packaging, unless approved through a complex state process.

The carton recycling industry has been down a bumpy road with SB 343 in recent months. In August 2025, carton-sorting MRFs were serving 68% of counties. At the time, the Carton Council, a coalition of food and beverage packaging manufacturers, said they were hopeful the data would drive more Californians to recycle cartons. But in December, CalRecycle issued another update showing that carton-sorting MRFs had fallen below the 60% threshold required by the law. CalRecycle also reported the state recycling rate for cartons was less than 1%.

The December dip below the threshold came in part because WM said it would temporarily pause carton sorting at its Sacramento facility, noting “changes in market tolerance for the inclusion of materials like cartons in fiber bales.” WM did not immediately respond to an email on the status of carton sorting at that MRF on Monday.

The latest June CalRecycle update adds three additional MRFs not previously included in their calculations: Western Placer Waste Management Authority MRF in Roseville, Pacific Recycling Solutions MRF in Ukiah and Cold Canyon Landfill MRF in San Luis Obispo. CalRecycle says the additions were “based on newly available information.” 

The three added facilities are sorting cartons into Grade 52 bales, which are considered “carton only” and not mixed with other materials, according to The Carton Council.

Carton Council President Jordan Fengel applauded the June update, writing in a statement that it “reflects the real and growing capacity of California’s recycling system to recover and recycle food and beverage cartons,” and noted that on-package labeling in the state would continue to be able to “accurately communicate that cartons should be recycled, helping to provide sufficient material to established and emerging recycling end markets.”

Brendon Holland, communications manager for the Carton Council, said in an email to Waste Dive that the Roseville MRF began sorting cartons into Grade 52 bales last fall, while Cold Canyon started sorting carton-only bales in May of this year. Pacific Recycling Solutions had previously been sorting cartons into mixed paper bales but recently switched to sorting them into Grade 52.

Domestic and Mexican end markets for Grade 52 include companies like Sustana, Kimberly-Clark Mexico and Essity, Holland said. 

A new buyer for cartons in California is ReCB, a company that uses recycled cartons to produce a roofing material called Everboard. The company has a facility in Iowa and recently launched its Lodi, California, location. It has gone through several owners, including WM. The Iowa location closed for about nine months in 2024 before reopening in August 2025. The Carton Council supports the project. 

The new facility aims to offer “added incentive to sort cartons for recycling,” Holland said. “Hyper-local end markets are especially attractive to MRFs during periods of higher fuel and transportation costs.”

SB 343 has other requirements beyond the 60% MRF processing threshold. To be deemed recyclable, packaging must also be collected by programs that cover at least 60% of the state population, too. 

The law also prohibits manufacturers from selling products or packaging labeled as recyclable unless the items are regularly collected and processed for recycling in the state. MRFs must send the material to a reclaimer that follows the Basel Convention, which prohibits international exports of certain hazardous wastes. 

The Basel Action Network and The Last Beach Cleanup have previously alleged that the state allowed the illegal export of carton-contaminated paper bales to Malaysia and other countries that banned such imports in 2024 and 2025, including from WM’s Sacramento MRF. The organizations said that practice is a violation of the Basel Convention.  

WM has said such exports were not illegal and that it had approval from Malaysian customs authorities. 

CalRecycle said in its June letter that it does not expect to fully update its SB 343 findings again until 2027. The agency has also said this update isn’t to determine whether cartons are recyclable, saying that the data is not meant to be interpreted as “any determination of recyclability” or as a way to determine the recycling rate for cartons or other materials.

In the meantime, Holland said the Carton Council is also working on a new initiative to “quantify recycling rates on a state level.” The Carton Council is also planning to update its national recycling rate data sometime this year, “with newer data and updated methodologies,” he said.