Temecula wineries face a May 31 deadline under California's new packaging law

Hinman & Carmichael: California's SB 54 packaging law hits its first deadline May 31, and it reaches Temecula Valley wineries along with the region's breweries and distilleries. The state approved the permanent rules on May 1, which triggered compliance. By May 31, producers have to register with the state's producer responsibility organization, Circular Action Alliance, register individually with CalRecycle, or file for a small-producer exemption.

The bottles themselves are mostly off the hook — glass and aluminum containers covered by the CRV Bottle Bill are exempt. What's covered is almost everything else a winery uses to ship and sell: plastic wrap, shipping boxes, and other single-use packaging. The law also pulls in retailers, who can be treated as "producers" when the upstream brand owner sits out of state. Zachary Reeves, writing for Hinman & Carmichael, expects early confusion over who counts as a producer and what's exempt.