As producers prepare to comply with California’s extended producer responsibility law, SB 54, the state is becoming a testing ground for reusable packaging collection and refill programs. CalRecycle issued a set of source reduction needs assessments earlier this year that gave an initial look at what this means for collection systems in the state. These reports — one focused on the actions and investments needed across the value chain, and another delved into opportunities and barriers — lay out the costs, benefits, and complexities of reuse and refill packaging systems. SB 54 requires producers to reduce plastic packaging materials by 10% by 2027, 20% by 2030 and 25% by 2032. At least 10% of that must come from source reduction – meaning actually eliminating some single-use packaging through strategies like reuse and refill. Research and consulting firms Eunomia and Perpetual contributed to the studies, which explore various reuse models and strategies. The assessments note that closed-loop reuse systems, where haulers are not needed if collection and cleaning is done onsite, are among the most attractive in the near term. The most effective examples included transitioning from single-use to reusable foodservice ware in schools or stadiums, expanding business-to-business reuse models and scaling business-to-consumer models that are based on “prefill” packaging. A prefill model relies on reverse logistics operations to collect and clean reusable packaging. In California, Straus Family Creamery uses returnable glass bottles for some of its milk products. Consumers pay a $3 deposit, which is refunded when they return the empty bottle to the store. According to Straus, customers return and reuse more than 3.5 million bottles annually. Elizabeth Balkan, a zero-waste policy and systems consultant who worked with Perpetual on the assessment, said prefill models reduce consumer burden while allowing the producer to reduce packaging waste. In a retail