Recycling Market Development Zone Program

The Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ) program combines recycling with economic development to fuel new businesses, expand existing ones, create jobs, and divert waste from landfills.

This program provides attractive loanstechnical assistance, and free product marketing to businesses that use materials from the waste stream to manufacture their products and are located in a zone.
The zones cover roughly 88,000 square miles of California from the Oregon border to San Diego.

Assistance is provided by local zone administrators. Local government incentives may include:

  • Relaxed building codes and zoning laws
  • Streamlined local permit processes
  • Reduced taxes and licensing and
  • Increased and consistent secondary material feedstock supply.

Local incentives vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In addition to loans, CalRecycle offers free product marketing.

Program News

It is our pleasure to invite you to the next CalRecycle Zone Works Training Workshop on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 4th and 5th, 2025 at the Holiday Inn, downtown Sacramento. This event will be in-person with the option to join remotely.
Please register here to attend the event.
For questions, please contact BZAssist@calrecycle.ca.gov.

The RMDZ CEQA Tool Kit is a series of web pages designed to guide a potential or existing zone through the CEQA process.

Tool Kit

Who Are You?

Choose a link below to find information most useful to you!

For more information, contact bzassist@calrecycle.ca.gov.