Pharmaceutical Waste Stewardship Plans

A pharmaceutical waste stewardship plan outlines how a program operator intends to fulfill its responsibilities under the statute and regulations and communicates a course of action to stakeholders and the public.

The contact information for stewardship organizations can be found on the covered entities page.

CalRecycle Approved Stewardship Plans

Pharmaceutical waste stewardship plans approved by CalRecycle are posted below. Copies of documents not linked below may be requested via a Public Records Act Request.

A program operator must fully implement operation of its approved stewardship program no later than 270 days after CalRecycle approval of its stewardship plan. The 270 days were counted from the date of CalRecycle’s conditional approval of stewardship plans.

MED-Project USA

Deadline for full program implementation: September 5, 2022

The Drug Takeback Solutions Foundation

Deadline for full program implementation: November 13, 2022

Stewardship Plan Process

  • The program operator shall submit its proposed stewardship plan to the California State Board of Pharmacy (state board) for review, and to any other applicable state agencies with areas of authority relative to the stewardship plan, before submitting the plan to CalRecycle. The state board and other agencies have 90 days to review for compliance with laws and regulations related to the agency’s respective authority. The contact information for the state board and other agencies can be found on the Pharmaceutical Waste Stewardship page.
  • On or before July 7, 2021, a program operator shall submit a stewardship plan to CalRecycle for approval. The duration of time the California State Board of Pharmacy takes to review a stewardship plan shall not count toward this deadline. CalRecycle will review submitted plan(s) and provide a completeness determination within 30 days. If a plan is complete, CalRecycle will approve, disapprove, or conditionally approve a plan within 90 days of receipt of a plan. Consultations with other state agencies can extend CalRecycle’s review deadlines.
  • Covered entities must be subject to an approved stewardship plan by January 7, 2022
  • For more information, please visit the Law page.

This page provides a brief overview, and is not intended to provide a comprehensive list of legal requirements. Please refer to statute and regulations for a complete list of requirements. Users are encouraged to seek the assistance of legal counsel to comply with applicable state law based on their pertinent facts and circumstances.