Topline
California lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill phasing out single-use plastic packaging, food containers and utensils, bringing the state one step closer to enacting the most aggressive law restricting single-use plastic in the nation.
A garbage collector looks for recyclable plastic at a landfill.
Key Facts
The California Senate voted 29-0 to pass the bill—which would mandate that 30% of plastic items in the state be recyclable by 2028, and 65% by 2032—after the California Assembly passed the legislation 67-2 Wednesday night.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is expected to sign the bill, called the Plastic Pollution Producer Responsibility Act, or SB54, which also requires a 25% reduction in single-use plastic pollution by 2032 and imposes a fee on single-use plastic packaging and foodware.
The legislation shares some of the same provisions as a more contentious ballot measure some environmental groups were pushing for, but those environmentalists will likely withdraw the measure if the bill becomes law.
Surprising Fact
Single-use plastics comprise roughly half of all plastic pollution, generating millions of metric tons of waste each year.
Key Background
After several measures to tackle single-use plastic production failed in the California Legislature due to industry lobbying, some environmental groups were planning to go around lawmakers through a ballot measure called the California Recycling and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act. The initiative includes earlier deadlines for phasing out single-use plastic than the bill passed by the Legislature: It would have required that single-use plastic production be reduced by a quarter by 2030 and that all single-use plastic packaging and foodware be recyclable, refillable or compostable by 2030. The initiative faced strong pushback from industry groups, which argued the measure would raise costs for consumers and producers, especially amid rising inflation. The bill’s passage comes after years of negotiations among environmental groups, lawmakers and producers and follows six months of lawmaker negotiations attempting to include viewpoints from environmentalists, waste management groups and manufacturers. The legislation also requires plastic packaging producers allot $500 million a year over the course of 10 years to fund environmental programs, 60% of which will go to programs for disadvantaged, low-income and rural communities.
Further Reading
Nation’s most sweeping law to phase out single-use plastics approved by California lawmakers (Los Angeles Times)
Deal is close on recycling California’s plastic trash (CalMatters)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/06/30/california-lawmakers-agree-to-slash-single-use-plastics-over-next-decade/