California lawmakers failed to pass legislation that would have made the state the first to partially phase out single-use plastic packaging and foodware. The two bills, Senate Bill 54 and legislation Assembly Bill 1080, sought to slow the production of virgin plastics by requiring manufacturers to reduce waste from single-use packaging and foodware by 75% by 2030.
Additionally, all such packaging and foodware that wasn’t recyclable or compostable would have to be eliminated by the same year.
While other states have passed laws against single-use plastics such as straws and utensils, this would have been the first to focus on food packaging, according to Waste 360.
Proponents of the bills hoped they would boost California’s sagging recycling industry, which has been hit hard by China’s ban on the import of previously accepted types of recyclable materials. A glut of plastics and paper has depressed the market for many items, dampening revenue and causing many local and state governments to wipe out their recycling programs and send potentially recyclable material to landfills, writes the Los Angeles Times.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Plastics Industry Association were among those opposed to the passage of the bills.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association proposed changes to the legislation, including a two-step process to ensure that recycling policies are put in place that is attainable for consumers, industry, and government.
“The state of California has a chance to become the national leader in recycling policy by passing first-of-its-kind legislation to address packaging waste, especially single-use plastics,” said GMA president and CEO Geoff Freeman in August. “While we support the intent of this legislation and the laudable goal to require all packaging sold in the state to be compostable or recyclable by 2030, the proposals in their current form will fail Californians unless the state can rebuild its broken recycling system.”
The legislative session ended on Saturday.
