Following discussions with stakeholders, lawmakers in the U.S. state of California have revised draft legislation pertaining to packaging and recycling targets. In an article published on September 9, 2019, Plastic News informed about recent updates to The California Circular Economy and Pollution Reduction Act (bill SB 54 in the California Senate and bill AB 1080 in the California Assembly). Both were first introduced in May 2019 (FPF reported) and need to receive approval from the opposite house in order to go to the state’s governor for signing. The bill retains an originally set target for a 75% recycling rate by 2030, but it includes new wording advocated by the industry association the American Chemistry Council (ACC) for using “material neutral” treatment of single-use packaging. There is also a new addition of an advisory panel of stakeholders to consult the state’s recycling agency on implementation, and the set recycling targets can now be reduced by up to 10% in the future in consultation with the advisory panel.
Commenting on the changes, Nick Lapis from the group Californians Against Waste said “we still think it’s a strong bill. They are all changes to bring industry on board. These are not changes we would have proposed, but we live in a democracy.” A representative from the ACC said “we sincerely appreciate the efforts of the authors to work with us to address our primary concerns. However, we continue to believe parts of the legislation will be difficult — and perhaps impossible — to achieve without further legislative and regulatory action.” September 13, 2019, has been set as a final deadline to pass the bill, and there is still some reported uncertainty regarding ongoing negotiations and final editing that is set to take place over the next few days.
Read More
Steve Toloken (September 9, 2019). “California softens plastics bill, ACC now neutral.” Plastics News
References
California Legislative Information (May 22, 2019). “SB-54 California Circular Economy and Pollution Reduction Act.”
California Legislative Information (May 22, 2019). “AB-1080 California Circular Economy and Pollution Reduction Act.”
