New California Bill Aims to Cut Single-Use Plastics by One-Fourth

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): A bill introduced late Thursday aims to reduce plastic production for single-use products by 25%. The bill focuses on eliminating plastics at source, in addition to recycling them once used. If passed, the legislation would make California a leader in cutting plastic waste.

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The proposed reduction in plastic from single-use products would begin in 2032. The reduction plan will be applicable to producers of laundry detergent, toothpaste and food wrappings and to companies like Amazon that widely use plastic products for packaging. The producers will have to either reduce their packaging or replace plastic with other sustainable alternatives. Meantime, the bill exempts water or other beverage bottles, which are already covered by other recycling laws.

As per the new legislation, producers of all single-use products, including plastic, will have to make sure that 65% of their products are recycled by 2032. The producers will be required to join producer responsibility organisations, who will be awarded $500 million per annum towards plastic pollution mitigation efforts. The producers found violating the rules will be imposed hefty fines.

The legislation is the result of long negotiations with all stakeholders and is expected to ensure long-term policy certainty around recycling and packaging.