Collaboration, not excessive regulation key to plastics recycling

OPINION – Here is an important question for California: when it comes to supporting the circular economy, improving plastic recycling, and reducing waste, do we want to help the environment or regulate more?

Recently, California lawmakers tabled AB 1290 also known as the “Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act.” This legislation would have eliminated necessary resins from the marketplace, thereby banning the use of plastic packaging commonly used to preserve our food, protect over-the-counter medicine, and contain household chemicals.

Just one year ago California passed, and Governor Newsom signed SB 54 into law, the most stringent single-use packaging and plastics recycling and waste reduction requirements and regulations enacted in the United States and abroad. According to the Governor, the law “is the most significant overhaul of California’s plastics and packaging recycling policy in history, goes further than any other state on cutting plastics products at the source and continues to build a circular economy that is necessary to combat climate change.”

Among its various provisions, SB 54 mandates that all covered materials in the state be recyclable or compostable by 2032 and at least 30% of all plastic packaging must be recycled by 2028; at least 40% by 2030; and at least 65% by 2032. The measure also prohibits the sale of expanded polystyrene food service packaging if a 25% recycling rate is not met by 2025, and mandates that producers achieve a 25% plastics source reduction level by 2032. These rates are incredibly ambitious and will directly impact the types of materials, such as plastics, that are used in the marketplace. Because of this, new packaging mandates such as those that were proposed in AB 1290 would have been unnecessary and counterproductive.

While we were not supportive of SB 54, legislators passed it as an alternative to a costly ballot fight and to offer flexibility for improving the law. We appreciate that some lawmakers recognize that the implementation of SB 54 must unfold before passing additional mandates that would otherwise disrupt the goals of the state. Rather than spending countless hours discussing new bills, we should work together to improve upon SB 54 and achieve our shared goal of keeping plastic out of the environment and modernizing California’s recycling infrastructure.

Plastic is often preferred because it uses less energy and fewer resources to manufacture and transport than alterative materials. Plastics continue to offer unparalleled safety, protection and efficiency. Unlike other materials, it can be reused and recycled offering a multitude of end-of-life options, eventually reducing our overall resource needs.

The plastics industry strives to reach a fully circular economy every day, which is why we work to find ways to recycle more types of plastic, implement sustainable materials management strategies and promote concepts that consider the entire lifecycle of a product.  We are dedicated to eliminating waste in our environment and protecting our planet.

Kris Quigley is Regional Director of State Government Affairs at The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS).