California isn't the first state to pass restrictions on single-use packaging, but its new restrictions are the strictest yet. Under the new law, manufacturers whose items are sold in single-use packaging must reduce the level of plastic in their packaging by 10% by 2027, and by 25% by 2032. The law will also require recycling rates for plastic to increase to 65% by 2032.
"We're ruining the planet and we've got to change it," Democratic California Senator Bob Hertzberg said prior to the vote on the law.
Plastic beverage bottles aren't covered by the new rule but are instead subject to their own specific set of recycling regulations.
To reduce their plastic levels as required by the law, manufacturers can change the materials they use, shrink the size of their packaging, make their packaging reusable, or some combination. To bring about the changes, an industry group will be formed to develop a plan for plastic makers.
The group will also be tasked with collecting $500 million each year from plastic makers for a fund to fight plastic pollution. Similar funds have been created in Colorado, Maine, and Oregon. The limits on plastic in packaging is what sets California's law apart.
"We know that to solve our plastic pollution crisis, we need to make less plastic and reuse more of the plastic we do have," said Anja Brandon, a policy analyst at the Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit that contributed to the text of the bill. "This is the first bill in the country to tackle both issues."
Ocean Conservancy estimates that the law will lead to the elimination of 23 million tons of plastic in the next decade.
While the law does not ban styrofoam packaging, it does set a 30% recycling rate requirement for the material to be met by 2028. Because styrofoam can't actually be recycled, supporters of the law say it will function like a ban.
In addition to the goals for the reduction of plastic and styrofoam in packaging, the law also requires all types of single-use packaging to be either recyclable or compostable by 2032. This includes non-plastic packaging like paper and metal.
While climate advocates are cheering the new law, industry representative Joshua Baca of the American Chemistry Council says that the law will unfairly limit the amount of recycled plastic manufacturers can use in their packaging and will restrict "new, innovative recycling technologies".
The law places a ban on burning plastics, but does allow for other forms of chemical recycling. The Chemistry Council called the law "not perfect" but said that it should reduce plastic waste.
Critics on the on the other side of the issue, like Beyond Plastics President Judith Enck, say that the law doesn't go far enough. According to Enck, the law is only expected to cut overall packaging by around 10% because of its allowance for reusable and non-plastic materials. Enck also says that the law's recycling policies are outdated.
Due to the size of California's economy, the effects of the new restrictions are likely to be seen throughout the country.
"Manufacturers don't make packaging for a single state," said the head of the policy team at the nonprofit The Recycling Partnership, Dylan de Thomas. "They will make packaging recyclable elsewhere too, and you are going to have a stronger recycling system."
According to Enck, global plastic consumption is set to triple by 2050, at which point the plastics industry is expected to use 20% of all oil produced in the world.
