In one of the most ambitious state-wide attempts to reduce reliance on plastics, California has set new requirements for packaging manufacturers to pay for recycling and reduce or eliminate disposable plastic packaging.
The law, signed by the Governor of California on Thursday, is the fourth type of law passed by the state, but experts further advise producers to reduce plastic production and ensure that everything is unified. It states that it is the most important to request. Disposable products are recyclable or compostable. Last summer, Maine and Oregon passed the country’s first such requirement, known as the Producer Liability Act.
An important belief in the law: Infrastructure recycling, plant recycling, collection and sorting facility costs will be shifted to packaging manufacturers and away from taxpayers who are currently submitting bills.
California law requires that all forms of disposable packages, including paper and metal, be recyclable or compostable by 2032. However, this is most important for plastic products that are technically difficult to recycle. Moreover, it is difficult for people to understand which plastics are recyclable and which are not.
Unlike other states, California requires a 25% reduction across all plastic packages sold in the state, covering a variety of items such as shampoo bottles, plastic appliances, bubble wrap, and takeaway cups.
“We know that to solve the plastic pollution crisis, we need to reduce plastics and reuse more plastics we have,” said Ocean Conservancy, an environmental nonprofit organization. Analyst Anja Brandon said. Invoice text. “This is the first bill in a country that addresses both issues.”
Recycling is important not only for environmental reasons, but also in the fight against climate change. The expansion of the global market for plastics made from fossil fuels can support oil demand and contribute to the release of greenhouse gas emissions exactly when the world needs to break away from fossil fuels to avoid the worst consequences. There is a concern that there is sex. Of global warming. By 2050, the plastics industry is expected to consume 20 percent of all oil produced.
Brandon said the new California law will eliminate 23 million tonnes of plastic over the next decade, according to one estimate by her team at Ocean Conservancy.
Under state law, manufacturers pay for recycling programs and are charged based on the weight of the package, ease of recycling, and whether the product contains toxic substances such as PFAS. Risk of some cancers.
This follows other attempts to improve recycling in California. Last September, California became the first state to ban companies from using the “tracking arrow” symbol. This is believed to mean that something is recyclable unless the three arrows, which are common symbols, form a circle and can be proven. The material is actually recyclable in most California communities.
In addition, the law requires plastic manufacturers to pay the fund $ 5 billion over the next decade. This reduces the impact of plastic pollution on the environment and human health, primarily in low-income areas.
“Plastic waste is a very long time for humans, animals, and the water, soil, and air we need to be,,” said Ben Allen, a Democratic senator and bill author, in a statement. It has become an increasingly heavy burden. ” ..
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California is the largest economy in any state and the world’s major economy. Given its size and the increasingly national and global nature of its supply chain, recycling analysts say the law could affect packages used nationwide. “Manufacturers do not create a single state package,” said Dylande Thomas, head of the policy team at The Recycling Partnership, a nonprofit organization focused on improving recycling systems. “They will make packages that can be recycled elsewhere, and you will have a more powerful recycling system.”
Those who are tracking the bill have been encouraged by comparative approval from industry groups that have historically resisted the Producer Responsibility Act. In a statement, the American Chemistry Council described the law as “not perfect,” but said it would work to eliminate plastic waste.
Over the past few years, 12 states have introduced producer liability laws for plastic packaging. And more and more states and cities are introducing bans on disposable plastic bags and plastic foam products. California law circumvents a complete ban, at least initially. Products such as polystyrene may only be banned if they do not meet certain recycling rates in the state.
Proponents of recycling said they hope the law will lead to potential innovations such as refilling stations for products such as detergents and beverages. “I hope the producers have to take a step back and think,’Do I need to wrap the cucumbers in a couple of layers of film?'” Brandon said.