California's plastic bill faces challenges from federal court and GOP attorneys general

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

California’s landmark single-use plastic law is slowly being eroded by pressures within the state.Now legal attacks from outside threaten to kneecap it entirely.Earlier this month, a federal district court judge in Oregon put parts of its single-use plastic law, which is similar to California’s, on hold while he decides whether it violates antitrust and consumer protection laws.

At the same time, 10 Republican attorneys general sent letters directly to companies that are taking part in plastic reduction campaigns, telling them to stop.They threatened legal action against Costco, Unilever, Coca-Cola and 75 other companies for participating in the Plastic Pact, the Consumer Goods Forum and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition.

These efforts all include industry as an active partner in reducing plastics, but the letters say the companies are colluding against consumers “to remove products from the market without considering consumer demand, product effectiveness, or the cost and impact on consumers of a replacement product.” Charges of corporate collusion and conspiracy are central to both cases.Anti-waste advocates and attorneys well versed in packaging say the lawsuit and the letters to Costco and the other companies highlight vulnerabilities in several of California’s waste laws, including the seminal Senate Bill 54 — the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act.At issue are what are known as Extended Producer Responsibility laws.

These put the cost of cleanup and waste disposal on the companies that make materials — plastic, paint or carpet — rather than on consumers, cities and municipalities.In 2024, a report from California Atty.

Gen.Rob Bonta estimated that collectively, the state’s cities spend more than $1 billion each year on litter management.

In 2023, 2.9 million tons of single-use plastic (or 171.4 billion pieces) w...