Information provided by the Office of the Governor of California

The governor’s office announced Gavin Newsom signed SB 54, requiring all packaging in the state to be recyclable or compostable by 2032. According to the release, the law will cut plastic packaging by 25% in 10 years and requires 65% of all single-use plastic packaging to be recycled in the same timeframe.

The release said the legislation shifts the plastic pollution burden from consumers to the plastics industry by raising $5 billion from industry members over 10 years to assist efforts to cut plastic pollution and support disadvantaged communities hurt most by the damaging effects of plastic waste.

“Our kids deserve a future free of plastic waste and all its dangerous impacts, everything from clogging our oceans to killing animals – contaminating the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. No more. California won’t tolerate plastic waste that’s filling our waterways and making it harder to breathe. We’re holding polluters responsible and cutting plastics at the source,” said Newsom.

According to the release, SB 54 is the most significant overhaul of California’s plastics and packaging recycling policy in history, goes further than any other state on cutting plastics production at the source and continues to build a circular economy that is necessary to combat climate change. It added that a global study in 2018 found that only 9% of plastics get recycled – leaving 91 percent to litter land and oceans.

Legislation signed today requires all plastic packaging in California to be recycled at the following levels:

  • At least 30% on and after Jan. 1, 2028.

  • At least 40% on and after Jan. 1, 2030.

  • At least 65% on and after Jan. 1, 2032.

The release said the legislation is a result of negotiations between lawmakers and stakeholders in response to a pending initiative on the November ballot, which was removed because of the new law.

“Today’s action builds on the California Climate Commitment, the biggest climate investment in history – a $53.9 billion plan to combat extreme weather and accelerate the transition to clean energy,” the release said.