The California Plastic Waste Reduction Regulations Initiative has qualified for the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on Nov. 8. The ballot initiative would require the California Department of Resources, Recycling, and Recovery (CalRecycle), in consultation with other agencies, to adopt regulations for reducing the use of single-use plastic packaging and appliances, including:
- Requiring producers to ensure that single-use plastic packaging and appliances are recyclable, reusable, refillable, or compostable by 2030.
- Requiring producers to reduce or eliminate single-use plastic packaging or appliances that CalRecycle determines is unnecessary for product or food item delivery.
- Requiring producers to reduce the amount of single-use plastic packaging and appliances sold in California by at least 25 percent by 2030.
- Requiring producers to use recycled content and renewable materials in the production of single-use plastic packaging and appliances.
- Establishing “mechanisms for convenient consumer access to recycling,” including take-back programs and deposits.
- Establishing and enforcing labeling standards to support the sorting of discarded single-use plastic packaging and appliances.
- Prohibiting food vendors from distributing expanded polystyrene food service containers.
The ballot initiative would also enact a fee on single-use plastic packaging and appliances, called the California Plastic Pollution Reduction Fee. CalRecycle would determine the fee amount with a maximum amount of one cent per item of packaging or appliances. Beginning in 2030, the fee would be adjusted based on the California Consumer Price Index changes.