In a letter to AB 1080 sponsor, California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) urged California lawmakers to incorporate in legislation incentives to boost domestic recycling markets and capacity. AB1080 and its companion bill SB54, legislation known as California Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, would require a 75 percent reduction in waste from single-use plastic products by 2030 and requires all single-use plastic products in California to be recyclable or compostable by 2030.
“The changing nature of recycling and waste materials has made it challenging to collect and segregate items and has led to increased confusion as to what is recyclable. The ability to identify recyclability or compostability, and the ability to sort these materials must be considered. We have concerns that these bills may drive product manufacturers to label their materials as recyclable while there is no end market. We suggest that the legislation include incentives to encourage investment in domestic market development,” said NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith.
Investments in a domestic market would have the potential to create greater stability in California’s existing recycling infrastructure and spur the development of domestic processing facilities, in order to solidify a closed loop for single-use plastic products.