A U.S. District Court judge ruled that Greenpeace lacked standing to sue the world’s largest retailer over recyclability labeling in California. | Harun Ozmen / Shutterstock
A California court has dismissed a legal complaint Greenpeace brought against Walmart, ruling that the activist group itself was not deceived by labels indicating the corporation’s plastic packaging is recyclable.
Closed recycling firm RSA pleaded guilty to recycling fraud and agreed to pay $33 million in restitution to CalRecycle and a $1 million fine. | mojo cp / Shutterstock
A shuttered California recycling company and its former operations manager pled guilty to multiple felonies, and the company will pay $34 million in restitution and penalties.
A bill approved by California legislators has substantial implications for how common plastic packaging items are labeled, and it could have significant recycling implications across the nation in the coming years. | Feoktistoff / Shutterstock
Producers would need to meet strict criteria to use the “chasing arrows” symbol on their plastic packaging in California under a bill approved by lawmakers last week. An industry group says the move will harm polypropylene recycling.
Legislation awaiting the governor’s signature would classify mixed plastics that are generated in California and exported from the U.S. as “disposal” rather than “recycling.” | Sumrit Tesrumphun/Shutterstock
California lawmakers have approved a bill that would no longer allow scrap plastic that is exported to be considered recycled. The legislation now heads to the governor for final consideration.
The California Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets & Curbside Recycling in late June published an expansive report with recommendations for lawmakers. | Nordroden / Shutterstock
A government-convened commission of California recycling stakeholders has outlined steps to boost markets and cut contamination. But the group’s report also leaves PP plastic off a key initial list of accepted materials, drawing quick pushback from national associations.
Grants will help fund glass recycling and many other materials recovery efforts in California. | safakcakir / Shutterstock
Over $10 million in cap-and-trade program dollars have been awarded to California companies that recover PET, glass and textiles.
California Assembly Bill 842 requires that by 2035, all single-use plastic packaging and products distributed in California include 75% post-consumer recycled content. | Kanittha Boon/Shutterstock
California legislators introduced a bill that creates a packaging stewardship organization and adds packaging fees paid by producers. The bill is the latest in a flurry of plastics-related legislative activity in the state.
CalRecycle plans to release final redemption data for the first six months of 2020 in the coming weeks. | anmbph/Shutterstock
This story has been updated with new redemption figures from California’s recycling agency.
Advocacy organization Consumer Watchdog recently noted the COVID-19 pandemic has slashed California’s beverage container recycling rate. But the state’s recycling agency called that analysis “inaccurate.”
Senate Bill 54 would have tasked state regulators with developing and adopting rules requiring all single-use packaging and “priority single-use products” sold in California to be recyclable or compostable by 2032. | SerPhoto/Shutterstock
For the second straight year, a California proposal that had broad recyclability goals did not make it through the legislature.
California Assembly Bill 793 requires that all plastic bottles covered by the state’s container redemption program average at least 15% post-consumer resin starting in 2022. | Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
California lawmakers approved legislation requiring beverage companies to use recycled plastic. If signed, the bill will usher in the first recycled-content law of its kind for plastic bottles in the U.S.