[Source: Associated Press] A California initiative that would require state regulators to reduce plastic waste has qualified for the November 2022 ballot, officials said Monday. Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office said the initiative exceeded the required 623,212 valid petition signatures needed for the measure to go before voters next year. If passed, the law Read More…
Tag: plastics
Coronavirus prompts Gov. Gavin Newsom to suspend California’s plastic bag ban
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Gov. Gavin Newsom has suspended California’s ban on grocery stores providing single-use plastic bags amid concerns that clerks may be at risk for exposure to the coronavirus if shoppers are required to supply their own reusable bags to carry their purchases home. Newsom announced Thursday that he signed an executive order Read More…
California lawmakers fail to pass sweeping plastic pollution plan
[Source: The Mercury News] In a setback for environmental groups, California lawmakers early Saturday morning ended the 2019 legislative session without passing two bills that would have been the most ambitious effort in the nation to reduce the massive amounts of plastic pollution that are washing into oceans, rivers and lakes around the world. The Read More…
California considering toughest plastic pollution laws in United States
[Source: The Mercury News] With enormous and ever-growing amounts of plastic washing into oceans, rivers and lakes around the world, California lawmakers this week are considering passing the nation’s most far-reaching laws to reduce plastic pollution over the next decade. Three bills before the state Legislature would require companies that sell products widely found in Read More…
California’s recycling bills propose dramatic new rules
[Source: CalMatters] With plastic packaging heading to landfills and recycling centers shutting down, California lawmakers use a trio of bills to take aim at the stuttering recycling economy. As bills that take aim at plastic waste make their way through California’s legislature, the damage they intend to fix already is rippling through the state’s recycling Read More…
$2.5 trillion ‘Holy Grail’ found? Breakthrough discovery could lead to 100 percent recyclable plastics, scientists say
[Source: Fox News] Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans may have a $2.5 trillion impact, negatively affecting “almost all marine ecosystem services,” including areas such as fisheries, recreation and heritage. But a breakthrough from scientists at Berkeley Lab could be the solution the planet needs for this eye-opening problem – recyclable plastics. The study, published Read More…
Environmental groups on styrofoam containers: ban or bust
[Source: CalChamber] A number of California bills (SB 568, SB 705, SB 1335) have been introduced over the years targeting non-recyclable polystyrene single-use containers, commonly known by the brand name Styrofoam. Proponents of these bills consistently argue non-recyclable, single-use Styrofoam containers pollute the environment and fill California landfills. It is surprising then, a bill introduced Read More…
Danish study finds plastic bags have lowest environmental impact
[Source: Plastics Today] When you take into account the science as well as the manufacturing processes involved, plastics tend to have a lower overall impact on the environment than other materials. That is what the Danish Environmental Protection Agency discovered and published in a study that analyzes the environmental impact of the production, use and Read More…