California § 42040 - This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Plastic Pollution Preventio

§ 42040. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Plastic Pollution Preventio

(a) This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. (b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) Disadvantaged and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by the human health and environmental impacts of plastic pollution and fossil fuel extraction. (2) (A) Local jurisdictions are the backbone of the solid waste management and recycling efforts in California. The new statewide comprehensive circular economy framework established by this chapter is intended to shift the burden of costs to collect, process, and recycle materials from the local jurisdictions to the producers of covered material. (B) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to ensure that local jurisdictions will be made financially whole for any new costs incurred associated with the implementation of this chapter and its implementing regulations. (3) (A) In 2021, only 5 percent of postconsumer plastic waste in the United States was recycled, down from a high of 9.5 percent in 2014, when the United States exported millions of tons of plastic waste to China. Even then, much of this material was incinerated or dumped into the environment and not recycled. (B) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a producer responsibility program designed to ensure that producers of single-use packaging and food service ware covered by this program take responsibility for the costs associated with the end-of-life management of that material and ensure that the material is recyclable or compostable. This standardization will reduce consumer confusion regarding recycling and composting, reduce costs to ratepayers, and increase system efficiency. (C) It is also the intent of the Legislature that these improvements will allow California, going forward, to better harmonize curbside collection programs as local jurisdictions will collect material identified as either recyclable or compostable if that material is found to be suitable for curbside collection. (4) Recycling can be an effective way to reclaim some natural resources, such as metals, glass, paper, and some plastic resins. However, in some circumstances, recycling is cost-prohibitive and an ineffective means to handle the end-of-life management of a covered material. In these circumstances, the Legislature acknowledges that some material types cannot effectively meet the requirements of this chapter and producers will be required to eliminate, redesign, or shift packaging or food service ware to a covered material category that can more efficiently meet the requirements of this chapter. (5) This chapter does not modify, limit, or abrogate in any manner the existing rights of an owner of recyclable materials to sell or donate those materials.