A bill that would phase out single-use plastic packaging, food containers and utensils was passed by the California Legislature.
A garbage collector is looking for trash.
The California Senate voted 29-0 to pass the bill, which would require that 30% of plastic items in the state be recycled by the year 2032.
The bill will require a 25% reduction in single-use plastic pollution by 2032 and impose a fee on single-use plastic packaging and foodware.
If the bill becomes law, environmentalists will likely withdraw the ballot measure they were pushing for because it shares some of the same provisions.
Half of all plastic pollution is caused by single-use plastic.
After several measures to tackle single-use plastic production failed in the California Legislature due to industry lobbying, some environmental groups were planning to go around lawmakers through a ballot measure. The legislation passed by the Legislature required that single-use plastic be phased out by a quarter by the year 2030. Industry groups argued that the measure would raise costs for consumers and producers and that it would be inflationary. After years of negotiations among environmental groups, lawmakers and producers, the bill's passage comes after six months of lawmaker negotiations trying to include viewpoints from environmentalists, waste management groups and manufacturers. The legislation requires plastic packaging producers to give $500 million a year over the course of 10 years to fund environmental programs.
The law to phase out single-use plastic was approved by California lawmakers.
The deal is close to being done.
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