Sacramento – In a move to help reduce litter and boost demand for used plastic materials, the California State Assembly today approved AB 792, a proposal by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) that phases-in the minimum amount of recycled materials plastic beverage bottles must contain.
“We need to use less plastic. Otherwise, there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish by 2050,” said Ting. “That’s a terrible cost to our environment if manufacturers are allowed to continue making new plastic every time they need a bottle. They should reuse what they’ve already made.”
On top of dwindling domestic demand for recycled plastic, China and other overseas markets stopped buying much of California’s recycled waste last year. Now a crisis is mounting, as recyclable plastic is stacking up in warehouses or going to landfills. The European Union (EU) has already set a goal of 25% recycled content in their plastic bottles by 2025 and 30% by 2030. AB 792 establishes the following timeframe for minimum recycled content in plastic beverage bottles:
- January 2021 - 25% minimum content
- January 2025 - 50% minimum content
- January 2030 - 75% minimum content
A 100% minimum content requirement by 2035 was stricken during a committee hearing this month. Still, the proposal represents a big step in the right direction, going further than the EU and reducing the need to continue making new plastic.
“Beverage producers like touting the recyclability of their plastic bottles. AB 792 compels them to put their money where their mouth is and buy the plastic back to make new bottles—closing the loop,” said Mark Murray, Executive Director of Californians Against Waste.
AB 792 now heads to the Senate for consideration. All bills must reach the Governor’s desk by September 13.
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