Page 61 - Plastics News July 2024

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

sulting in a bigger carbon footprint, they are not in- try Association “regarding the feasibility of recycling
tended to be reused and consumers will have to pay and the evolution of the organization’s campaign
more for them.” surrounding the recyclability of plastic,” his office
stated in a recent release. And Bonta sought docu-
The newly formed group doesn’t dispute that plas- ments describing an ACC-funded study submitted
tic bag recycling needs substantial improvement. to the Federal Trade Commission “in an attempt to
But rather than banning the reusable plastic bags, modify the existing definition of recycled content
it advocates for bringing them into the emerging and other definitions relevant to their campaign to
extended producer responsibility for packaging expand chemical recycling,” his office announced.
program, SB 54. This would improve bag recycling
in the state, maintain a significant market for post- On May 24, legal counsel for ACC filed a federal
consumer resin and do so with the financial respon- complaint against Bonta, alleging to the U.S. District
sibility falling to producers. Court for the District of Columbia that Bonta’s ac-
tions amounted to “an attempt by a state attorney
Spiekerman pointed out that “plastic film bag pro- general to use the powers of his office to punish a
ducers, as defined by SB 54, are the ones who will private party for presenting views to a federal agen-
pay to fund the plastics collection infrastructure and cy that conflict with the policy positions that the
the system wide improvements necessary to ensure state official supports.”
that plastic film is recycled.”
The complaint noted Bonta and ACC both testified
EFS-Plastics previously estimated California’s PCR to the FTC about updates to its Green Guides, on op-
requirement for reusable plastic bags contributes posing sides of the chemical recycling debate, and it
to at least 100 million pounds per year of recycled alleged his subpoenas were an effort to learn about
resin demand, while the American Recyclable Plastic ACC’s advocacy and “hinder its political engagement
Bag Alliance industry group has estimated the de- on the same policy issue that his office and ACC and
mand is as high as 183 million pounds per year. its members disagree.”

SB 1053 was approved by the state Senate in May On May 28, Bonta’s office announced neither organ-
and was referred to the state Assembly. On July 1, ization had adequately responded to the subpoe-
the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources vot- nas, and he petitioned Sacramento County Superior
ed to approve the bill with minor amendments. Next Court to order the organizations to respond.
it goes to the committee on Appropriations before
facing a floor vote. “The continuous delay tactics are failing to com-

Wider scrutiny on plastics in California ply with our subpoena,” Bonta said in the release.
“Enough is enough: What are they trying to hide?”
The proposed ban expansion comes as the Califor-
nia Attorney General’s office is scrutinizing plastic Last week, legal counsel for ACC asked the court to
bag manufacturers, including producers of recycled- quash Bonta’s request to the California court until
content bags, and two key plastics industry groups. the federal case is ruled on.

The bag producer scrutiny began in 2022, when At- “Rather than rest on the persuasiveness of his advo-
torney General Rob Bonta asked Novolex, Revolu- cacy, Bonta has chosen to wield the power he holds
tion, Inteplast, Advance Polybag, Metro Polybag and as California’s top prosecutor to harass and retaliate
Papier-Mettler to prove their bags are recyclable. against those on the other side of a policy divide,”
Separately, Bonta in 2022 and 2023 issued subpoe- ACC’s legal counsel wrote.
nas to the Plastics Industry Association and Ameri- A hearing on ACC’s motion to stop the California
can Chemistry Council, respectively, seeking docu- proceedings is set for Sept. 18. Meanwhile, the Plas-
ments related to the organizations’ claims about tics Industry Association has not yet responded to
recycling. Bonta’s latest court action.

Bonta sought documents from the Plastics Indus- Source – Plastics Recycling Update

July 2024 PLASTICS NEWS 63