Newsom Signs Nation’s Most Sweeping Law To Phase Out Single-Use Plastics

"SACRAMENTO — Striking a blow against a pernicious form of pollution, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Thursday the nation’s most far-reaching restrictions on single-use plastics and packaging.

The legislation heads off a November ballot measure that many lawmakers and the plastics industry hoped to avoid, and it puts California at the forefront of national efforts to eliminate polystyrene and other plastics that litter the environment, degrade into toxic particles and increasingly inhabit human blood, tissue and organs.

Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) had tried for years to get state legislators to tackle the growing plastic pollution crisis but has faced opposition from the plastics industry, some food container manufacturers and environmentalists who believe the law doesn’t go far enough."

Susanne Rust and Anabel Sosa report for the Los Angeles Times June 30, 2022.

Source: LA Times, 07/05/2022