Press Release via Monterey Bay Aquarium Newsroom

The new law will reduce the amount of single-use plastic packaging in the marketplace and hold companies accountable for the waste they produce. Its passage means that the California Plastic Pollution and Recycling Act can be removed from the November ballot.

“California has always been a leader in protecting our environment and health. Now we are setting the precedent for reducing single-use plastic, which harms ocean wildlife and pollutes our communities. I commend the entire legislature and in particular, Senator Ben Allen, Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, legislative staff, and everyone from the many organizations that worked countless hours to craft and pass this first-in-the-nation legislation. California’s leadership will, once again, set the bar for other states and even the federal government in addressing plastic pollution,” said Julie Packard, Monterey Bay Aquarium Executive Director.

Monterey Bay Aquarium worked closely with many other organizations, including Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, and The Nature Conservancy, to develop, negotiate, and campaign for this bill. We look forward to working with CalRecycle to implement SB 54 and appreciate that the final bill gives them important authority and a pathway for success in reducing the amount of plastic waste going into our waterways and eventually, the ocean. The Aquarium also strongly supported the ballot campaign to ensure that California would enact a comprehensive plastic pollution reduction policy in 2022.

The sense of urgency was underscored by the findings of the December 2021 report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, “Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste” chaired by Aquarium Chief Conservation and Science Officer Margaret Spring. The report detailed U.S. responsibility for plastic pollution in the global ocean — and how we as a nation can more effectively address the problem. Among its findings, the report found that the U.S. is the world’s number one producer of plastic waste, both by total mass and per person.

A 2021 report from the United Nations Environment Program and Azul exposed the impact of plastic pollution on already vulnerable populations around the world. It found that people are harmed at every stage of the plastic lifecycle, from production to use to disposal. The report reinforces that plastic pollution is an environmental justice issue that disproportionately affects people who live near plastic manufacturing and waste sites.

“As we noted in our report to Congress, it's past time for the United States to take responsibility for its outsized contribution to global ocean plastic pollution, especially as global plastic treaty negotiations kick off this year. We commend the California legislature for passing SB 54, which is now the nation's strongest and most comprehensive policy for reducing sources of plastic waste before they pollute our environment and communities,” said Margaret Spring, Chief Conservation and Science Officer for Monterey Bay Aquarium. “Federal decision makers and other leaders should take note of California’s leadership and advance a national strategy that takes coordinated action to reduce sources of plastic waste at every stage of the plastic life cycle, from production to disposal.”

Senate Bill 54 includes the following provisions to make California the first state in the nation to:

Require producers to reduce single-use plastic packaging and foodware by 25%, both by weight and unit, by 2032;
Require packaging producers to take financial responsibility for the full lifecycle of their products through extended producer responsibility, with strong oversight and enforcement by CalRecycle;
Require producers and plastics resin manufacturers to pay $500 million a year for ten years ($5 billion total), starting in 2027, in environmental mitigation funds to address harms that fall on historically disadvantaged, low-income, and rural communities, as well as to recover, restore, and protect the natural environment; and
Require that any implementing regulations, infrastructure, or investments avoid causing disproportionate harm to historically disadvantaged, low-income, and rural communities.
Require that all single-use plastic packaging and foodware be recyclable or compostable by 2032;
Mandate that all plastic packaging meet a 65% recycling rate by 2032;
Define recycling as maintaining materials in the circular economy — excluding incineration, combustion, or other plastics to-fuel-technologies; prohibit investments in those harmful, non-circular technologies;
Ban expanded polystyrene foodware (commonly known as styrofoam) by January 1, 2025, unless industry is able to demonstrate a 25% recycling rate for the prior year, as determined by CalRecycle.

About Monterey Bay Aquarium

With a mission to inspire conservation of the ocean, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the most admired aquarium in the United States, a leader in science education, and a voice for ocean conservation through comprehensive programs in marine science and public policy. Everything we do works in concert to protect the future of our blue planet. More information at MontereyBayAquarium.org.

BLUE INNOVATION 2022

Check out Blue Innovation! The 5th Annual Blue Innovation has been expanded to a 3-day event in September. A large delegation from Biarritz, France (Santa Cruz’s Sister City) will join us for a series of exhibitions, workshops, and a competition. Over 3,000 attendees will join this outdoor event at the beautiful Seymour Marine Discovery Center (see Google Earth). Food trucks, bands, and speakers will regale us.

EXHIBITORS WANTED! Please fill out this form if you are interested in being an exhibitor.

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