California may curb plastics in online shipping

California lawmakers are giving serious consideration to first-in-the-nation legislation that would force online retailers to reduce their single-use plastics packaging. A version of their plan passed the state Assembly in May, on a 41-26 vote, and is now making its way through the state Senate.

The legislation currently calls for unspecified reductions in the amount of single-use plastic packaging in e-commerce by 2030. Lawmakers are trying to hash out details ahead of an August 30 deadline for a final vote in this year's legislative session.

Supporters say the growth in online shopping prompts the legislation.

"Plastic packaging like air pillows, bubble wrap and mailing envelopes are made of material designed to last forever but are discarded after brief use," said Ashley Blacow-Draeger, Pacific policy and communications manager at the environmental group Oceana. "This makes them particularly problematic, and most plastic packaging ends up in landfills, incinerated or polluting the environment and harming wildlife."

The legislation is sponsored by Assembly Member Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, who introduced a stricter version in 2021 that would have banned single-use plastic shipping envelopes and expanded polystyrene packaging materials starting in 2023. That proposal ended up dying on the floor of the Assembly.

In February, Friedman reintroduced a strict version that would have banned plastic envelopes, cushioning materials and void fill in online retail shipments starting in 2024, as well as reinstating in-store recycling for plastic bags. But that bill was changed in June in the state Senate, into the current version that calls for an unspecified level of cuts in plastic packaging use by online retailers selling into the state by 2030.

"We have talked to industry this week and are committing right now to taking amendments in the Senate and continuing to work in the Senate to move this bill over from being what it is now, which is a phaseout of all plastics products in shipping and instead to an aggressive source reduction bill that will work on timelines that the industry can accommodate," she said.

"We are committed to working with industry to make sure that this is doable," Friedman said. "We don't want broken items either."

The legislation would measure the reduction against the total weight and number of e-commerce plastic packages used in 2023.

Friedman pointed to the explosion of web shopping, saying that online buying in the U.S. rose 44 percent from 2019 to 2021. She called online retail shipping "the low-hanging fruit of plastic."

"Now with almost a third of the world's population buying online, the amount of plastic packaging generated is estimated to more than double by 2026," she said.

While environmental organizations such as Oceana are supportive of the bill and its source reduction provisions, plastics groups like the American Chemistry Council argue it will damage both the industry and consumers.

ACC said rather than pass Friedman's AB-2026 bill, the state should wait on the implementation of a large plastics producer responsibility bill that the state passed at the end of June, known as Senate Bill 54.

"The passage of SB-54 into law precludes the need for AB-2026. SB-54, among other things, will infuse millions in new funding from producers to improve the state's recycling infrastructure, set recycling rate requirements for plastic packaging and require the producer responsibility organization to meet a 25 percent 'source reduction' requirement," said Tim Shestek, senior director of western region state affairs at ACC.

"Additionally, SB-54 will support the creation of more robust end-use markets for recovered material, allowing for the use of an ever-increasing amount of recycled material in new packaging," he said.

"Passing a different law specific to e-commerce packaging will hinder effective implementation of SB-54, confuse e-commerce companies on what rules to follow and ultimately hurt consumers' ability to receive packages undamaged and in a timely manner," Shestek said.

In her comments on the Assembly floor, Friedman said she and other supporters had worked with different industry groups over the last year to convince them to drop their opposition and take a neutral position on the legislation. She said those groups include organizations representing agricultural businesses, as well as the California Grocers Association and medical device makers.

Plastic packaging like air pillows, bubble wrap and mailing envelopes are made of material designed to last forever but are discarded after brief use. This makes them particularly problematic, and most plastic packaging ends up in landfills, incinerated or polluting the environment and harming wildlife."

Ashley Blacow-Draeger

Oceana