Weisbrod, K. (2022, October 12). California passed a landmark law about plastic pollution. Why are some environmentalists still concerned? Inside Climate News. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://insideclimatenews.org/news/12102022/california-plastics-pollution-bill/  

 

Governor Newsome signed into law the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, which has divided Californian environmentalists. The law itself entails that companies must change their packaging to be either, “recyclable or compostable by 2032.” On one hand, some believe that this is a great step in limiting California’s plastic waste. On the other hand, many believe that this law gives too much power to the companies by making them able to not entirely shift to recyclable and compostable packaging, as long as they advertise that it is.

 

I believe that Newsom has the right intent in establishing this bill, but I agree with the majority of environmentalists who believe that this type of regulation isn’t effective enough. In this day and age, words matter. If companies have complete control over their packaging process, they can easily lie to the public and claim that their packaging is sustainable when in reality only 10% of it is. In order to become strict with sustainable packaging, more surveillance and assurance must b e made so not only the public trusts the companies, but also that the companies actually make a difference.