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   From: no_more_queers@barackobama.com   
      
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   SACRAMENTO, Calif. —   
   Companies selling shampoo, food and other products wrapped in   
   plastic have a decade to cut down on their use of the polluting   
   material if they want their wares on California store shelves.   
      
   Major legislation passed and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on   
   Thursday aims to significantly reduce single-use plastic   
   packaging in the state and drastically boost recycling rates for   
   what remains. It sets the nation's most stringent requirements   
   for the use of plastic packaging, with lawmakers saying they   
   hope it sets a precedent for other states to follow.   
      
   “We’re ruining the planet and we’ve got to change it," Sen. Bob   
   Hertzberg, a Democrat, said before voting on the bill.   
      
   Under the bill, plastic producers would have to reduce plastics   
   in single-use products 10% by 2027, increasing to 25% by 2032.   
   That reduction in plastic packaging can be met through a   
   combination of reducing package sizing, switching to a different   
   material or making the product easily reusable or refillable.   
   Also by 2032, plastic would have to be recycled at a rate of   
   65%, a massive jump from today’s rates. It wouldn’t apply to   
   plastic beverage bottles, which have their own recycling rules.   
      
   Efforts to limit plastic packaging have failed in the   
   Legislature for years, but the threat of a similar ballot   
   measure going before voters in November prompted business groups   
   to come to the negotiating table. The measure's three main   
   backers withdrew it from the ballot after the bill passed,   
   though they expressed concern the plastics industry will try to   
   weaken the requirements.   
      
   States have passed bans on single-use plastic grocery bags,   
   straws and other items, and plastic water bottles soon won't be   
   allowed in national parks. But the material is still ubiquitous,   
   used in everything from laundry detergent and soap bottles to   
   packaging for vegetables and lunch meats. Most plastic products   
   in the United States are not recycled, with millions of tons   
   ending up in landfills and the world’s oceans. It harms wildlife   
   and shows up in drinking water in the form of microplastics.   
      
   Efforts to limit plastic packaging have failed in the   
   Legislature for years, but the threat of a similar ballot   
   measure going before voters in November prompted business groups   
   to come to the negotiating table. The measure's three main   
   backers withdrew it from the ballot after the bill passed,   
   though they expressed concern the plastics industry will try to   
   weaken the requirements.   
      
   States have passed bans on single-use plastic grocery bags,   
   straws and other items, and plastic water bottles soon won't be   
   allowed in national parks. But the material is still ubiquitous,   
   used in everything from laundry detergent and soap bottles to   
   packaging for vegetables and lunch meats. Most plastic products   
   in the United States are not recycled, with millions of tons   
   ending up in landfills and the world’s oceans. It harms wildlife   
   and shows up in drinking water in the form of microplastics.   
      
   Plastic makers would form their own industry group tasked with   
   developing a plan to meet the requirements, which would need   
   approval from the state's recycling department. They'll be   
   required to collect $500 million annually from producers for a   
   fund aimed at cleaning up plastic pollution. Maine, Oregon and   
   Colorado have similar producer responsibility systems.   
      
   It does not ban styrofoam food packaging but would require it to   
   be recycled at a rate of 30% by 2028, which some supporters said   
   is a de facto ban because the material can't be recycled. The   
   ballot measure would have banned the material outright. It would   
   have given more power to the state recycling agency to implement   
   the rules rather than letting industry organize itself.   
      
   Sen. Ben Allen, a Santa Monica Democrat who led negotiations on   
   the bill, said it represented an example of two groups that are   
   often at odds — environmentalists and industry — coming together   
   to make positive change.   
      
   He called it a “strong, meaningful compromise that will put   
   California at the forefront of addressing a major global   
   problem."   
      
   Though they withdrew their ballot initiative, the measure's   
      
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