{"id":242413,"date":"2026-01-17T03:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T03:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/242413\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T03:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T03:46:11","slug":"very-little-plastic-is-recycled-new-report-exposes-california-globe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/242413\/","title":{"rendered":"Very Little Plastic is Recycled New Report Exposes \u2013 California Globe"},"content":{"rendered":"

California\u2019s Recycling agency doesn\u2019t really recycle the items we as consumers are required to separate out from trash into the recycle bins, and charged extra for. According to a new report from CalRecycle<\/a>, only 1% of milk jugs and 2% of certain plastic material is recycled. California instead dumps it in landfills.<\/p>\n

Many home owners report that the same waste management truck picks up their garbage and their recyclables.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the realization from the report that legislating mandatory recycling is disingenuous as there are limited options for disposing certain materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalRecycle withdrew proposed SB 54 regulations from the Office of Administrative Law\u2019s review, noting planned revisions related to packaging for food and agricultural commodities,\u201d WasteDive reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 54<\/a>, by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022, and was billed<\/a> by Sen. Allen as \u201cThe most comprehensive measure in the nation to address the plastic waste crisis.\u201d \u00a0 His bill established the \u201cPlastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act,\u201d which placed the responsibility for costs of the new program on the packaging producers rather than the local communities who pay for waste management and recycling.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s really just more wealth redistribution from the producers to the state.<\/p>\n

SB 54 imposed \u201cminimum content requirements for single-use packaging and food service ware and source reduction requirements for plastic single-use packaging and food service ware, to be achieved through an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program.\u201d<\/p>\n

WasteDive explained<\/a> in detail:<\/p>\n

CalRecycle on Friday withdrew proposed regulations from the Office of Administrative Law\u2019s review for implementing SB 54, the state\u2019s source reduction and extended producer responsibility for packaging law.
\nThe agency announced it wants to make revisions to \u201cimprove clarity,\u201d\u00a0particularly related to packaging for food and agricultural commodities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law includes overarching requirements pegged to 2032 to cut single-use plastic packaging food service ware by 25%; recycle 65% of single-use plastic packaging and food service ware; and ensure 100% of single-use packaging and plastic food service ware is recyclable or compostable,\u201d WasteDive says. \u201cThe law also uniquely stipulates that producers collectively\u00a0pay $500 million a year for 10 years, starting in 2027, to fund environmental mitigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we said above, this is a legislative shakedown of packaging producers for \u201cenvironmental mitigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

SB 54 was nothing more than very expensive climate-changey woo-woo that accomplishes nothing other than to shake down business owners by lawmakers who have never signed the front of a check.<\/p>\n

\u201cReports on abysmally low rates of recycling<\/a> for milk cartons<\/a> and polystyrene<\/a> have been widely shared and known, the LA Times reported<\/a>. \u201cBut the newest numbers were still a grim confirmation that there are few options for dealing with these materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t that long ago the California Globe reported CalRecycle Loses $200 Million a Year Due to Bottle Deposit Fraud<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And, CalRecycle Management Paid Bloated Salaries Even as CalRecycle is Dying<\/a>. \u201cMore than 50 percent of the recycling centers around the state are closed while taxpayers are paying $1.1 billion in annual beverage container recycling taxes,\u201d we reported.<\/p>\n

The point is that CalRecycle has a history of underperforming, despite Sen. Ben Allen\u2019s Senate Bill 54 which upped recycling requirements. Allen\u2019s bill was \u201cIf you build it, they will come\u201d thinking. And now we know the requirements not only haven\u2019t been met, they appear ridiculous and unreachable.<\/p>\n

PackagingDive<\/a> has some of the stats, and it\u2019s not all good news for plastics \u2013 SB 54 stipulates that 65% of single-use plastic packaging and food service ware must be recycled by 2032, and 100% of single-use packaging and plastic food service ware must be recyclable or compostable by that same year:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

and:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Most of the \u201crecycling\u201d in California goes to the landfills. One can only conclude that this was a financial shakedown, and the blame will go to CalRecycle.<\/p>\n

Sen. Ben Allen issued a statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cI continue to encourage the Department and Administration to reconsider their proposal to allow broad, sweeping exemptions that would undermine the program and increase costs for ratepayers,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cThe law provides producers with a clear path to ensure that all covered packaging complies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLocal governments are continuing to pass along higher rates because of the challenges plastics continue to pose on their refuse infrastructure. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Administration to get this right and get it across the finish line once and for all,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n

He and his colleagues, most of whom have never worked in the private sector, created this mess in the first place. They are incapable of real world solutions \u2013 they get paid whether they succeed or fail.<\/p>\n

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