![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/single-use-plastics.jpg\")
article <\/p>\n article <\/p>\n
FILE-Pedestrians in Chinatown carrying single-use plastic bags on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) <\/p>\n
A group of 17 states have sued California to block the enforcement of a strict recycling law centered on reducing plastic packaging waste.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The lawsuit, obtained by The Associated Press, argues that California\u2019s finalized rules that will slowly require organizations to cut back on single-use plastics, while making sure all packaging is recycled or compostable should be struck down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, which represents organizations that import and distribute goods in California, also joined the lawsuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
States sued California over plastic packaging rules\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Dig deeper:<\/p>\n
The Associated Press reported that joining Nebraska in the lawsuit were 16 other states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.<\/p>\n
Environmental groups also have sued over the California law. A group that included the Natural Resources Defense Council recently filed a complaint over what it said in a news release were “weakened” final regulations for the “landmark” law.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit argues the law violates both the U.S. and California constitutions. It asks the court to declare California’s law invalid and unenforceable and halt its implementation.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit names as defendants Zoe Heller, director of California’s recycling agency known as CalRecycle, and the Circular Action Alliance, a nonprofit involved with implementing the law.<\/p>\n
What is the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act? <\/p>\n
The backstory:<\/p>\n
The Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act was passed in 2022 by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This legislation was designed to substantially lower single-use plastic packaging in California and boost recycling rates. It sets the nation\u2019s strictest requirements for the use of plastic packaging.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, plastic producers would have to reduce plastics in single-use products by 10% by 2027, increasing to 25% by 2032. That limit in plastic packaging can be met through lowering package sizing, transitioning to a different material or making the product easily reusable or refillable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And by 2032, plastic would have to be recycled at a rate of 65%, and it wouldn\u2019t apply to plastic beverage bottles, which have their own recycling rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Environment<\/a>California<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"article FILE-Pedestrians in Chinatown carrying single-use plastic bags on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Myung J. Chun \/ Los…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1184,7,9,8,643,100,1181],"class_list":["post-374180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-environment","tag-news","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}