Federal measure targets recycling laws in California

The plastics industry is not happy with California.

- BY SUSANNE RUST

And it’s looking to friends in Congress to put the Golden State in its place.

California has not figured out how to reduce single-use plastic. But its efforts to do so have created a headache for the fossil fuel industry and plastic manufacturers. The two businesses are linked because most plastic is derived from oil or natural gas.

In December, a Republican congressman from Texas introduced a bill designed to preempt states — in particular, California — from imposing their own truth-in-labeling or recycling laws. The Packaging and Claims Knowledge Act calls for a national standard for environmental claims on packaging that companies would voluntarily adhere to.

“California’s policies have slowed American commerce long enough,” Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) said in a post on X announcing the bill. “Not anymore.”

The legislation was written for consumers, Weber said in a news release. Its purpose is to reduce a patchwork of state recycling and composting laws that only confuse people, he said, and make it hard for them to know which products are recyclable, compostable or destined for the landfill.

But it’s clear that California’s laws — such as state Senate Bill 343, which requires that packaging meet certain recycling milestones in order to carry the chasing-arrows recycling label — are the ones he and the industry have in mind.