SACRAMENTO, California — California will need hundreds of new sorting and processing facilities — that could cause more air and water pollution — if it is to fully implement a law to limit the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills, according to a new environmental impact report state regulators released Monday.
The document comes as CalRecycle is figuring out how it will enforce S.B. 54, a 2022 law that requires that thousands of companies reduce single-use plastic packaging and foodware by 25 percent by 2032 and pay for and ensure that 100 percent of their products are recyclable or compostable.
The rules would set up California’s largest-ever program in which producers pay to recycle their products, a trend that has caught on nationally and in other states that are trying to avoid plastic ending up in landfills. CalRecycle has estimated that as many as 13,615 manufacturers would have to participate and pay a total of $500 million per year beginning in 2027.
CalRecycle released a second version of its draft rules last month to detail how producers and cities would share costs, although the two sides are still fighting over their responsibilities under the proposal.
