SACRAMENTO, California — State lawmakers laid into a top Newsom official Thursday over the governor’s decision this month to restart draft rules meant to cut back plastic waste.
Senators told Environmental Protection Secretary Yana Garcia, who oversees CalRecycle, in a Thursday budget hearing that the move broke trust with lawmakers, businesses and environmental advocates who had come together through tense back-and-forth to pass SB 54 in 2022.
“Where we are now is completely unacceptable to us,” said Sen. Catherine Blakespear. “I remain very upset and unhappy about this every single day that we do not see these regulations.”
Why this matters: SB 54 overhauled how plastic gets recycled in the state requiring that thousands of producers reduce their 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 by 2040.
