SACRAMENTO, California — California’s top recycling official told lawmakers on Wednesday her agency would be implementing the state’s landmark plastic waste reduction law by the end of the year after a pause directed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
What happened: Zoe Heller, whom Newsom (D) appointed as director of the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery a year ago, publicly confirmed the new timeline for the first time during her confirmation hearing in the state Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday.
“This is critical for our environment, the climate crisis, and candidly, adoption when it comes to our business community, and I think all of us working together, we’re going to be able to get this damn thing done,” said state Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D) after questioning Heller.
Why this matters: Heller is facing pressure from environmental groups and state lawmakers who negotiated and passed the landmark 2022 law, SB 54, to finalize what would be California’s largest-ever program in which producers pay to recycle their products to avoid plastic ending up in landfills.
