This In Brief highlights several significant shortcomings of California’s SB 54. Despite its intended goal of reducing waste and increasing recycling, the bill fails to address many critical issues, such as: inequitable allocation of responsibility (or lack thereof), unfairly burdening small businesses and vulnerable communities, loopholes in material requirements, and most blatantly, the disconnection between required metrics and carrying capacity to meet them.
California has a massive opportunity to learn from EPR approaches of other countries in various timeframes, while setting an example for other states to follow suit. With further research and the addressing of the shortcomings outlined in this paper, California is capable of laying the groundwork for a successful approach to society’s relationship with plastic. While SB 54 may have been well-intentioned, it falls short in many crucial areas and shrinks the possibility of success without intentional revisions to the Act.
