Newsom Orders Redo of California's Landmark Anti-Plastic Rules, Citing Cost
(Bloomberg) -- California Governor Gavin Newsom has told state regulators to go back to the drawing board on sweeping rules that would drastically reduce single-use plastics, citing concerns over the measure's cost.
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The governor's office said the draft regulations, set to clear a key rulemaking hurdle on March 8, would impose unacceptable burdens on businesses. Newsom is worried that the added cost will also affect consumers, said spokesperson Daniel Villasenor.
The governor is directing the state agency CalRecycle to redraft the regulations and wants to 'ensure California's bold recycling law can achieve its goal of cutting plastic pollution and is implemented fairly — minimizing costs for small businesses and working families as much as possible,' Villasenor said in a statement.
Newsom's move, coming more than two years after he signed the landmark bill into law, underscores the rising clash between California's environmental agenda and the price tag of its ambitious goals. Many of the governor's fellow Democrats have increasingly said they need to make the state more affordable for people already struggling with the high cost of living.
The legislation requires companies to reduce single-use plastic packaging by 25% by 2032 and requires all plastics to be recyclable or compostable in the same time frame.
Environmentalists hailed the law as an example of how the nation's most populous state can use its market power to sway an industry toward a greener future. Many environmental groups have expressed concern that delaying the regulations risks throwing the entire law into jeopardy.
But business groups have been advocating against the rules, warning of their cost. An industry group that includes Amazon.com Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and Procter & Gamble Co. is tasked with ensuring that companies comply with the law. That group, called the Circular Action Alliance, has spoken with Newsom's office and sought to extend the regulatory process, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
Arguments about the measure's effects on businesses and families have appeared to resonate with the governor. His office cited a CalRecycle report saying the regulations introduced in December would cost businesses over $8,000 a year and consumers $330 annually. A report from 2023 said implementing the regulations over a decade would cost $36.3 billion.
'The governor wants to see what's possible to reduce those costs,' Villasenor said.
California has also banned plastic bags at grocery stores and sought to reduce the use of plastic straws in separate laws.
State Senator Ben Allen, who authored the bill, said the law is needed to stem the flow of plastics into landfills and ecosystems.
'This law has always been about affordability — it's been increasingly difficult for our cities and counties to handle the endless influx of plastics into our waste stream,' said Allen.
(Updates with comment from Allen in penultimate paragraph.)
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