State Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, defended California's plastic packaging law, SB 54, after 17 attorneys general and the National Association of Wholesale-Distributors filed a lawsuit challenging it.
"For decades, producers have been able to shift costs onto ratepayers and escape accountability for flooding our planet and waste infrastructure with unsustainable levels of plastic pollution," Allen said. "This lawsuit against our landmark bipartisan law that finally holds them accountable challenges California's right to protect residents from rising waste disposal costs and a growing public health crisis."
Allen said the state remains committed to holding producers responsible for plastic waste rather than passing cleanup costs to taxpayers and ratepayers.
"While these states may not share our commitment to reducing the millions of tons of plastic entering our waste system, polluting our waterways, and leaching into our bodies, California remains committed to holding producers accountable," he said. "Rather than forcing taxpayers and ratepayers to shoulder these costs, we are ensuring companies that profit from this mass pollution help pay for its cleanup."
Allen said the state would continue to defend its authority "to protect consumers, reduce pollution, and prioritize families over billion-dollar corporations."
He represents the 24th state Senate District, which includes the Westside, Hollywood, the coastal South Bay and the Santa Monica Mountains communities of Los Angeles County.
The bill text is available at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB54
Edited by SMDP Staff