California's Plastic Recycling Efforts: How Much Progress?

California has been facing a plastic problem, with 4.5 million tons of plastic ending up in landfills each year. In 2020, California lawmakers passed a minimum recycled content bill to boost demand for recycled plastic. However, in 2022, California exported less than 50,000 tons of plastic scrap, a significant decrease from the almost 1.3 million tons exported in 2014. While some companies in California, such as Niagara Bottling, have increased their use of recycled plastic, others have decreased it, and it is difficult to compare usage across companies due to differences in reporting.

California's plastic problem

California has a plastic problem. Every year, 4.5 million tons of plastic end up in California's landfills, far outstripping the state's ability to recycle it. In 2022, California exported less than 50,000 tons of plastic scrap, compared to almost 1.3 million tons in 2014. The state has been trying to address the issue of contamination and import restrictions, which have caused significant decreases in the amount of plastic scrap exported.

In 2020, California lawmakers passed a "minimum recycled content" bill, Assembly Bill 793, which went into effect on January 1, 2021. The law mandates that most plastic beverage bottles contain a minimum amount of recycled content. Specifically, all plastic bottles that can be redeemed for $0.05 or $0.10 must contain no less than a certain amount of recycled content. The law is targeted at bottle manufacturers, most of whom still use new plastic, or "virgin resin", which is typically cheaper than recycled plastic.

Despite these efforts, California's plastic problem persists. In 2019, more companies reported selling plastic bottles in California compared to the prior year, but fewer said they used recycled plastic. Some manufacturers report their use of recycled plastic in weight, some report the figure as a percentage, and others report "unknown" plastic usage, making it impossible to compare recycled plastic use across all companies. For example, Niagara Bottling reported using 48.8 million pounds of recycled resin in 2019, up from 33.2 million pounds in 2018, while PepsiCo's usage decreased from 16.4 million pounds to 14.7 million pounds during the same period.

California continues to strive towards its ambitious environmental goals. CalRecycle is working with partners to ensure that products produced and used in the state can be efficiently collected and remanufactured into new products within the state.

Plastic scrap exported by California

California exported less than 50 thousand tons of plastic scrap in 2022, a significant decrease from the almost 1.3 million tons exported in 2014. This reduction is partly due to the issue of contamination and import restrictions, which have made it more challenging to recycle plastic.

In California, only plastics labelled 1 or 2, such as water bottles, soda bottles, and milk jugs, are regularly recycled. A report by Greenpeace found that US recycling facilities can process less than 25% of the country's PET waste (plastic identification code: 1). This means that the majority of resin types are rarely recycled.

The state's recycling efforts have also been impacted by the fact that only 10% of plastics put into bins are actually recycled. This is due in part to the profitability of recycling, as it was previously only profitable because China accepted plastic waste. With China no longer accepting these materials, there are fewer incentives for companies to recycle plastic.

Despite Californians' best intentions to recycle single-use plastics, at least 85% of these materials do not get recycled and end up in landfills. This issue has inspired legislation, such as SB 343, which aims to address the confusion around plastic packaging that can be recycled and ensure proper labelling. California continues to work towards its ambitious environmental goals, striving for a circular economy where products can be efficiently collected and remanufactured into new products within the state.

Recycled plastic use by companies

California has an issue with plastic waste, with 4.5 million tons of plastic ending up in landfills each year. This is due to the amount of plastic produced and used outstripping the state's ability to recycle it. In 2022, California exported less than 50,000 tons of plastic scrap, compared to almost 1.3 million tons in 2014.

In 2020, California lawmakers passed a "minimum recycled content" bill, Assembly Bill 793, which went into effect on January 1, 2021. The law mandates that most plastic beverage bottles contain a minimum amount of recycled content. Specifically, all plastic bottles that can be redeemed for $0.05 or $0.10 must contain a minimum amount of recycled plastic. The law is targeted at bottle manufacturers, most of whom still use new plastic, or "virgin resin", which is typically cheaper than recycled plastic.

Despite this, it's difficult to compare recycled plastic use across all companies due to differences in reporting. Some manufacturers report their use in weight, some as a percentage, and others report "unknown" plastic usage. For example, in 2019, Niagara Bottling reported using 48.8 million pounds of recycled resin, up from 33.2 million pounds in 2018. Meanwhile, PepsiCo reported using 14.7 million pounds, down from 16.4 million pounds the previous year.

California continues to strive towards its ambitious environmental goals, and organisations like CalRecycle are working with partners to ensure that products produced and used in the state can be efficiently collected and remanufactured into new products.

Plastic in California landfills

California has been taking steps to address its plastic problem, with lawmakers passing a "minimum recycled content" bill in 2020. This law, Assembly Bill 793, mandates that plastic beverage bottles contain a minimum amount of recycled content. For example, Nestlé Waters North America reported using 36.2% recycled content in their plastic bottles. Despite these efforts, California still struggles with plastic waste, with 4.5 million tons of plastic ending up in landfills each year. This is due to the amount of plastic produced and used outpacing the state's recycling capacity.

In recent years, California has seen a decrease in the amount of plastic scrap it exports. In 2022, the state exported less than 50,000 tons of plastic scrap, a significant drop from the 1.3 million tons exported in 2014. This decrease has been attributed to issues of contamination and import restrictions. To address this, California is working to increase the remanufacturing of recycled materials within the state and achieve a more circular economy.

The issue of plastic contamination is a significant challenge for California's recycling efforts. Contamination can decrease the value of plastic scrap and lead to entire batches being rejected for export. It is important for residents to properly clean and sort their recyclables to reduce contamination and increase the likelihood of successful recycling.

California's ambitious environmental goals include striving for a circular economy where products can be efficiently collected and remanufactured into new products within the state. By addressing issues of contamination and increasing local remanufacturing, California hopes to reduce its reliance on exporting plastic scrap and boost demand for recycled plastic.

California's environmental goals

California has ambitious environmental goals, including reducing the amount of plastic waste that ends up in its landfills. Every year, 4.5 million tons of plastic are landfilled in California because the amount produced and used far outstrips the state's ability to recycle it. To address this issue, California lawmakers passed a "minimum recycled content" bill in 2020. Assembly Bill 793, which went into effect on January 1, mandates that most plastic beverage bottles contain a minimum amount of recycled content. Specifically, all plastic bottles that can be redeemed for $0.05 or $10 must contain no less than a certain percentage of recycled content. This law is targeted at bottle manufacturers, most of whom still use new plastic, or "virgin resin", which is typically cheaper than recycled plastic.

California is also working to address the issue of contamination and import restrictions, which have caused significant decreases in the amount of plastic scrap exported by the state. In 2022, California exported less than 50,000 tons of plastic scrap, compared to almost 1.3 million tons in 2014. To achieve a circular economy, the state is partnering with organisations to ensure that products produced and used in California can be efficiently collected and remanufactured into new products within the state.

Some bottlers in California have reported using a percentage of recycled content, although the weight was not listed. For example, Nestlé Waters North America reported using 36.2% recycled content in 2020, down from 37% in 2018.

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