California’s plastic law will cut far less single-use plastic than expected

CalRecycle has picked the number that decides how much plastic California has to cut under the state’s 2022 landmark plastic law, and it is low.

It’s just one-third of what the state estimated in a 2024 report, and 20% lower than an initial number the industry announced in June.

The benchmark number, known as the source reduction baseline, is supposed to reflect how much single-use plastic was produced, distributed and sold in the state during 2023. Future reduction targets under the state’s single-use plastic law, or Senate Bill 54, are based on it. By 2032, plastic producers and distributors are required to cut the amount of single-use plastic sold in the state by 25%.

In 2024, the state estimated that Californians were sold 2.9 million tons of single-use plastic. Yet on Monday, CalRecycle adopted the industry’s latest number, 1.03 million tons — 20% lower than its June estimate of 1.29 million tons, and a third of the state’s estimate.

California’s plastic law will cut far less single-use plastic than expected – Los Angeles Times

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