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Lipstick tubes, little packets of dressing next to the salad bar, Halloween candy, to-go wipes: In California, all of these could look very different, or disappear entirely, over the next six years, depending on how a new state law is implemented and enforced.
California is the first state in the U.S. to mandate that brands and retailers actively remove plastic from their packaging. The law, known as a source reduction mandate, is part of the state’s landmark extended producer responsibility (EPR) law. Companies have until August 1 to present first-of-their-kind source reduction plans to state regulators.
Moving EPR upstream
Traditional EPR regulations focus on funding the collection, transportation and processing of recycling — and California’s law, called the “Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act,” will do all of that while also requiring producers to use less plastic in the first place.
It outlines legally binding targets on recycling rates, recyclability or compostability, and plastic reduction: Producers have until 2032 to cut 25 percent of single-use plastic packaging and food serviceware by both weight and component.
Old concept, higher stakes
A source reduction mandate in the world’s fifth-largest economy will fundamentally change how companies design, produce and sell packaging. California’s law is ambitious, but the concept of source reduction is not new.
We’re all familiar with how thin, flexible and crinkly plastic water bottles have become. That shift reflects years of engineering and lightweighting designed to use less plastic in each bottle. Now, for the first time, this kind of innovation is required by law and backed by enforceable penalties.
Greater than the sum of its parts
Individual companies are not required to meet the source reduction targets alone. Instead, producers must meet the 25-percent reduction target collectively through the state’s Producer Responsibility Organization, which fulfills EPR obligations on behalf of producers.
Here’s how that will work: Companies are required to submit an individual source reduction plan to the organization, detailing their steps for reducing plastic material by weight and by the number of plastic components. From there, the Producer Responsibility Organization will summarizes those plans and submits the summary to the state regulatory body overseeing EPR implementation, CalRecycle.
The regulations went live on May 1, and company plans are due on August 1. Sustainability and packaging teams are racing to produce them. And while there might not be an existing playbook for these novel requirements, there are pathways.
Five pathways to source reduction
There’s not a lot of guesswork for companies operating in California. The state requires companies’ reduction efforts to fall into at least one of five pathways:
Reuse and refill: Producers must move at least 10 percent of all single-use plastic packaging and food serviceware to reusable or refillable models.
Example: Reusable cups are skyrocketing in popularity across EPR states, driven by regulatory changes and reuse companies like Bold Reuse. Reusable cups and foodware are thriving in closed-loop venues like sports stadiums, concert venues, schools and corporate campuses.
Elimination: Producers can remove packaging components entirely.
Example: This pathway is tricky because most brands already don’t want to pay for excessive packaging. Still, we’re seeing some innovative solutions. Costco, for example, has removed labels on individual bottles inside its multipacks of water and is embossing its logo onto the bottles instead.
Right-sizing: Producers can lightweight packaging, use product concentrates or move to bulk formats.
Example: Laundry detergent is a big and diverse packaging category, ranging from large multi-gallon jugs to compact cardboard boxes containing woven, highly concentrated detergent “tiles” that eliminate water and plastic. Formats like Tide Evo tiles reduce the overall plastic and packaging footprint required for P&G to deliver its detergent.
Post-consumer recycled content: Producers can incorporate recycled content into packaging. The result must be novel and third-party verified, and the new law includes a cap on how much such packages can count toward source reduction efforts.
Example: Post-consumer recycling (PCR) mandates exist in a handful of states, so incorporation into rigid plastic containers, especially those used in products like household cleaners, beverage containers and personal care packaging, should be relatively standard for producers. The total amount of such material that can be used to comply with the law is capped at 8 percent collectively, so until the responsibility organization sees producers’ plans, we don’t know exactly how much PCR can be used.
Alternative materials: Producers can transition packaging to non-plastic materials.
Example: Right now, we’re seeing the paperization of formats that were long considered to be plastics-only, like pouches, candy bar wrappers, blister packs and berry punnets. Such packages are increasingly available in 100 percent fiber-based alternatives. Brands like Babybel have made the switch, with its fun-to-open red wrapper and wax seal.
The starting line
The August 1 deadline will force packaging and sustainability teams to answer a question that was previously theoretical: Which packaging can companies let go of, which can be redesigned, and which can be transitioned to reusable formats?
California’s market size means that these answers won’t stay local. They will ripple through packaging portfolios nationwide, raising the bar for the solutions producers are expected to bring to the table.
