AB2026, in its current form, would require online retailers to curtail the amount of single-use plastic shipping envelopes, cushioning and filler they use by yet-to-be-specified percentages by 2030. — Pay online photo created by jannoon028 - www.freepik.com
Weeks after California approved sweeping legislation meant to drastically curb plastic pollution, some environmental groups and legislators are urging the state to go even further by approving a separate bill that targets waste generated by online shopping.
AB2026, the additional bill, aims to reduce the amount of single-use plastic packaging and filler material that online retailers commonly use while shipping their products. The bill was approved by the state Assembly in May and is now being considered by the Senate's appropriations committee, where it faces a crucial deadline in less than two weeks.
Senators are weighing AB2026 after the Legislature already endorsed a much broader plastic-reduction measure, SB54, that was signed into law by Gov Gavin Newsom in late June. SB54 gives manufacturers 10 years to make sure that plastic packaging and food ware items can be recycled, composted or reused. They also have to cut back the amount of plastic they generate to begin with.
But State Sen Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said Saturday that AB2026 is still needed so California can specifically address the issue of plastic waste from online retail.
"Now we have a chance to really start moving the dial on packaging," Wiener, one of the bill's principal coauthors, told reporters at a Pier 39 news conference.
Wiener said he's commonly received item ordered online that are packaged in excessive amounts of plastic.
"These companies really don't have a lot of incentive to try to minimise it," Wiener said. "They're gonna keep doing it until they're told not to do it. And that's what this bill is all about."
Assembly member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, jointly authored AB2026 with Assembly member Laura Friedman, D-Glendale (Los Angeles County).
AB2026, in its current form, would require online retailers to curtail the amount of single-use plastic shipping envelopes, cushioning and filler they use by yet-to-be-specified percentages by 2030. The bill has to advance from the appropriations committee by Aug 11, Wiener said, and clear the Senate floor by the end of August in order to reach the governor's desk.
"Right now, plastic waste is clogging landfills, littering communities and polluting our oceans," Ben Grundy, an associate with Environment California, said at the news conference. "We cannot recycle our way out of this problem. We are drowning in plastic and it's time to turn off the tap."
Grundy and Wiener were joined by student canvassers from Environment California and the California Public Interest Research Group, or CALPIRG, who have been trying to rally support for AB2026 among Bay Area residents.
"This is an impossible battle to fight alone," said canvasser Kalilla Garcia, an 18-year old incoming freshman at UC Davis. "We know there is a problem and we must work together to solve it." – San Francisco Chronicle/Tribune News Service
