FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT: Stefanie Spear, sspear@asyousow.org, 216-387-1609

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA—JULY 1, 2022—As You Sow, a long-time advocate of producer responsibility for packaging, salutes the passage of landmark California legislation (SB 54) that makes producers responsible for the recycling of post-consumer packaging, requires a 25% reduction in use of single-use plastic packaging, and a 65% recycling rate for all packaging by 2032.

The legislation, the result of several years of efforts by California legislators to deliver a strong response to plastic pollution, also requires producers and resin manufacturers to pay $500 million a year for 10 years into an environmental mitigation fund to address historical harms to disadvantaged, low-income and rural communities, and to the natural environment from plastics production and pollution.

“By mandating actual reductions in single-use plastic for packaging and creating a system of extended producer responsibility (EPR), this law tackles two of the core causes of plastic pollution — excessive production of single-use plastic and underfunded, outdated recycling systems,” said Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president at As You Sow. “We have been pressing companies to endorse EPR systems in the U.S. for more than a decade and welcome this long-delayed key to upgrading recycling for the 21st century.”

As You Sow has challenged major brand companies to reduce their use of single-use plastic for packaging and has reached agreements with seven companies including PepsiCo, Target, and Walmart, to reduce use of virgin plastic for packaging.

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As You Sow is the nation’s leading shareholder advocacy nonprofit, with a 30-year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility and advancing values-aligned investing. Its issue areas include climate change, ocean plastics, pesticides, racial justice, workplace diversity, and executive compensation. Click here for As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.