Stop Plastic Pollution in California

Vote YES on the CA Plastic Pollution Reduction & Recycling Act

California is drowning in plastic

Fifty percent of the plastic we produce is discarded after a single use, and much of it ends up polluting our ocean, killing wildlife, contaminating our food and water, and impacting our health. Single-use plastic packages and foodware (like food take out containers, plastic utensils, and coffee lids) are a major contributor to this problem. California can reverse this terrible trend, but time is running out.

Vote Yes on the CA Plastic Pollution Reduction & Recycling Act

California’s leading environmental, public health, and community organizations are sponsoring the California Plastic Pollution Reduction & Recycling Act to responsibly reduce harmful single-use plastic packaging and foodware, while also helping to clean up our parks and communities, restore our beaches and rivers, and protect our health for generations to come.

A YES Vote Will:

Require that single-use plastic packaging and foodware in California be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2030.
Ensure plastic producers reduce single-use plastic packaging and foodware by at least 25% by 2030, as well as prohibit the distribution of plastic foam (e.g Styrofoam™) food containers.
Fund local recycling programs, habitat restoration, and environmental cleanup — especially in underserved communities — through a fee charged to producers of plastic packaging and foodware of up to one penny per single-use plastic package or foodware item.

In November 2022, vote yes on the California Plastic Pollution Reduction & Recycling Act to protect our health, our communities, and our environment from the harmful effects of plastic pollution.

The CA Plastic Pollution Reduction & Recycling Act Will:

Keep plastic out of our ocean and protect wildlife

More than 11 million tons of plastic pollute our ocean each year. Wildlife sadly mistake this plastic trash for food, and it can be fatal for seabirds, sea turtles, and whales. If we don’t act now, the amount of plastic in our ocean will triple by 2040. This ballot measure will reduce single-use plastics at the source so they never pollute our beaches and rivers.

Protect our health and drinking water

Microplastics and other plastic-associated chemicals have been found in our drinking water, bottled water, table salt, fish, and shellfish, posing a risk to our health. This initiative will reduce plastic pollution and fund groundwater and local drinking water protections to safeguard public health.

Support clean, healthy, waste-free communities and reduce inequitable impacts of plastic pollution

California’s children and families deserve cleaner neighborhoods, parks, and beaches. This ballot measure would help fund environmental cleanup and restoration, especially in communities that have been unfairly burdened by pollution, from oil refineries and chemical plants, litter, and illegal dumping.

Curb climate change

If plastics were a country, it would be the 5th largest emitter of greenhouse gasses globally. This initiative helps in our fight against climate change by reducing the need to extract oil, a key component of plastic manufacturing

Increase recycling and reduce unneeded plastic trash

Plastic items can take up to 1,000 years to decompose in our landfills. We simply cannot afford to keep producing trash that cannot be recycled. This measure will help increase the capacity to recycle and compost in California. It will also motivate producers to sell compostable packaging that can break down more quickly and work just as well as the single-use plastics clogging our landfills.

Require plastic producers to pay for the damage they’ve caused

California communities pay over $420 million a year to clean up and prevent unnecessary plastic pollution from entering our rivers, beaches, and ocean. This ballot measure establishes a fee on producers of up to one penny per piece of single-use plastic packaging and foodware, so that plastic producers--not California residents--pay the cost of recycling their products that become trash. This initiative also prohibits plastic producers from passing the fee on to consumers.

Let’s make harmful single-use plastic pollution a thing of the past. Vote YES on the California Plastic Pollution Reduction & Recycling Act.

Download Summary Full Ballot Measure