California lawsuit says makers of plastic bags lied about products being recyclable

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California ramped up its efforts to curb integrative contamination Friday - suing 3 plastic-bag makers, alleging the companies falsely claimed their products were recyclable.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said companies Novolex Holdings, Inteplast Group and Mettler Packaging violated a authorities instrumentality passed successful 2014 that banned integrative bags astatine market store checkouts that weren't recyclable.

Under the law, shoppers could wage 10 cents for thicker integrative bags that needed to beryllium reusable and recyclable. But the makers of the bags labeled them arsenic recyclable adjacent though they were not - recycling facilities cannot process them and they extremity up dumped successful landfills, incinerated, oregon successful the state's waterways, Bonta said.

"In California, we're making it clear," helium said astatine a quality conference. "Truth matters. Public spot matters. Environmental extortion matters."

The companies did not respond to email and telephone requests for comment.

The authorities filed a akin suit against ExxonMobil astir a twelvemonth agone implicit the lipid giant's integrative products. The suit said the institution deceived the nationalist by falsely promising that its integrative products would beryllium recycled. The lipid elephantine said California's recycling strategy was ineffective and that the authorities should person worked with the institution to support plastics retired of landfills.

California lawmakers aboriginal decided the 2014 instrumentality didn't spell acold enough. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a instrumentality past twelvemonth that volition prohibition each integrative buying bags astatine market stores starting adjacent year.

At slightest a twelve states person immoderate benignant of statewide integrative container ban, according to the biology advocacy radical Environment America Research and Policy Center. Hundreds of cities besides person their ain bans.

Bonta announced Friday the authorities reached settlements with 4 different companies California alleged violated the 2014 law: Revolution Sustainable Solutions, Metro Poly, PreZero US Packaging and Advance Polybag. The businesses agreed to collectively wage the authorities astir $1.8 cardinal and halt integrative container income successful California aft selling the remainder of their existing stock.

The suit and settlements clasp companies accountable for mislabeling their products arsenic recyclable, said Nick Lapis, manager of advocacy for biology radical Californians Against Waste.

"Plastic bags are a uniquely wasteful product," helium said successful an email. "Nothing we usage for minutes should pollute our situation for centuries, particularly thing truthful lightweight that it's practically designed to go litter."