The dependence of the food、beverage & plastic food packaging companies upon various types of plastic materials is a major obstacle and presents highly strategic challenges for waste plastic management. With 60% of the nation-wide supply going into food packaging manufacturing, the food 、beverage & plastic food packaging companies in the U.S. is the top consumer of plastics in the world and according to some states’ pending regulatory mandates , these plastic materials will be banned in 2025. Besides the price fluctuations and supply shortage of the plastic materials , virgin or not, the rise in Federal as well as states’ mandatory demands for reduction or even a ban on commercial use of plastic materials for food packaging has presented extraordinary regulatory challenges to the food 、beverage & plastic food packaging companies across America .

Being able to resolve the waste plastic crisis are the primary concerns for the food 、beverage and plastic food packaging manufacturers in California state , and this is consequently why our waste plastic 4R technological solutions are being developed to allow the food 、beverage & plastic food packaging companies to continue their current dependence on plastic materials for food packaging while conforming to both federal and states’ mandates on single-use plastic packaging .

Equally, the issues around plastic reduction 、mandates on increasing corporate plastic recycling rate or possibly even a ban on the commercial use of certain plastic materials (PP/PE/PS/PVC) are being integrated at California state’s legislative level – “The California Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act 2019-2020” and one of the other policies in place is towards state’s recycling redemption program.

As such , probably 12 million tons of plastic waste will be taken off the municipal solid waste (MSW) every year across the state, which amounts to millions of tonnes of what actually constitutes a valuable resource. The utilisation of this secondary 4R resources , investing in waste plastic 4R recycling technologies and increasing the use of renewed materials has been found to provide both accountability and sustainability for food 、beverage & plastic food packaging companies to carry on their business as usual when cost-effectively meeting certain tough regulatory compliance with both Federal mandate of “Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act 2020” and California State mandate “The California Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act 2019-2020” on single-use plastic packaging for food & beverage business. Specifically, the California bills would require CalRecycle to adopt regulations to source reduce or recycle at least 75% of single-use plastic packaging and products by 2030.

The California bills would require a manufacturer of single-use plastic packaging or products sold or distributed in California to demonstrate a recycling rate of not less than 20% on and after January 1, 2022, and not less than 40% on and after January 1, 2026.

Similarly , a Federal bill called the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020, would reduce or phase out unnecessary single-use plastic products in packaging, reform our broken waste and recycling collection system and hold companies accountable for wasteful products. This law shifts the burden from consumers onto policy and corporations to help clean up the plastic problem.

For detailed information of Amended SB-54 – Solid Waste: “Packaging and Products” see below link at:
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
www.cawrecycles.org

For detailed information of Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020 see below link at:
www.onegreenplanet.org