California faces a lawsuit that targets its 2022 plastic ban, which took effect earlier this year. What does this mean for the state?
A complaint filed in California federal court on June 22 seeks to undo the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, or SB 54, according to Reuters.
The act went into effect on May 1 and requires producers to reduce single-use plastic for packaging and food service items by 25%, and ensure that all such items are recyclable or compostable by 2032.
Who sued California over its plastic ban?
California was sued by 17 U.S. states, each with a Republican attorney general, accusing the state of trying to “impose its own policy preferences on the entire nation” with its Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, Reuters previously reported.
The suit, led by Nebraska, argues that the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause by substantially burdening interstate commerce.
“Once again, California is trying to enact a policy that negatively impacts the rest of the country,” Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said in a statement. “If California goes unchecked, consumers will be forced to pay more for basic necessities.”
They also said the law will boost prices for consumers, with inflationary effects hitting lower-income Americans especially hard, as producers pass on the “extremely expensive” costs of transforming a wide range of products and practices.
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors is also a plaintiff.
The states in the complaint are:
What does the plastic ban lawsuit mean for California?
California has been chasing a ban on single-use plastic long before Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law in 2022.
In 2014, then-Gov Jerry Brown signed a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags, which was enacted in 2016.
Court proceedings could take a while, but if the suit succeeds in reversing the ban, it would undo over a decade of work by California lawmakers to ban single-use plastic packaging.
Packaging makes up over 50% of the waste Californians dump in landfills by volume, according to the California Department of Resources Recycling & Recovery, or CalRecycle. Cutting single-use packaging could reduce waste, the agency argues.
The agency’s director, Zoe Heller, was named as a defendant in the suit, along with the nonprofit Circular Action Alliance.
What happens if the lawsuit succeeds?
If the multistate lawsuit succeeds, the immediate impact would likely be to block California from enforcing SB 54, rather than instantly erasing the law. Plaintiffs are asking a federal court to declare the plastic packaging law unconstitutional and to stop its implementation, meaning that requirements to reduce single-use plastic and to pay into the state’s recycling system could be paused while the case is decided.
If a court ultimately rules against California, some or all of SB 54 could be struck down as unenforceable—especially if judges agree it improperly burdens interstate commerce. In that scenario, key mandates—like cutting plastic packaging by 25% and making all packaging recyclable or compostable by 2032—could be halted, forcing the state to rewrite or scale back the law.
In practical terms, even a successful lawsuit would likely mean delays, partial rollbacks and appeals, not an immediate end to California’s push to curb plastic waste. Lawmakers could revise the policy, and legal challenges could stretch for years—leaving businesses and regulators in a holding pattern.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: California sued for plastic packaging law, what it means for the state
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, Ernesto Centeno Araujo, USA TODAY / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jonathan Stempel, Ernesto Centeno Araujo, USA TODAY | USA TODAY Network
