On May 1, 2026, California finalized the permanent regulations, marking the end of the regulatory process of California’s landmark Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (SB 54). SB 54, a type of extended producer responsibility (EPR) law, requires that by 2032, single-use plastic packaging and food service ware is cut by 25%, and 100% of single-use packaging and plastic food service ware is recyclable or compostable.
If effectively implemented, SB 54 has the potential to transform the grocery shopping experience, accelerate the transition to a circular economy, and shift the financial burden of waste management from taxpayers to producers. However, the final regulations fall short in several critical areas.
Surfrider has been engaged throughout the rulemaking process, advocating for robust source-reduction measures and investments in equitable refill and reuse systems. Unfortunately, the adopted regulations create significant loopholes that undermine the law’s recycling and plastic reduction goals.
One major concern is the treatment of certain polluting technologies as “recycling.”The final regulations allow these technologies to count as recycling as long as they hold the appropriate permits, regardless of how much hazardous waste they produce.
Furthermore, the new regulations also exempt certain products if they are already covered by federal law. These exemptions are overly broad and could exempt large portions of food packaging from the program altogether. As a result, fewer producers will be subject to SB 54’s requirements, making it more difficult to achieve the law’s source-reduction and other targets.
In response, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Californians Against Waste are preparing legal challenges against CalRecycle. NRDC says the approved regulations unlawfully exempt certain plastic packaging from the reduction and recycling requirements and count “polluting technologies” as recycling when they should not under the law.
“These new rules create huge loopholes for plastic packaging that violate the law,” says Avinash Kar, senior director of the toxics program at NRDC. “We expect to challenge this in court.”
Surfrider intends to remain actively involved as the EPR program is implemented to ensure producers are held accountable for reducing plastic waste and investing in infrastructure that supports a zero-waste economy. We are also closely monitoring the Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, which will collect $5 billion from industry members over 10 years. Surfrider strongly supports SB 1180, an environmental justice-led bill that would provide additional guidance to state agencies on allocating mitigation funds equitably and effectively.