A federal judge has stopped California, US, from enforcing its “Truth in Recycling” statute, a measure designed to address public misunderstanding over whether certain packaging is recyclable.
The state law prevents companies from placing a “chasing arrows” recycling symbol on packaging or materials unless those items are being recycled in a meaningful way under standards set by the legislation.
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Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 343 in 2021, and it had been scheduled to take effect on 4 October 2026.
In March, a group representing agricultural, forestry, restaurant and packaging interests filed suit against the state, saying the measure breaches free speech protections.
The challengers said Senate Bill 343 amounts to “government-imposed censorship.”
According to a Los Angeles (LA) Times report, judge William Hayes found sufficient grounds in that argument and directed California attorney-general Rob Bonta, who is named as the defendant, to suspend enforcement of the law “until further order of the Court”.
Industry bodies involved in the case include the Dairy Institute of California, the Flexible Packaging Association and the Western Growers Association, all of which welcomed the ruling.
In a statement, Californians for Affordable Packaging said the coalition “will continue to press the case that California can strengthen recycling without censoring truthful information on packaging and without adding unnecessary and significant costs for California families and businesses”.
The LA Times report noted that the dispute follows widely circulated reports showing very low recycling rates for milk cartons and polystyrene.
Plastic items that are not recyclable are generally sent to landfill or, at times, shipped abroad illegally, where they are burned or end up in landfill sites, rivers and waterways.
“All you have to do is look at the numbers. These products are not getting recycled, despite what the industry is claiming. They are just confusing consumers, clogging the waste stream, polluting the environment, leading to higher and higher prices for local governments and ratepayers,” said senator Ben Allen, who wrote the bill.
“These recycling symbols are there to help to inform the system, and people. Not to confuse people who see the symbols and assume they can be recycled.”
California also has another law requiring “truthful” labels. Bonta has relied on that statute to sue ExxonMobil and Novolex, a maker of plastic bags, over environmental claims.
