California’s Department of Justice has secured a combined $3.35 million settlement with major plastic bag manufacturers over alleged misrepresentation of recyclability claims and violations of state environmental laws.
The move follows a multi-year investigation led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta into whether bags marketed as “recyclable” in the state were in fact recyclable under existing regulations.
Seven producers are now responsible for more than $5.1 million in penalties and legal costs under separate settlements and consent judgments.
Settlements resolve alleged misleading recyclability claims
The settlements involve three plastic bag producers — Novolex Holdings, Inteplast Group and Mettler Packaging — which agreed to pay a total of $3.35 million in civil penalties and attorneys’ fees to resolve claims they sold non-recyclable plastic bags in California while representing them as recyclable.
Novolex agreed to pay $1.65m, Inteplast $1m and Mettler $700,000. These agreements conclude enforcement actions alleging violations of California’s Environmental Marketing Claims Act (EMCA), False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law, as well as Senate Bill 270, the state’s plastic bag law.
The settlements with the three producers follow earlier agreements with four other manufacturers — Revolution Sustainable Solutions, Metro Poly, PreZero US Packaging and Advance Polybag — who paid penalties and agreed to cease selling plastic bags in the state.
Combined, all seven producers will pay more than $5.1m and stop supplying non-compliant products in advance of legislative changes.
Legal and regulatory framework behind enforcement
California’s enforcement stems from SB 270, originally enacted to ban single-use plastic carry-out bags unless they met stringent recyclability and reuse criteria.
Investigators found that despite being marketed as recyclable, many of the bags could not be processed for recycling by the vast majority of facilities in the state.
A statewide survey indicated that only a small number of recycling facilities claim they accept plastic bags, and even those could not confirm actual recycling processes.
Under the Environmental Marketing Claims Act, environmental claims must be substantiated with evidence that products are genuinely recyclable in practice, not just in theory.
Regulators said the producers failed to provide documentation showing how or where their bags were recycled within California, or the volume of bags processed, making claims of recyclability misleading to consumers and businesses alike.
Broader context and implications for plastic waste management
The settlements coincide with the upcoming implementation of SB 1053, a new California law effective from 1 January 2026 that bans all plastic checkout bags in retail outlets and requires stores to offer either recycled paper bags or allow customers to use their own reusable alternatives.
Six of the seven settled producers agreed to stop selling plastic bags before the law’s effective date.
Officials say the actions are part of a broader effort to reduce plastic pollution, citing environmental concerns about waste accumulation in landfills and natural ecosystems when bags labelled “recyclable” are not actually recycled.
The decisions by courts and regulators have implications for how environmental claims are made in product marketing and reinforce the need for concrete recycling pathways that match such claims.
Manufacturers involved in the settlements did not admit liability under the consent judgments, and negotiations included provisions for permanent injunctive relief against future non-compliant sales in California.
