Judge Blocks California Law Restricting Recycling Symbol Use

U.S. District Judge William Hayes issued a preliminary injunction last month after food, packaging and retail groups sued, finding key provisions unconstitutionally vague and likely infringing protected commercial speech. The law, passed in 2021, was set to take effect this fall. Environmental advocates said the decision undermines efforts to remove the symbol from plastic products, citing a statewide study showing only a fraction are widely collected and recycled.

SB 343 would have allowed the symbol only on goods accepted by recycling programs serving at least 60 percent of Californians and actually sorted for recycling. Hayes argued the law would not advance California's legitimate interests, as companies might remove the symbol rather than redesign products, potentially sending more items to landfills. He suggested a less stringent rule, such as labels with qualifiers like accepted by recyclers in the greater Los Angeles area but nowhere else in California, could better inform consumers. Nick Lapis, advocacy director for Californians Against Waste, called the ruling a familiar tactic by the plastics industry to hide behind the Constitution.