California lawsuit says makers of plastic bags lied about products being recyclable

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California ramped up its efforts to curb plastic pollution Friday — suing three plastic-bag makers, alleging the companies falsely claimed their products were recyclable.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said companies Novolex Holdings, Inteplast Group and Mettler Packaging violated a state law passed in 2014 that banned plastic bags that weren't recyclable.

Under the law, shoppers could pay 10 cents for thicker plastic bags that needed to be reusable and recyclable. But the makers of the bags labeled them as recyclable even though they were not — recycling facilities cannot process them and they end up dumped in landfills, incinerated, or in the state’s waterways, Bonta said.

“In California, we’re making it clear," he said at a news conference. "Truth matters. Public trust matters. Environmental protection matters.”

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The state filed a similar lawsuit against ExxonMobil about a year ago over the oil giant’s plastic products. The lawsuit said the company deceived the public by falsely promising that its plastic products would be recycled. The oil giant said California’s recycling system was ineffective and that the state should have worked with the company to keep plastics out of landfills.

California lawmakers later decided the 2014 law didn’t go far enough. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law last year that will ban all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores starting next year.

At least a dozen states have some type of statewide plastic bag ban, according to the environmental advocacy group Environment America Research and Policy Center. Hundreds of cities also have their own bans.

Bonta announced Friday the state reached settlements with four other companies California alleged violated the 2014 law: Revolution Sustainable Solutions, Metro Poly, PreZero US Packaging and Advance Polybag. The businesses agreed to collectively pay the state nearly $1.8 million and halt plastic bag sales in California after selling the rest of their existing stock.

The lawsuit and settlements hold companies accountable for mislabeling their products as recyclable, said Nick Lapis, director of advocacy for environmental group Californians Against Waste.

“Plastic bags are a uniquely wasteful product," he said in an email. "Nothing we use for minutes should pollute our environment for centuries, especially something so lightweight that it’s practically designed to become litter.”