Recycling: plastic products.

Existing law prohibits a person from selling a plastic bag or a plastic food or beverage container that is labeled as "compostable" or "marine degradable" unless that plastic bag or container meets certain American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard specifications or a standard adopted by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. Existing law prohibits the sale of a plastic bag or plastic food or beverage container that is labeled as "biodegradable," "degradable," "decomposable," or as otherwise specified. Existing law provides for the imposition of a civil penalty for a violation of these prohibitions. This bill would repeal those prohibitions and would instead prohibit the sale of a plastic product, as defined, labeled as "compostable" or "marine degradable" unless it meets those ASTM standard specifications or a standard adopted by the department, or unless the plastic product is labeled with a qualified claim for which the department has adopted an existing standard, and the plastic product meets that standard. The bill would prohibit the sale of a plastic product that is labeled as "biodegradable," "degradable," "decomposable," or as otherwise specified. The bill would provide for the imposition of a civil penalty for a violation of those prohibitions. The bill would state legislative findings and declarations regarding plastic litter.