California Starts Packaging Fees on 5,700 Producers as Law Could Add $190 to Household Costs
Updated
Updated · Fox Business · Jul 15
California Starts Packaging Fees on 5,700 Producers as Law Could Add $190 to Household Costs
3 articles · Updated · Fox Business · Jul 15
Summary
Next month, California will begin collecting preliminary fees under its 2022 packaging law, making manufacturers help fund recycling and disposal of the packaging they sell.
CalRecycle estimates household costs could rise by as much as $190 a year—about $66 per person—if producers pass all compliance costs through to consumers.
Roughly 5,700 large producers will face the rules, with average annual compliance costs topping $450,000; harder-to-recycle packaging will draw higher fees than recyclable or compostable materials.
State regulators say the law is meant to cut plastic pollution, expand recycling infrastructure and shift waste-management costs from taxpayers and local governments to producers.
By 2032, all covered packaging sold in California must be recyclable or compostable, though industry groups warn grocery prices could climb more than the state's projections suggest.