Federal Court Blocks California’s “Truth in Recycling” Law on First Amendment Grounds
A federal court has preliminarily blocked California’s “Truth in Recycling” law, ruling that its restrictions on recyclability claims are likely unconstitutional under the First Amendment and finding that several of its key provisions are impermissibly vague under the Fourteenth Amendment. In a July 14, 2026, order, the Southern District of California concluded that although the […]
Bill Targets Misleading Recycled Content Claims, Endorses Mass-Balance Accounting
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation to prohibit misleading recycled content claims and establish mass-balance accounting as an acceptable method for substantiating them. The Recycled Materials Attribution Act of 2026 was introduced by Rep. Langworthy (R-NY) on February 11, 2026, and is currently pending before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The text […]
California Settles $1.75M Lawsuit Over False Plastic Bag Recycling Claims, Launches Another
California’s attorney general has reached a $1.75 million settlement with four plastic bag producers and initiated a lawsuit against three more, alleging that the companies falsely claimed their plastic bags were recyclable to comply with a state ban on single-use plastic bags known as SB 270. According to the October 17, 2025, announcement, the defendants […]
EPR Packaging Laws: Key Requirements and Compliance Challenges
A significant regulatory shift is underway across the United States as multiple states adopt extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws targeting packaging waste. In 2025, Maryland and Washington State joined a growing list of jurisdictions—including Maine, Oregon, Colorado, California, and Minnesota—that now require producers of packaged goods to engage in one or more of the following: […]
California Sues ExxonMobil for Deceptive Marketing on Plastic Recycling
ExxonMobil deceived the people of California by falsely promoting single-use plastics as sustainable, a complaint filed by California’s attorney general on September 23, 2024, alleges. The lawsuit, filed in the San Francisco County Superior Court, argues that ExxonMobil conducted a “decades-long campaign of deception” to convince the public that plastics recycling was a sustainable solution […]
Class Action Against Coca-Cola for “100% Recyclable” Claims Advances
A proposed class action against Coca-Cola and other companies selling bottled water can proceed after the plaintiffs provided survey results indicating that consumers may be misled by Coca-Cola’s recyclability claims, the Northern District of California ruled in the case Swartz v. The Coca-Cola Co., No. 3:21-cv-04643. Crucial to the case are the Federal Trade Commission’s […]
EPA Releases Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution
In April, EPA released the Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution. This strategy document, part of EPA’s Series on Building a Circular Economy for All, outlines voluntary actions aimed at eliminating plastic waste released into the environment from land-based sources by 2040. Under this plan, EPA seeks to reduce, reuse, recycle, collect, and capture […]
Coca-Cola Wins Greenwashing Case
The DC Superior Court has granted Coca-Cola Company’s motion to dismiss a 2021 lawsuit filed against it for false and deceptive marketing practices. Plaintiffs argued that the company had falsely represented itself as a sustainable and environmentally friendly company. The 2021 Complaint alleged that Coca-Cola’s representations violate the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act […]
Partnering with EPA's Design for Environment at Walmart Sustainable Products Expo.
EPA is a significant partner to companies leading innovation efforts in the arena of safer consumer products, according to Assistant Administrator Jim Jones, of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. In a blog post yesterday, Jones describes how EPA’s Design for Environment (DfE) program recently participated in a “Supplier Panel on Sustainable Chemistry” […]