New bill introduced to tethered caps in California

Senator Steve Padilla, the California State Senate in the US, introduced Senate Bill 45 that require plastic beverage container to have attached bottle cap by 2027, as in the law in the European Union.

Tethered caps. (Source: UNITED CAPS)

“Plastic caps and other litter are choking the diverse marine life we share these waters with. Bottle-tethering is an important tool in the fight to reduce the mountains of plastic waste polluting our beaches, rivers, and oceans,” said Senator Padilla.

In 2018, the EU announced a directive to phase out loose plastic bottle caps to reduce single-use plastics by mid-2024. With the regulation now in effect, public opinion polling and surveys in the EU conducted by Sidel have found that consumers prefer tethered caps for reasons of convenience, cleanliness, environmental benefit, and recyclability.

The present single-use plastic caps are easily separated from bottles. This reduces their likelihood of being recycled and increases their likelihood of becoming litter. Since 1988, California Coastal Commission’s Cleanup day data has bottle caps listed as the third most common litter item collected on California beaches.

“In last year, more than 14 billion plastic beverage containers were sold in California. While better than 70% of the bottles were successfully recycled, the majority of 14 billion plastic caps were not,” said Mark Murray, executive director of the environmental group Californians Against Waste. 

Senate Bill 45 require plastic beverage containers less than three liters to have an attached bottle cap by 2027. Plastic beverage containers with a recycling rate greater than 70% will have an additional year – until 2028 – to comply.

Senate Bill 45 is supported by a broad coalition of environmental justice and community organizations. The bill will be heard in the Senate in the coming months.