California Plastic Ocean Debris Bill Dies In Committee

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A California bill that would have required manufacturers to figure out how to keep the most common plastic junk out of state waterways has died in the state Assembly without a vote.  Assembly Bill 521 was before the chamber’s Appropriations Committee on Friday. The panel held it without a vote, effectively killing the legislation for the session.

Each year cleanup crews throughout the U.S. collect millions of pounds of plastic trash from beaches and coastal waterways, with the biggest numbers coming from California’s 1,100-mile coastline. The “extended producer responsibility” bill was seeking to shift the cost of cleanup from local cities and counties to plastic products makers. It aimed to reduce 95 percent of plastic pollution along the state’s coastline by 2024.