She referred to a report from the Circular Action Alliance, the state-sanctioned group established to represent and oversee the implementation of the law on behalf of the plastic and packaging industry. It finds the law will increase the cost of disposal between six and 14 times for common products, such as Windex bottles, made of polyethylene terephthalate.

“If the producers don’t successfully sue to stop the fees, this will certainly add to product inflation for CA consumers,” she said in an email. “Californians already have to pay exorbitantly high curbside collection fees for trash, recycling, and organics ... so, starting in 2027, our groceries will cost a LOT more but we won’t see a reduction in our waste bills.”

Right, I forgot about those Windex Chocolates that I buy every week.

It sure would be nice to see some reporting touch on important aspects that are less obvious, such as where does TetraPak fit in? I think it’s a plasticky cardboard that is currently somehow partially recyclable into shingles, and I believe it’s the only sterile milk container alternative to HDPE currently in common use.

I don’t remember back in the day when stuff like milk and Coke came is glass bottles that were returned in an orderly fashion, washed, sterilized, and reused with new disposable metal or cardboard lids, but I’ve heard that was common. Is there a particular scaling problem with that kind of infrastructure? Did it get outlawed due to falsified safety concerns lobbied by plastics manufacturers, or simply become too expensive next to single use plastics?