FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 12, 2024

Senator Padilla Introduces Bill to Require Bottle Manufacturers Tether Caps to Bottles

SACRAMENTO – Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) introduced Senate Bill 45, curbing plastic pollution by requiring plastic beverage container manufacturers to tether caps to bottles by 2027, as is the law in the European Union.

Below is an image of a seabird that perished after ingesting multiple plastic bottle caps. WARNING: Viewers may find the image graphic or disturbing.

Photo by Chris Jordan; www.chrisjordan.com.

Single-use plastic caps are easily separated from bottles reducing their likelihood of being recycled, and increasing their likelihood of becoming litter.

Multiple litter studies and waste audits show that plastic bottle caps are one of the most common litter and waste items—many times greater than their associated plastic bottles.

More than 14 billion plastic beverage containers and plastic caps are generated in California annually, and while 70% of those bottles are recycled, litter and waste data suggest that just a fraction of the 44 million pounds of plastic bottle caps generated each year are properly recycled [Source].
Since 1988, California Coastal Commission’s Cleanup day data has bottle caps listed as the third most common litter item collected on California beaches [Source].
In 2023, plastic bottle caps were the 3rd most common item found littered on California beaches, and at three-times the rate of associated plastic bottles [Source].
Because of their size, shape, and color, discarded plastic bottle caps are frequently mistaken for food and ingested, posing a major choking and toxicity hazard to marine life. This problem is so severe that plastic bottle caps are classified among the top 5 most deadly marine debris items for sea life [Source]. Below is an image of a seabird carcass full of ingested bottle caps. WARNING: Viewers may find the image graphic or disturbing.
Plastic bottle caps that are not attached to a bottle are likely to end up in the residual material at a materials recovery facility (MRF) and be sent to a landfill or incinerator. This is because the caps are too small and light for the MRF's equipment to handle.

Examples of tethered bottles are pictured below:

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

“California’s iconic coastline and marine ecosystems are treasured around the world,” said Senator Padilla. “But, plastic caps and other litter are choking the diverse marine life we share these waters with. These micro plastics even find their way into our food chain, poisoning us as well. We have to end our addiction to plastic for the sake of healthier oceans for generations of Californians to come. Bottle-tethering is an important tool in the fight to reduce the mountains of plastic waste polluting our beaches, rivers, and oceans.”

SB 45 would build off what some California manufactures are already doing and 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 percent will have an additional year—until 2028—to comply.

Senate Bill 45 is supported by a broad coalition of environmental justice and community organizations.

“In the last year, more than 14 billion plastic beverage containers were sold in California. And while better than 70 percent of the bottles were successfully recycled in the state, the majority of the 14 billion plastic caps were not,” said Mark Murray, executive director of the environmental group Californians Against Waste. “Loose plastic bottle caps represent a disproportionate and hazardous source of plastic pollution."

“Nothing we use for a few minutes should pollute the environment for hundreds of years,” said Laura Deehan, Director of Environment California. “Common-sense solutions, such as tethered bottle caps, reduce litter and protect marine life from needlessly being harmed by choking hazards.”

“WILDCOAST strongly endorses efforts to reduce the plague of plastic bottle caps that litter our beaches and harm our wildlife,” said Serge Dedina, Ph.D., Executive Director of WILDCOAST. “California must continue to lead the world in reducing ocean bound plastic and this bill would have a big impact on keeping our beaches and wildlife healthy and safe.”

This year alone, Surfrider volunteers have cleaned up nearly 30,000 plastic bottle caps along our nation’s coast:

“Plastic caps are mistaken for food by sea turtles, seabirds, whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions and other creatures, cause terrible harm in the form of internal injuries, starvation, and toxic poisoning from these plastic products,” said Jennifer Savage, California Policy Associate Director, Surfrider Foundation. “Even caps that aren't ingested consumed hurt the marine environment by breaking down into microplastics that make their way into the food chain and changing ocean habitats into an ever more plasticized version of the natural world we love and should be protecting. This bill is a simple, straightforward way to stop this awful, preventable harm currently being caused. Surfrider Foundation appreciates Senator Padilla's leadership and is pleased to support SB 45.”

“In this era of human-generated pollution, we must use every tool available to protect our planet's health and well-being,” said Ali Mariko Dressel, MAS Marine Biodiversity & Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, ResilienSEA Immersive. “Plastic pollution is one of the greatest threats of our times with consequences (in the form of microplastics, health hazards, endocrine disruptors, and more) that we will see for generations to come. Senator Padilla's bill to tether plastic bottle caps takes lessons learned and success stories from Europe and applies them here, once again making California a leader in taking action to stop pollution where it counts. As we transition away from plastic production entirely, this bill will help protect marine life, keep our beaches clean, and help reduce the epidemic of microplastics polluting our ocean and overall health.”

Senate Bill 45 will be heard in the Senate in the coming months.

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Originally posted by the Office of Senator Steve Padilla

Steve Padilla represents the 18th Senate District, which includes the communities of Chula Vista, the Coachella Valley, Imperial Beach, the Imperial Valley, National City, and San Diego. Prior to his election to the Senate in 2022, Senator Padilla was the first person of color ever elected to city office in Chula Vista, the first Latino Mayor, and the first openly LGBT person to serve or be elected to city office. Website of Senator Steve Padilla: https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/