The University of California announced Monday it will be phasing out single-use plastics on its 10 campuses over the next two years.
The list of banned items includes plastic bags, clamshell containers and plastic beverage bottles. The president’s office did not share how this could impact campus budgets.
In 2019 the Legislature took up the issue of plastic waste in two bills, which have now returned this week, just before the end of session.
Opponents said last year that the plastics reduction measures ignored existing efforts in the food and agriculture industry to find sustainable solutions. Industry groups also raised questions about food safety with alternative materials and argued that raising packaging costs for food producers would bump up food prices.
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UC also ditched glyphosate back in January. That decision came during a budget battle with the state but before the economic recession took hold. A task force had found it “extremely difficult” to estimate the financial impact for moving away from one of the most cost-effective herbicides on the market.
