The Senate on Sunday passed Assembly Bill 1080, which aims to cut down on single-use plastics in packaging.
Sen. Ben Allen of Santa Monica, who has an identical bill in the Senate, said both authors have “worked tirelessly since June to resolve the issues” in the bills. Among the latest amendments, AB 1080 now exempts growers who package food on their farms. According to Allen, Western Growers pushed successfully for the bill to consider food waste and federal packaging requirements.
Despite this, dozens of ag groups remain heavily opposed.
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“We just haven't been able to get to a place where we're comfortable enough with this policy,” Mathew Allen of Western Growers told Agri-Pulse. He explained that the bills don’t exempt the transportation of products to the packing shed or processing plant, for example.
Allen's Senate Bill 54 remains in the Assembly on Monday. AB 1080 is expected to gain its final votes in the Assembly today before heading to the governor's desk.
