An Update on California Flexible Packaging Measures

California legislators have continued pursuing legislation limiting both chemicals and recycling processes for flexible packaging.

AB 1148, which carried over from 2025, proposes to prohibit the use of intentionally added bisphenols and ortho-phthalates from food packaging by January 1, 2027. The measure also authorized the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to establish a threshold of the presence of unintentionally added bisphenols and ortho-phthalates in food packaging.

New legislation was also introduced to prohibit the use of mass balance accounting methods when making a marketing claim that a product is made from recycled content.

This bill, AB 2253, received opposition from a broad coalition of industry groups, many of which may be noncompliant with recycled content mandates if mass balance accounting methods are prohibited.

Similarly, SB 1180 was introduced to direct the Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund under SB 54, which is the state’s extended producer responsibility law for packaging, to be focused on efforts to reduce the production of plastic in California, rather than its intended purpose of mitigation and cleanup.

SB 1180 received opposition from a coalition of industry groups highlighting that, when SB 54 is fully implemented, there would be source reduction mandates that are focused on the reduction of plastic production.

More will be known about these measures in August.

Edwin Borbon is a government affairs associate with Serlin Haley. Andy Hackman is principal lobbyist at the firm. Gregory Melkonian is a regulatory and government affairs analyst.