Single Use Plastics - Smarter Sustainability

Our Challenge: The debate over single-use plastic bottles in California has been extremely contentious and carries national implications. Throughout the state, local municipalities have taken actions to ban and/or severely restrict single-use plastics, but economic disparities across regions of the state have meant that there is no one-size-fits-all solution or schedule. During the 2019 legislative year, efforts to ban single-use plastic reached a new level, with three major pieces of legislation being debated.

Our Approach: JCI joined several key companies within the industry and the environmental community together to make sure the parties worked together to reach a compromise that would be embraced and supported by the legislature.

Our Results: JCI was successful in educating several key stakeholders. From environmental activists wanting concrete change, to housing activists fighting for recycling centers as a vital resource for homeless Californians, to rural communities in the Central Valley dependent on bottled water due to pollution, to companies transitioning to greener practices but needing a realistic timeline for meeting their goals, JCI was able to bring diverse audiences to stand behind a compromise that benefited everyone.