Attorney General Bonta Announces $3.35 Million Settlement with Plastic Bag Manufacturers

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced settlements totaling $3.35 million with three major plastic bag producers, Novolex Holdings, LLC (Novolex), Inteplast Group Corporation (Interplast), and Mettler Packaging LLC (Mettler), resolving allegations that the companies violated Senate Bill (SB) 270, the Environmental Marketing Claims Act (EMCA), False Advertising Law, and Unfair Competition Law by unlawfully marketing and selling non-recyclable plastic bags in California.

This follows earlier settlements with four other plastic bag producers - Revolution Sustainable Solutions (CA), LLC (Revolution), Metro Poly Corp. (Metro Poly), PreZero US Packaging, LLC (PreZero), and Advance Polybag, Inc. (API) - that were announced in October 2025. Altogether, the seven producers have agreed to pay over $5.1 million in penalties and attorneys' fees. Effective January 1, 2026, another law (SB 1053, authored by Senator Catherine Blakespear) prohibits retailers from providing plastic bags to consumers at checkout counters, requiring that stores instead offer only recycled paper bags or allow customers to bring their own reusable bags. Six of the producers also agreed to stop selling plastic bags in California in advance of SB 1053's effective date.

"Plastic bag manufacturers have generated enormous amounts of plastic waste, which pollute California's environment and harm our communities," said Attorney General Bonta. "At the California Department of Justice, we are committed to tackling the global plastic pollution crisis and the corporations behind it. Going forward, we will monitor compliance with SB 1053, to ensure that the law's goals of reducing plastic bag waste are met."

Single-use plastics, including plastic bags, comprise much of the plastic waste that escapes into the environment. Plastic bags block waterways, pollute ecosystems, and harm wildlife. Plastic does not biodegrade; instead, it breaks down into smaller pieces called microplastics. Microplastics have been found in drinking water, food, and even the air people breathe. More recently, microplastics have been found inside the human body: in our lungs, blood, and in breast milk.

The producers at issue here have provided billions of plastic bags used by California grocery retailers and have certified that these bags meet recyclability requirements as required by SB 270. However, despite the manufacturers' claims and widespread consumer belief, these plastic bags cannot be recycled to any significant degree and thus are not "recyclable," let alone "recyclable in this state," as SB 270 required. The Attorney General is responsible for the enforcement of California's laws, including SB 270 and the state's unfair competition, false advertising, and misleading environmental marketing laws.

In November 2022, Attorney General Bonta launched an investigation into producers of plastic bags over concerns that their recyclability claims are misleading. The Attorney General sent demand letters and subsequently issued investigative subpoenas, requiring producers to substantiate their claims that their bags are recyclable, including evidence supporting the producers' implicit and explicit representations of their bags' recyclability, such as by placing the chasing arrows symbol on the bags.

The producers were unable to produce any documents with information regarding the quantity of plastic bags that are recycled at the producers' own facilities; provide any firm evidence that recycling facilities in California recycle plastic bags, including facilities that producers identified as those they believe recycle their bags; or identify the percentage of plastic bags the producers sold to stores in California that were recycled. The producers also affirmed that their plastic bags display the chasing arrows symbol and direct consumers to recycle the bags, which are "claims" subject to the EMCA. Additionally, the investigation included a statewide survey to verify whether waste processing and recycling facilities accept plastic bags for recycling. Out of the 69 facilities surveyed, only two claimed to accept plastic bags, but could not confirm the bags were, in fact, recycled. This survey confirmed that the vast majority of facilities in California do not accept plastic bags or process them for recycling.

Attorney General Bonta obtained settlements in October 2025 with Revolution, Metro Poly, PreZero, and API, who agreed to stop sell plastic bags in California and collectively paid $1,753,000. We concurrently filed a lawsuit against Novolex, Inteplast, and Mettler. As part of the settlements announced today, Novolex will pay $1,650,000, Inteplast will pay $1,000,000, and Mettler will pay $700,000. These settlement amounts bring the total for all seven producers in this matter to $5,103,000, which includes $3,475,000 in civil penalties and $1,628,000 in attorneys' fees and costs.