California’s Recycling Symbol Crackdown Halted: Free Speech Wins First Round Against ‘Truth in Recycling’ Rules

Federal judge halts California recycling-label law, citing vague rules and free-speech concerns

A federal judge has halted California from enforcing a new recycling-label law just before it was set to take effect, interrupting the state's effort to crack down on misleading claims on packaging. As Courthouse News reported, the pause adds more uncertainty for shoppers and recycling programs already grappling with plastic contamination and confusion over what can actually go in the bin. What happened? Senior U.S. District Judge William Hayes …

California’s Recycling Symbol Crackdown Halted: Free Speech Wins First Round Against ‘Truth in Recycling’ Rules

A federal judge in San Diego just put California’s ambitious plan to clean up recycling labels on ice. Senior U.S. District Judge William Hayes issued a preliminary injunction this week blocking key parts of Senate Bill 343. The measure, known as the Truth in Recycling law, aimed to stop manufacturers from slapping chasing-arrows symbols on plastics and other packaging unless those items actually get recycled at scale in the state. The ruling la…

The First Amendment Meets the Chasing Arrows: Federal Court Blocks Enforcement of California’s SB 343

IntroductionIn our earlier Earth Day post, we provided an overview of California Senate Bill 343 — the landmark law that rewrites the rules governing when and how recyclability claims may be made on products and packaging sold in California. We noted that a coalition of trade associations had filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California challenging SB 343 on First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment Due Process gr…

California's 'Truth in Recycling' Law Blocked by Judge

An anonymous reader shared this report from the Los Angeles Times: A federal judge has halted California's groundbreaking "Truth in Recycling" law, which aims to reduce consumer confusion about which packaging can be recycled. [Originally planned to take effect October 4th], California's recyclable packaging law prohibits manufacturers from using a "chasing arrows" recycling symbol on products or materials unless they are actually being recycled…