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California Sues Three Plastic-Bag Makers as Four Others Settle in Recyclability Crackdown

State prosecutors say a two-year probe showed bags marketed as recyclable are not actually recycled in California.

FILE: A shopper uses plastic grocery bags after shopping at the 99 Cents Only Store in Los Angeles. 
FILE: Shoppers walk with plastic bags in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood. 
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Two bills that moving through the California Legislature would prohibit supermarkets and retail stores from providing ‘resuable’ plastic bags to shoppers, on the grounds that they cause litter and pollute the ocean. Voters banned single-use plastic bags in 2016, but the thicker bags had been allowed to stay. (Photo: Paul Rogers, Bay Area News Group)

Overview

  • Attorney General Rob Bonta filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court against Novolex, Inteplast and Mettler, alleging violations of SB 270, false advertising and unfair competition laws.
  • Four manufacturers—Revolution, Metro Poly, PreZero and Advance Polybag—agreed to halt California sales and pay a combined $1.75 million, with settlements subject to court approval.
  • Settlement terms require sworn declarations that sales have ceased and disclosure of all California customers dating to 2021.
  • Investigators said the companies could not substantiate recyclability claims under subpoena, and a survey of 69 facilities found only two even claimed to accept bags, with no confirmation of actual recycling.
  • Bonta seeks civil penalties, profit disgorgement and injunctions, and a separate law bans thicker grocery bags statewide starting Jan. 1, 2026.