Plastics Programs and Resources

Plastics have been a cost-effective material with many uses in our society.
However, plastic pollution can harm our environment and human health.

Recycling Plastic

  • Items made from different plastic types cannot be recycled together.
  • Some items made of multi-layers or pieces of different plastic types cannot be separated for recycling.
  • Plastic degrades every time it is recycled, so it usually only gets recycled once or twice.
  • Recent issues like international restrictions on importing plastics have impacted the demand for plastic recyclables.

Learn more about recycling in California: State of Disposal and Recycling in California Report.

CalRecycle Programs

CalRecycle works to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic and other resources to protect California’s environment and build a circular economy across all materials.

CalRecycle addresses plastic waste in a number of ways, including:

California is addressing plastic waste by building a circular economy with efforts to:

  • Cut the amount of plastic waste made.
  • Invest and expand domestic recycling.
  • Increase market demand for recycled plastic by using more recycled content.
  • Focus on reuse and refilling rather than single-use products.
  • Launch Extended Producer Responsibility programs that make producers responsible for end-of-life management of plastic packaging.