A lawsuit filed in San Mateo County, Calif., Superior Court follows a rising public outcry about plastics pollution and initiatives by state and federal lawmakers to force companies to take ownership of the material they use to package their products.
California’s Legislature is reviewing measures that would impose extended producer responsibility (EPR), requiring food and drink producers to devise plans to capture empty containers, PHYS ORG reports. The lawsuit could face a hurdle over whether a California court is the proper venue for the dispute. California law provides for “public nuisance” claims, but oil companies facing lawsuits over their contribution to climate change have argued that claims involving national and international companies should be heard in federal court, the report notes.
