In 2022, California passed SB 54 (Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act), one of the most ambitious plastic reduction frameworks in the nation. At its center is the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund. Each year for ten years, $500 million will be paid into the fund by plastic producers to address the environmental and public health harms caused by the full life cycle of plastics.

The money exists. The mandate exists. What's been missing are the guardrails to make sure it works.

Without clear direction, this historic $5 billion investment could be funneled toward ineffective downstream cleanup projects, industry-backed false solutions, or programs unrelated to plastic pollution mitigation. The communities bearing the greatest burden of plastic pollution, environmental justice communities, communities of color, and low-income residents near plastic production and waste facilities, could also be left behind.

SB 1180 fixes that. It requires every Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund expenditure to prioritize programs and projects that benefit communities most burdened by plastic pollution and provide multiple public health and environmental health benefits. It mandates technical assistance for grantees, simplified grant applications, meaningful community engagement, and reimbursement of indirect costs so community-based organizations can actually access these funds. It also requires annual public accounting of all expenditures.