The Toy Association advocates for uniform packaging regulations in California

Toy Association senior director of state government affairs Erin Raden met with legislators and other stakeholders in Sacramento, California, to support the association’s advocacy and regulatory work on several priorities, including extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs and emerging packaging policies. Meetings were part of it Ameripen Legislative Entrywhich took place on May 13-15.

“With many different packaging policies being proposed across states every day, the association’s overarching goal is to advocate for uniform legislation and regulations that make compliance easy and effective,” he said Ed Desmond, executive vice president of global government and regulatory affairs at The Toy Association. “Meeting with legislators in Sacramento allowed us to achieve our goal by urging them to avoid creating overlapping regulations that make compliance more difficult and costly for companies.”

Fly-In focused primarily on California’s AB 2761, which enacts the Toxic Substances in Packaging Reduction Act, which as of January prohibits any company from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, or distributing plastic packaging containing PFAS, PVC, or PVDC in the state. However, the state has already passed SB 54 (also known as the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act), the largest comprehensive EPR program in the country, which already addresses issues addressed in AB 2761. The Toy Association urged lawmakers to uphold their commitment under negotiations on SB 54 to avoid creating new, individual regulations on the same topic that would disrupt the regulatory process.

While in Sacramento, Raden and other Ameripen members also met with Mindy McIntyre, principal deputy director of the California Department of Recycling and Resource Recovery (CalRecycle), the agency that administers the state’s recycling and waste management programs. Raden reiterated his concerns about the SB 54 rulemaking proposal at the meeting and offered industry expertise for the future.

“The Toy Association’s involvement in California SB 54 is critical to ensuring the industry is able to adapt to the new regulations and achieve recycling and de-sourcing goals.” Raden he said. “It was really nice to hear that CalRecycle is open to and appreciates industry feedback.”

The Toy Association is a new member of Ameripen, an organization focused on U.S. public policy in the packaging industry. By joining forces with Ameripen, the Association can ensure the effective representation of the interests of the toy industry in law-making processes.

The Toy Association will continue to keep its members informed of developments in this matter. Any questions may be directed to Erin Raden.

-Original song written by The Toy Association-