https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/23-Da-s-Offices-Settle-With-Amazon-On-13125224.php
23 Da's Offices Settle With Amazon On Biodegradable Plastic Labeling Complaint
Bay City News Service
Published 9:50 pm PDT, Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Amazon Inc. and 23 county district attorney's offices in California have resolved a consumer protection complaint alleging Amazon misleadingly labeled its plastic products as "biodegradable" or "compostable," Napa County prosecutors said today.
Amazon agreed to pay $1,512,400 in civil penalties and investigative costs and agreed to pay CalRecycle $50,000 to test plastic products marketed to consumers as compostable or degradable, prosecutors said.
The judgment prohibits Amazon from selling plastic products labeled compostable, degradable, biodegradable or decompostable without scientific proof that the products can be composted.
Marketers seek to promote the sale of plastic products using misleading claims of biodegradability, and consumers are willing to pay a premium for products based on those claims, according to the district attorney's office.
The ability of plastic to decompose depends on the environment in which it's placed, and plastics can take hundreds of years to decompose in landfills. Biodegradable claims have been found by the state legislature to be inherently misleading, and California law bans the sale of plastics labeled biodegradable or similar language without disclaimers about how quickly they will biodegrade, prosecutors said.
Plastic products labeled compostable also are prohibited from sale unless they meet certain standards to ensure they will break down in municipal compost. Compostable plastic products have an "ASTM D6400" certification.
Napa County prosecutors said Amazon took immediate steps to stop sales of allegedly biodegradable plastic products and worked with prosecutors on the settlement.
"Given the increased focus on reducing plastic waste, this judgment will help ensure that customers are not misled about which plastic products will actually break down in the landfill or compost," Napa County Deputy District Attorney Patrick Collins said.
Alameda County was one of the 23 counties involved in the settlement and its district attorney, Nancy O'Malley, called the settlement "a win for environmentally conscious consumers and our environment."
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