Seventeen states, led by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, have filed a lawsuit against California challenging its single-use plastics law, which took effect on May 1. The legal action was initiated in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento on Monday and includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia as plaintiffs. The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors is also participating in the suit.

The coalition seeks an immediate injunction to block enforcement of California’s State Senate Bill 54, known as the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022. The legislation aims to reduce plastic waste by requiring producers to manage packaging waste more responsibly, marking a significant step in environmental regulation.

In a news statement, Hilgers criticized the law, asserting that California’s policy imposes burdens that extend beyond its borders and may result in higher consumer costs nationwide. “Once again, California is trying to enact a policy that negatively impacts the rest of the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, a coalition of environmental groups also filed a separate lawsuit against California over the same statute. Those groups contend that the regulations finalized by the state contain substantial loopholes that effectively undermine the law’s intended environmental protections.

The conflicting lawsuits underscore the contentious nature of California’s plastics regulations, reflecting tensions between state-led environmental initiatives and concerns from other states and industry stakeholders about economic repercussions and regulatory overreach. The outcome of these legal challenges could have broad implications for plastic waste policy both within California and across the United States.