California AG Sues Water Bottle Companies over Biodegradability

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris filed a “greenwashing” lawsuit recently against three companies alleged to have made false and misleading claims by marketing plastic water bottles as “100 percent biodegradable and recyclable.”

It is illegal under California law to label a plastic food or beverage container as biodegradable.

Plastic takes thousands of years to biodegrade and may never do so in a landfill. The lawsuit is the first government action to enforce the state’s landmark environmental marketing law, according to Harris.

“These companies’ actions violate state law and mislead consumers,” Harris said in a statement.”

Balance and AquaMantra sell their products in plastic water bottles marketed by ENSO Plastics LLC. The bottles’ labeling states that the bottles will break down in less than five years in a typical landfill or compost environment, but the additive does not speed up the centuries-long process required to break down plastic.

The claim of recycling is also deceptive. The microbial additive put into the bottle is considered by the Association of Post Consumer Plastic Recyclers to be a “destructive contaminant.”

The California Legislature banned the use of words like “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decomposable” in the labeling of plastic food or beverage containers. A bill signed by the Governor this year will expand that law to all plastic products beginning in 2013.

Topics Lawsuits California