Support SB 1180. Make California's Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund Work

California's ocean and coast don't just face threats from what's in the water — they face threats from what's in the air, in the soil, and increasingly, in our blood. Plastic pollution is a statewide public health and environmental crisis, and in 2022, California took a landmark step to address it.

SB 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, established one of the most ambitious plastic reduction frameworks in the nation. At its center is the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund (PPMF) — a $500 million annual investment, for 10 years, funded by plastic producers and designed 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.

The problem: Intentions without accountability

Under current law, the PPMF's spending parameters are broad. Without clear direction, this historic $5 billion investment could be funneled toward ineffective downstream cleanup projects, industry-backed false solutions or programs entirely unrelated to plastic pollution mitigation. The communities that bear the greatest burden of plastic pollution – environmental justice communities, communities of color, low-income residents living near plastic production and waste facilities – could be left behind.

California cannot afford that outcome.

The solution: SB 1180 (Allen)

SB 1180 provides the statutory framework needed to ensure the PPMF actually delivers. The bill:

• Requires that every PPMF expenditure achieve specific public health and environmental outcomes, with meaningful community engagement in project planning and implementation
• Mandates technical assistance for grantees, standardized simplified grant applications, timely project initiation, and reimbursement of indirect costs, so that community-based organizations can actually access these funds
• Expands the definition of eligible fund recipients beyond those specified in SB 54
• Requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to publish annual, comprehensive public accounting of all PPMF expenditures

SB 1180 also reinforces the law's original intent: that 60% of the fund address environmental justice and public health impacts of plastics, and that investments prioritize lifecycle-based solutions, reducing plastic production at the source, not just cleaning up the mess downstream.

Support SB 1180. Protect California's communities. Protect California's ocean.