Opinion: Change in plastic bottle caps will boost health, reduce pollution – San Diego Union-Tribune

Mar 19, 2025

As a champion of both small businesses and environmental protection, I am grateful for Subrenia Smith’s commentary regarding my Senate Bill 45 to reduce litter and the dangerous health impacts of plastics on human and marine life.

This measure is aimed at reducing the growing problem in California of plastic waste along our beaches, in our rivers and streams, and, ultimately, in our bodies, by requiring that the plastic bottle caps on plastic containers remain attached to the bottle during consumer use and through the recycling process.

While 70% of plastic beverage containers were recycled in California last year, the vast majority of plastic bottle caps were not. California beach cleanup data clearly shows that plastic bottle caps are twice as likely to become litter than their associated plastic bottles. Our beaches are full of these pieces of plastic that end up choking our marine life and polluting our waterways. Wildlife can often mistake plastic for food. These plastics can absorb pollutants in the water, which then can leach into the organism that eats them. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, lab studies have even shown chemicals in plastics may delay an animal’s development, cause problems with reproduction, and even make it difficult for them to fight off disease. However, animal contamination is not where the harms of plastic pollution end. Eventually, the larger plastics are broken down and find their way into our food chain in the form of microplastics.

There are studies that estimate the average person can eat, drink or breathe between 78,000 and 211,000 microplastic particles every year. Recently, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine found medical patients with high levels of microplastics were at a greater risk of a heart attack, a stroke or even death. As more research is conducted into the dangers of microplastics, we learn the risk that untethered caps and other sources of plastic pollution pose to public health.

We must address the growing plastic waste found on our shores not just for the sake of healthier oceans, but the sake of the health of Californians as well. Bottle-tethering is a simple change manufacturers can make to reduce the mountains of plastic waste polluting our beaches, rivers and oceans.

The large multinational beverage producers like Coca-Cola and Pepsi are already required to comply with this “tethered cap” requirement across Europe. For this reason, my Senate Bill 45 focuses this requirement on only large multinational producers of soda and water sold in plastic bottles.

The producers of beverages sold at smaller specialty stores like Caribbean Supply and dozens of others stores throughout San Diego will not be required to make any changes or incur any new costs. Even with this small business exemption, 97% of the 15 billion plastic beverage bottles sold in the state annually would be required to have tethered caps.

Some California-based bottle manufacturers have already begun to lead in this effort. Just last year, CG Roxane, the parent company of Crystal Geyser, made the switch to tethered caps on its 8-ounce bottles. Citing its mission to prioritize sustainability and the health of California consumers, Crystal Geyser took the initiative to make the change to help eliminate further plastic waste in our environment. But the company was sensitive to additional pressure placed on families as well. When asked if the tethered caps cost more, the vice president of operations at CG Roxane, Lionel Ferchaud, answered “Crystal Geyser does not differentiate between the price of a regular cap and the tethered cap,” meaning that the bottle did not increase in price after adopting the tether.

Thanks to leadership like this from California-based companies, we know we can protect the health of our waters and our residents while not placing further burdens on the consumer. When these regulations were being rolled out in Europe, manufacturers warned that costs would increase, but that threat has not been borne out in the current price of goods. This healthier future is possible because it is already evident on store shelves today.

I’m hopeful that with the adoption of this measure in California, the literally billions of plastic bottle caps that currently wind up as litter or waste will follow the plastic bottle for recycling.

Padilla represents California’s Senate District 18. He lives in Chula Vista.