SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California ramped up its efforts to curb plastic pollution Friday — suing three plastic-bag makers, alleging the companies falsely claimed their products were recyclable.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said companies Novolex Holdings, Inteplast Group and Mettler Packaging violated a state law passed in 2014 that banned plastic bags at grocery store checkouts that weren't recyclable.
Under the law, shoppers could pay 10 cents for thicker plastic bags that needed to be reusable and recyclable. But the makers of the bags labeled them as recyclable even though they were not — recycling facilities cannot process them and they end up dumped in landfills, incinerated, or in the state’s waterways, Bonta said.
“In California, we’re making it clear," he said at a news conference. "Truth matters. Public trust matters. Environmental protection matters.”
The companies did not respond to email and phone requests for comment.
The state filed a similar lawsuit against ExxonMobil about a year ago over the oil giant’s plastic products. The lawsuit said the company deceived the public by falsely promising that its plastic products would be recycled. The oil giant said California’s recycling system was ineffective and that the state should have worked with the company to keep plastics out of landfills.
California lawmakers later decided the 2014 law didn’t go far enough. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law last year that will ban all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores starting next year.
At least a dozen states have some type of statewide plastic bag ban, according to the environmental advocacy group Environment America Research and Policy Center. Hundreds of cities also have their own bans.
Bonta announced Friday the state reached settlements with four other companies California alleged violated the 2014 law: Revolution Sustainable Solutions, Metro Poly, PreZero US Packaging and Advance Polybag. The businesses agreed to collectively pay the state nearly $1.8 million and halt plastic bag sales in California after selling the rest of their existing stock.
The lawsuit and settlements hold companies accountable for mislabeling their products as recyclable, said Nick Lapis, director of advocacy for environmental group Californians Against Waste.
“Plastic bags are a uniquely wasteful product," he said in an email. "Nothing we use for minutes should pollute our environment for centuries, especially something so lightweight that it’s practically designed to become litter.”
FILE - A plastic shopping bag liters the roadside in Sacramento, Calif, Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, file)
FILE - California Attorney General Rob Bonta comments on the Supreme Court's ruling overturning a federal judge's limits on "roving patrols" and enforcement stops by ICE agents in Southern California, during a news conference on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, file)
West Ham was relegated and Tottenham survived on an emotional final day of the Premier League season when Pep Guardiola and Mohamed Salah made their exits after record-breaking spells in English soccer.
West Ham beat Leeds 3-0 but that wasn't enough to climb out of the relegation zone because fourth-to-last Tottenham also won, 1-0 at home to Everton, to stay two points clear of its London rival.
That meant West Ham's 14-year stay in the Premier League was over and Tottenham, which won three of its last five games under recently hired coach Roberto De Zerbi, will be in the top division for a 49th straight season.
Guardiola's decade-long tenure at Manchester City — which has included six Premier League titles among 17 major trophies — ended with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa that featured a mid-match guard of honor for first Bernardo Silva and then John Stones, two of Guardiola's stalwarts.
Salah was given a standing ovation — before he kissed the Anfield turf — during his second-half substitution in his 442nd and last game for Liverpool, in which he grabbed an assist in a 1-1 draw with Brentford. The Egypt winger finished his nine years with the Reds with 257 goals.
Arsenal has already clinched the title and closed its first championship-winning campaign since 2004 with a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.
In the final shake-up for European qualification, Bournemouth and Sunderland finished sixth and seventh, respectively, to get into the Europa League and Brighton was eighth to reach the Conference League.
Brighton lost 3-0 at home to Manchester United, for whom Bruno Fernandes scored and got a record-setting 21st assist of the season.
Sunderland, which beat Chelsea 2-1, will be in Europe for the first time in 53 years — a remarkable achievement for a team in its first season back in the top division and which was in the third tier as recently as 2022.
Chelsea, on the contrary, missed out on European competition entirely after finishing in 10th place — 10 months after winning the Club World Cup.
Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, back to the camera, hugs team-mate Liverpool's Andrew Robertson as he is substituted off on his final appearance during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Brentford, in Liverpool, England, Sunday May 24, 2026. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola waves ahead of his last match as a manager before a Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Aston Villa in Manchester, England, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola hugs Manchester City's Bernardo Silva as he played last match for the team during a Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Aston Villa in Manchester, England, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Tottenham's Joao Palhinha celebrates scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton in London, England, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen, left, looks down towards the ground during the Premier League match between West Ham and Leeds United, in London, Sunday May 24, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah runs during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Liverpool in Birmingham, England, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
FILE - Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola, right, and Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak celebrate with the Premier League trophy after the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Manchester City clinched the English Premier League on Sunday after beating West Ham in their last match of the season. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, File)
From left, West Ham United's Konstantinos Mavropanos, Jarrod Bowen and Valentin Castellanos applauds the fans following their English Premier League soccer match against Newcastle United in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
