Former EPA Attorney Stacey Halliday Talks CA Compostable Packaging Uncertainty with Packaging Dive
Stacey Halliday, Arnold & Porter Environmental partner and former attorney at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was recently quoted in the Packaging Dive article, “BPI Still Seeking Compost Rulemaking at USDA,” which examined the Biodegradable Products Institute’s longstanding efforts to secure the regulatory clarity for compostable packaging in California.
Stacey discussed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Standards Board recommendation against adding synthetic compostable materials to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, explaining that it may signal a longer timeline than many producers had previously expected.
“The decision from NOSB suggests that this is going to be a much longer road than even June ’27,” she said, highlighting the multi-year process usually involved in NOSB reviews.
Stacey also noted CalRecycle’s likely focus on building the broader implementation infrastructure for the nascent SB 54, which establishes a new extended producer responsibility program for packaging, applicable well beyond compostable materials and with much to be resolved before the program is expected to be active in 2027.
Because there are so many aspects of the program under development, Stacey highlighted that it’s unclear whether “compostability classification, while obviously still in flux and very important for producers that have products that need long timelines for changing labeling,” will be an unlikely enforcement target in the near term. She noted that enforcement extension and recently issued covered material category lists recognizing the pendency of the NOSB determination may suggest that the agency recognizes that the issue is still unresolved and is unlikely to use the opportunity to target impacted producers.
