Earth Week 2024—Planet Versus Plastic—The Final Round—The Courts' Referee Role

As we wrap up our week-long celebration of Earth Day with insightful articles focusing on various aspects of plastic pollution, this final article focuses on how the courts are being asked to step into ring and referee the “Planet Versus Planet” match. 

These court cases can generally be broken down into three categories: (1) litigation initiated by industry challenging state or local laws that seek to impose restrictions on the sale, use or distribution of plastic products such as plastic bags or single use plastic containers; (2) litigation relating to claims with respect to recyclability/recycling rates for certain plastic products, and (3) litigation alleging violations of certain environmental statutes such as the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).