Companies and legislators should always work together on issues that benefit Californians. We all want a healthier and more prosperous and livable California. Our environment is precious to us all and must be protected. There are good ways to do these things and at the same time make sure we don’t harm California’s working families, its local small businesses and their employees.

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Here are our positions on proposals before the legislature:

RECYCLING BILLS. Beverage Companies Strongly Support Improved Recycling.

Beverage companies share the goal of improving the recycling of plastic in California, which is why we’ve designed our bottles to be 100% recyclable. We feel strongly that companies and government should work together on practical, effective ways to increase plastic recycling in California’s unique marketplace.

With improvements in the collection system and new infrastructure for processing plastics, the state can ensure a critical mass of material to support in-state manufacturing of recyclable plastic containers. We hope to work with the sponsors of bills and with recycling advocates to create a comprehensive system to increase the collection of plastic bottles so they can be remade into new bottles. This will reduce the new plastic we use and ensure our bottles don’t wind up in places they shouldn’t like landfills, our beaches and oceans.

SB 347 Mandates Warning Labels that Won’t Improve Health.

California’s beverage companies are voluntarily providing transparent information about the sugar in our drinks beyond federal nutrition labeling requirements. We proactively placed prominent calorie labels on the very front of every bottle and can we sell. SB 347 calls for warning labels on some beverages with sugar but not others. For example, the bill exempts high-sugar, high-calorie coffee drinks and fruit smoothies. It’s an inconsistent and confusing approach, which unfairly singles out juice drinks, ice teas and sports drinks that clearly inform consumers about their sugar content.