Federal Court Blocks Enforcement of California SB 343 Recyclability Labeling Law

On July 14, 2026 Judge William Q. Hayes of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California granted a preliminary injunction in California League of Food Producers v. Bonta (Case No. 3:26-cv-01675), barring Attorney General Rob Bonta from enforcing SB 343, the state's "Truth in Recycling" law, until further order of the court. The court found four provisions unconstitutionally vague under the Fourteenth Amendment and held the law fails First Amendment scrutiny under the Central Hudson test, concluding the state did not show the restrictions would directly advance its interest in reducing consumer confusion. The four vague provisions were severed, so the law's core 60 percent collection-and-sorting threshold survives on paper, but enforcement is now paused less than three months before the October 4, 2026 compliance deadline. The suit was brought by a coalition of 21 food, packaging, and retail trade associations (18 at filing on March 17, 2026, later amended to 21). The ruling is preliminary, not a final judgment; litigation continues before Judge Hayes and an appeal to the Ninth Circuit is expected. Because SB 54 relies on SB 343's recyclability criteria to determine which materials qualify as recyclable in California, the decision carries implications for the broader packaging EPR program. Source: Resource Recycling (July 15, 2026); Packaging Dive (July 15, 2026).