Environmental Groups Move to Defend California SB 343; Intervention Hearing Set for August 31

On July 27, 2026 Earth Island Institute, its Plastic Pollution Coalition project, and Californians Against Waste filed a motion to intervene as defendants in California League of Food Producers v. Bonta (Case No. 3:26-cv-01675, S.D. Cal.), the suit in which Judge William Q. Hayes preliminarily enjoined enforcement of SB 343 on July 14, 2026. The groups argue that the ruling leaves SB 343's underlying purpose undefended by the parties still in the case, with Attorney General Bonta's office the sole named defendant. They seek intervention as of right under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a) or, alternatively, permissive intervention under Rule 24(b). The motion is set for an August 31, 2026 hearing before Judge Hayes and will be decided without oral argument unless the court orders otherwise. No notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit has been filed or reported as of August 2, 2026, so the injunction stands and SB 343 remains unenforceable statewide. Because SB 54 relies on SB 343's recyclability criteria to determine which materials qualify as recyclable in California, the outcome reaches the packaging EPR program as well. Source: Resource Recycling (July 27, 2026).