{"id":13824,"date":"2026-06-27T00:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T04:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/?p=13824"},"modified":"2026-06-27T00:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T04:00:09","slug":"idfa-seeks-temporary-exemptions-for-dairy-packaging-under-californias-sb-54","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/?p=13824","title":{"rendered":"IDFA Seeks Temporary Exemptions for Dairy Packaging under California\u2019s SB 54"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) on Friday urged the Packaging Producer Responsibility Advisory Board to support the Circular Action Alliance\u2019s proposed plan<\/a> to provide temporary exemptions for common rigid and flexible plastic materials used in dairy product packaging from SB 54\u2019s performance goals.<\/p>\n

Danielle Quist, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and counsel, testified that SB 54\u2019s near-term recycling rate and source reduction mandates are not achievable for many common dairy packaging materials under the law\u2019s current timeline. IDFA said the proposed unique challenges exemptions are necessary to provide additional time for packaging innovation, recycling infrastructure improvements, and investments needed to address food safety and quality concerns.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe timeline for meeting SB 54\u2019s performance goals is out of step with current market and recycling system realities,\u201d Quist said. \u201cThe proposed temporary exemptions are necessary to give producers and CAA additional time to meet SB 54\u2019s requirements in a more practical and achievable way while continuing to protect safe, nutritious and highly perishable dairy foods.\u201d<\/p>\n

IDFA\u2019s testimony emphasized that many dairy packaging materials and formats\u2014including HDPE, PET, polypropylene, gable-top cartons and aseptic cartons\u2014are recyclable but are not yet meeting the recycling rate thresholds required under SB 54. \u201cFlexible films and other less recyclable materials will require a longer on-ramp and practical improvement plans before they can meet state performance standards,\u201d IDFA says.<\/p>\n

IDFA also urged CAA to seek a three-year exemption from PRO-level source reduction mandates for plastic materials used in dairy packaging. Quist noted that source reduction options are limited for dairy products because packaging must protect perishable foods and comply with food safety and quality standards. She also raised concern that SB 54\u2019s source reduction requirements are measured against a 2023 baseline that does not account for future sales growth of nutritious dairy products that rely on plastic packaging.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf approved and renewed, the proposed exemptions could provide temporary relief from state enforcement actions or material bans tied to failure to meet statutory recycling rate and source reduction standards for covered materials,\u201d IDFA says.<\/p>\n

IDFA further urged CAA and the Advisory Board to preserve post-consumer recycled content as a viable compliance option once there is a more robust supply of material that is sufficiently pure for dairy packaging.<\/p>\n

\u201cIDFA members support sustainable packaging and are working to improve packaging, but unworkable mandates and unrealistic timelines will not solve the recycling challenges facing dairy packaging,\u201d Quist said. \u201cCalifornia should recognize the unique challenges facing dairy products and avoid enforcement actions or material bans that could disrupt the availability of safe, affordable and nutritious foods for consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) on Friday urged the Packaging Producer Responsibility Advisory Board to support the Circular Action Alliance\u2019s proposed plan to provide temporary exemptions for common rigid and flexible plastic materials used in dairy product packaging from SB 54\u2019s performance goals. Danielle Quist, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and counsel, testified […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":13825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[1468,973,1187,301,171,256,334,2262],"class_list":["post-13824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-packaging-news","tag-aseptic-cartons","tag-food-safety","tag-hdpe","tag-packaging-regulations","tag-pcr","tag-pet","tag-polypropylene","tag-recycling-infrastructure"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packagingindustrynews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}