Amazon To Pay $1.5M In California Consumer Protection Suit

CALIFORNIA — Amazon.com has agreed to pay $1.5 million in civil penalties and investigative costs in a settlement with district attorney's offices in 23 California counties. The settlement resolves a consumer protection lawsuit filed by the counties against Amazon, alleging the company advertised and sold plastic products in California that were misleadingly labeled as “biodegradable” or “compostable” in violation of California law.

Many Californians are willing to pay a premium for products based on these claims, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley said in a statement Wednesday about the outcome of the suit.

In addition to Napa, counties involved in bringing the court action against the mail-order giant included: Alameda, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Lake, Madera, Merced, Monterey, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tuolumne and Yuba.

The DA's offices contended that the ability of plastic to decompose depends greatly on the environment in which it is placed. It can take "hundreds of years to decompose in typical landfill conditions," the suit alleged.

Because biodegradability claims are inherently misleading, California law imposes an outright ban on the sale of plastics labeled "biodegradable," the DA's offices argued.

California law also prohibits the sale of plastic products labeled "compostable" unless the product meets certain scientific standards that ensure the plastic will break down in municipal compost.

Consumers interested in buying compostable plastic products should look for the "ASTM D6400" certification, the DA's offices advised.

The judgment in the case against Amazon prohibits the company from selling plastic products labeled as "biodegradable," "degradable" or "decomposable," or from selling plastic products labeled as "compostable" without appropriate scientific certification that the products can be composted.

As part of the settlement, Amazon also agreed to make a $50,000 payment to CalRecycle to fund testing of plastic products marketed to consumers as compostable or degradable.

The Napa County DA's office said that upon contact from prosecutors, Amazon took immediate steps to stop sales of "biodegradable" plastic products, and worked cooperatively with prosecutors throughout the settlement process.

"Given the increased focus on reducing plastic waste, this judgment will help ensure that customers are not misled about which plastic products will actually break down in the landfill or compost," said Napa County Deputy District Attorney Patrick Collins.

Regarding the settlement, an Amazon spokesperson sent this statement to Patch: "Over the past several years Amazon has already voluntarily been in compliance with these laws, and we are pleased to bring this issue to a mutually satisfactory conclusion with the District Attorneys."

Photo by Maggie Avants/Patch