Amazon to pay $1.5M to settle plastics complaint

OAKLAND >> Amazon has agreed to pay more than $1.5 million to settle a consumer protection action that alleged that the company misled customers about plastic products, according to an announcement Wednesday from Alameda District Attorney Nancy O’Malley.

O’Malley, along with 22 other district attorneys in California, alleged that Amazon sold products using misleading assertions that the plastics were “biodegradable” and “similar claims,” according to a news release from O’Malley’s office.

California bans the sale of plastic products labeled “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decompostable”, as well as the sale of plastic products labeled “compostable,” unless a product meets a test to ensure it will break down in an industrial composting facility. Shoppers wanting products that have met compostability standards should look for products with the “ASTM D6400” designation, O’Malley said.

According to the announcement from O’Malley’s office, Amazon took steps to stop such sales and has cooperated with prosecutors. The judgment bans Amazon from selling plastic products labeled as “biodegradable” or “compostable” if the product has not been certified as compostable.

An Amazon spokesperson emailed a statement that read: “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.”