By Guest commentary Monday, September 1st, 2025

By Kristen Miller

Here on California’s South Coast, small businesses are the backbone of our economy. From family-owned manufacturers and food producers to specialty retailers and service providers, our region thrives because of the entrepreneurial spirit that defines our communities. 

Our work in public policy and advocacy to support business includes carefully watching State legislation that has local impacts. That’s why we’ve been tracking the development of SB 54, the state’s landmark plastic packaging and recycling law.

We understand the urgency of building a more sustainable future. Our members care deeply about the environment — they live it, breathe it, and depend on it. 

But for many, the early stages of SB 54’s implementation raised real concerns. Would the regulations take into account the realities facing small businesses, or would they create costly new hurdles that our local employers can’t overcome?

The good news is that the latest draft of the regulations reflects a shift in tone and approach. It reflects a more balanced approach — one that recognizes that good environmental policy must also be good economic policy.

We’re particularly encouraged by how the draft embraces innovation, especially through a clear pathway for new technologies and systems that can process materials outside the reach of traditional curbside recycling. 

For years, small businesses have struggled with packaging requirements that left few affordable, recyclable options. Many products require flexible or multilayer packaging to ensure freshness, safety, or durability — yet these materials were excluded from most recycling programs. 

By recognizing these innovations as valid contributors to California’s recycling goals, the state is opening the door to a new era of sustainable packaging. 

These technologies can recover a wider range of materials and help businesses keep those materials in circulation rather than in landfills. It’s a smarter, scalable solution that can help lower costs for producers and reduce environmental impact.

And those savings matter. 

For small businesses already navigating rising costs for labor, materials, and compliance, reducing packaging burdens isn’t just helpful — it’s essential.

Equally important, the new draft regulations show an understanding that California’s business landscape is diverse. 

What works for a national brand with a compliance team and legal counsel may not work for a small local business operating on tight margins. The revised rules take steps toward flexibility — allowing different types of businesses to participate in the solution without being buried under layers of red tape.

To be sure, more work lies ahead. 

But for now, we’re encouraged. The current direction acknowledges that California’s small businesses are part of the solution — not the problem.

With the right follow-through, California can prove that economic growth and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive — but mutually reinforcing. 

And that’s a message small businesses on the South Coast are ready to stand behind.

Kristen Miller is the President & CEO at the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, where she leads a team dedicated to the economic health and vitality of communities from Goleta to Carpinteria.