BILL ANALYSIS
AB 87
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Nancy Skinner, Chair
AB 87 (Davis) - As Amended: March 18, 2009
SUBJECT : Solid waste: single-use carryout bags.
SUMMARY : This bill establishes a statewide fee of 25 cents for
single-use carryout bags (bags), of all types, beginning in
2010.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires operators of stores (defined as supermarkets and
stores over 10,000 square feet that include a pharmacy) to
establish an in-store plastic carryout bag recycling program.
The program must include:
a) Plastic bags provided by the store to include a label
encouraging customers to return the bag to the store for
recycling;
b) Easily accessible recycling bins for plastic bags;
c) All plastic bags collected must be recycled in a manner
consistent with the local jurisdiction's recycling plan;
d) The store must maintain records relating to the program
for at least three years and must make the records
available to the local jurisdiction or California
Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) upon request; and
e) The operator of the store must make reusable bags
available to customers.
2)Requires manufacturers of plastic bags to develop educational
materials to encourage reducing, reusing, and recycling
plastic bags.
3)Pre-empts local governments from requiring stores that meet
these provisions to implement separate recycling programs or
from imposing a fee on plastic bags.
4)Establishes a sunset on the above provisions of January 1,
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2013.
THIS BILL revises the existing in-store recycling program
(above) as follows:
1)States legislative findings related to bags and their
environmental impacts.
2)Defines terms used in the bill, included:
a) "Biodegradable or compostable bag" as a bag provided
that is certified and labeled as meeting the current
American Society for Testing and Materials Standard
Specifications.
b) "Green carryout bag" as a bag that is composed of at
least 40% post-consumer recycled content material; is
accepted in curbside recycling programs serving at least
80% of households in the state; and, is capable of
composting within 180 days, as determined by CIMWMB. Green
carryout bag does not include a reusable bag.
c) "Paper carryout bag" as a paper bag provided to a
customer that is not a reusable bag.
d) Expands the definition of "store" to include a chain of
convenience stores primarily engaged in retailing a limited
line of goods that includes milk, bread, soda, and snacks,
with cumulative square footage of 10,000 square feet or
more.
3)On and after July 1, 2010, prohibits a store from providing a
single-use bag unless the store charges a Bag Pollution
Cleanup Fee (fee) of at least 25 cents per bag and requires
that all bags distributed meet the above definitions.
4)Exempts from the fee individuals using the California Special
Supplemental Food Program for Woman, Infants, and Children and
individuals using the State Department of Social Services Food
Stamp Program.
5)Authorizes a store to retain a portion of the fee, up to 5
cents for plastic, compostable plastic, and paper bags and up
to 7 cents for green carryout bags. Requires the store to use
the fee to reimburse the store's costs associated with
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collecting the fee; develop in-store educational materials
encouraging the use of reusable bags; develop and implement an
educational campaign to encourage the use of reusable bags;
reimburse the store's costs associated with reusable bag
giveaways; and, reimburse the store's costs associated with
the purchase of single-use carryout bags that comply with the
definitions above.
6)The remainder of the fee is to be transmitted to the State
Board of Equalization (BOE) to be deposited into the Bag
Pollution Fund (Fund). The Fund shall be spent, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, as follows:
a) 3% to CIWMB to cover the costs "for administration,
collection, enforcement, and auditing requirements."
b) 5% to CIWMB to develop and implement programs related to
the use of bags and to encourage and support pollution
prevention, abatement and cleanup, enforcement, "green
chemistry", water quality protection and cleanup, and
public education and outreach, in consultation with the
California Environmental Protection Agency, the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB), and the Department of
Toxic Substances Control.
c) The remainder to be allocated by CIWMB as payments to
local governments, on a per capita basis, for the following
activities to prevent and reduce litter and environmental
impacts from bags and to conduct reusable bag giveaways.
Clarifies that the funds awarded by CIWMB are only
available to local governments that have not banned any
single-use bags and that are collecting the fee.
7)Requires CIWMB, in consultation with SWRCB, the State Air
Resources Board (ARB), the regional water quality control
boards, and stakeholders, to report to the Legislature before
January 1, 2012, and biennially thereafter, regarding the
effectiveness of the bill and to make recommendations to
further encourage the use of reusable bags, including
expanding the definition of stores included in the bill and
increasing the fee.
8)Authorizes BOE to adopt rules and regulations related to this
bill, including provisions relating to fee collection,
reporting, refunds, and appeals.
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9) Repeals the January 1, 2013 sunset date on the existing
in-store bag recycling program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown costs to CIWMB to administer grants to
local governments, implement source reduction efforts, conduct
mitigation projects, and develop reusable bag giveaway programs.
These costs should be covered by the fee established by this
bill.
COMMENTS :
1)Background
According to the author, Californians use over 19 billion
plastic bags annually (approximately 552 per person), creating
over 147,000 tons of waste. CIWMB staff estimates that only
5-6% of plastic materials are recycled in California. The
author also states that paper bags also have negative
environmental impacts, including deforestation, air pollution,
and excessive energy consumption. Compostable bags are not a
viable alternative.
Plastic bags are a significant contributor to litter and marine
debris. Their light weight and expansive nature makes them
especially prone to blowing into waterways. Even when disposed
of in the waste stream, these bags pose litter problems as they
blow off of trucks and out of solid waste handling operations.
According to the USEPA, marine debris has become a serious
problem along shorelines, coastal waters, estuaries, and oceans
throughout the world. It is estimated that 60-80% of all marine
debris, and 90% of floating debris, is plastic. Marine debris
can be life threatening to marine organisms and can wreak havoc
on coastal communities and the fishing industry. Recent studies
by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation and the Southern
California Coastal Water Research Project have found that the
average mass of plastics in the seawater off the coast of Long
Beach is two and a half times greater than the average mass of
plankton. After storms with excessive runoff, the mass of
plastics is even greater. A similar study over seawater 1,000
miles west of San Francisco found the mass of plastics was six
times the mass of plankton in drifts where marine animals
congregate for feeding on plankton.
The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) has been at the forefront on
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this issue. In February 2007, OPC adopted a resolution to
reduce marine debris, which included specific actions on
single-use plastics. In November 2008, OPC adopted its final
implementation strategy for the resolution. The strategy
includes three "priority actions for measurable success:" 1)
Implement a take-back program for convenience food packaging;
2) Prohibit single-use products that pose significant ocean
littler impacts where a feasible alternative is available; and,
3) Assess fees on commonly littered items. Plastic single-use
bags are included in action 2; OPC proposes that a fee be added
for all single use paper and plastic bags to incentivize people
to switch to reusable bags. OPC goes on to suggest that if a
fee does not dramatically reduce the use of bags, a ban should
be considered.
Los Angeles County has also taken action on this issue by
preparing a report, An Overview of Carryout Bags in Los Angeles
County, in 2007. The report included several key findings.
Plastic carryout bags have been found to significantly
contribute to litter and have other negative impacts on marine
wildlife and the environment. Biodegradable carryout bags are
not a practical solution in Los Angeles County as there are no
local commercial composting facilities able to process the bags.
Reusable bags are more environmentally sustainable than paper
and plastic bags. Accelerating the widespread use of reusable
bags will diminish plastic bag litter and redirect environmental
preservation efforts and resources toward "greener" activities.
Reusable bags are the most environmentally benign alternative to
plastic bags. Paper, the most likely replacement for plastic,
also has drawbacks, including being more costly for stores and
using more energy to produce and recycle. However, these do
degrade when littered and do not pose the threats to marine life
that plastic bags do. Additionally, compostable or degradable
plastic bags are not recyclable and contaminate recycling
equipment if they are mixed in with conventional plastic bags.
Moreover, most degradable bags do not break down in a marine
environment.
While it is anticipated that the fee would reduce the number of
bags used in the state significantly, it is worth noting that if
the current estimated 19 billion bags continue to be used, the
fee would generate $4.75 billion annually.
In 2006, AB 2449 (Levine), Chapter 845, was enacted, requiring
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all stores to establish a plastic bag recycling program. The
stated goal of this legislation was to increase recycling, and
to create the infrastructure necessary to collect and recycle
plastic bags. That bill also pre-empted local governments from
enacting a per-bag fee on plastic bags. Local governments have
indicated concerns with the pre-emption created by AB 2449,
arguing that the fee could be used to discourage bag
distribution and fund anti-litter or recycling programs.
2)This bill
The author notes that over $375 million is spent annually by
California public agencies to address litter cleanup, and bags
contribute disproportionately to the litter stream. Single-use
paper and compostable plastic bags are not a solution, as they
have significant environmental impacts as well.
This bill attempts to dramatically reduce the overall use of
disposable bags and instead shift consumers toward the use of
reusable bags.
Fees do reduce the use of bags. In 2002, Ireland instituted a
fee equivalent to 25 cents, in the first three months the amount
of shopping bags used by consumers decreased 90% and raised
$3.45 million. After one year the plastic bag use decreased by
94% and raised $9.6 million. In 2007, Ikea instituted a 5 cent
fee on bags in the US and achieved a 92% reduction in bag use.
Ikea also offers plastic reusable bags for 59 cents.
3)Suggested amendments
Should this bill move forward, the committee may wish to
consider the following amendments:
a) This bill allocates 3% to CIWMB to cover administrative
costs, but does not allocate any funding to reimburse BOE's
costs associated with the collection of the fee. The
committee may wish to adopt amendments to additionally
allocate 3% to BOE for administrative costs.
b) It is not clear why the ARB is included in the
preparation of the report to the Legislature required by
Section 42256 as this is not an air-quality issue. The
committee may wish to consider deleting the ARB from this
section.
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4)Related legislation
a) This bill is similar to AB 68 (Brownley), which would
also establish a 25 cent fee on single-use carryout bags.
AB 68 will also be heard at the April 13th hearing.
Both AB 68 and AB 87 are similar to two bills, with the same
sponsors, as AB 2058 (Levine) and AB 2928 (Davis)
introduced last year. Assemblymembers Davis and Brownley
became joint-authors on AB 2058, which was the only of
those bills to pass out of Assembly Natural Resources. It
was held on the Senate Appropriations Suspense File.
b) AB 1141 (Calderon) expands the existing in-store plastic
bag recycling program established by AB 2449 (Levine),
Chapter 845, Statutes of 2006. This bill will be heard in
this committee on April 20th.
c) SB 228 (DeSaulnier) requires bags labeled "compostable"
or "marine degradable" to be readily and easily
identifiable to assist in their collection and sorting.
This bill has been referred to the Senate Environmental
Quality Committee.
d) SB 531 (DeSaulnier) establishes the "Single-Use Carryout
Bag Responsibility Act" and requires suppliers of
single-use carryout bags (paper and plastic) to remit a fee
of $0.001 per bag to the Single-Use Carryout Bag
Responsibility Fund to award grants to abate and cleanup
bag litter and to encourage the proper disposal and
collection of bags. This bill will be heard in the Senate
Environmental Quality Committee on April 20.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
County of Los Angeles (sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Breathe California
California State Association of Counties
Californians Against Waste
City of Glendale
City of Torrance
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Coalition for a Safe Environment Long Beach boardmembers Weeks
and Maciel
earthpins
Long Beach Coalition for a Safe Environment
Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee
Marin Sanitary Service
Sierra Club California
Tamalpais Community Services District
Opposition
Cal-Tax
California Film Extruders & Converters Association
California Grocers Association
California Independent Grocers Association
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092