BILL ANALYSIS ACR 128 Page A Date of Hearing: March 24, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Julia Brownley, Chair ACR 128 (Emmerson) - As Amended: March 11, 2010 SUBJECT : School districts: recycling programs SUMMARY : Encourages school districts to engage in recycling programs and to promote awareness of available state resources for this purpose. Specifically, this bill : 1)Makes findings and declarations regarding the following: a) The billions of plastic bottles and aluminum cans purchased every year; of the almost 22 billion carbonated and noncarbonated drinks purchased by Californians last year, 5.8 billion are not recycled; b) The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) provides information and technical assistance to school districts to establish source reduction and recycling programs; c) The benefits of incorporating waste reduction as part of a school district's way of doing business include reduced disposal costs, improved worker safety, reduced long-termed liability, increased efficiency of school operations and decreased associated purchasing costs; and, d) There are fiscal, educational and environmental benefits to establishing school beverage container recycling programs. 2)Resolves that the Legislature encourages school districts to engage in recycling programs and to promote awareness of available state resources that schools may utilize to establish and maintain recycling programs. 3)Resolves that the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of the resolution to the author for appropriate distribution. EXISTING LAW : 1)Finds and declares that it is the policy of the state to ACR 128 Page B conserve and protect its resources, to increase the public's awareness of the value of recycling and the need to recycle, and to improve environmental quality by the recycling of paper products. 2)Establishes the paper recycling program and authorizes and encourages school districts and California State University and Colleges to establish and maintain a paper recycling program in all classrooms, administrative offices, and other areas owned or leased by the school district or college campus where a significant quantity of beverage containers is generated or may be collected. 3)Encourages local educational agencies to purchase recycled paper if the supplier of recycled paper offers the paper at a cost which does not exceed by more than 5% the lowest offer of nonrecycled paper of comparable quality. 4)Under the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, requires the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) to do the following: a) Develop models and school waste reduction tools that may be used by schools to implement waste reduction programs; b) Provide training and ongoing technical assistance to schools in implementing waste reduction programs; and, c) Evaluate implementation of school waste reduction and recycling programs (Public Resources Code 42630 et seq.) FISCAL EFFECT : This resolution is nonfiscal. COMMENTS : Background . As part of the 2009-10 budget, SB 63 (T. Strickland), Chapter 21, Statutes of 2009, eliminated the CIWMB and transferred its duties and responsibilities as well as the California Beverage Recycling Program to the newly recreated CalRecycle. According to the CalRecycle, the California Beverage Recycling Program has three components: 1) requires a deposit on each beverage container to give consumers an incentive to recyle; 2) establish conveniently located recycling centers where consumers can recycle and redeem the deposits; and 3) impose a processing fee for materials whose cost to recycle exceeds their inherent scrap value. The CalRecycle certifies recyclers and authorizes them to repay the deposits, or ACR 128 Page C California Refund Value (CRV) to consumers. Recylers receive reimbursement for the CRV, administrative costs, and processing costs. More than 16.1 billion of the 21.9 billion aluminum, glass, plastic and bi-metal containers purchased last year were recycled. Recycling in schools . Pursuant to statutory requirements, the CalRecycle (formerly the CIWMB) maintains on its Web site information on school waste reduction and provides suggestions and information on how school districts can initiate a wide range of waste reduction and recycling efforts, including environmentally friendly purchasing policies, paper reduction, food disposal, textbook recycling, beverage container recycling, and green school facilities. In 2003, the CIWMB, pursuant to the School Diversion and Environmental Education Law<1>, conducted a survey of school districts to assess their level of efforts in implementing waste reduction programs. Forty-two percent of school districts responded to the survey, representing 55% of all schools. The survey found that "92% of districts appear to be participating in some level of recycling programs. Of the districts that reported participating in recycling activities, the most commonly recycled materials include: aluminum cans, white paper, and cardboard. Based upon survey results, implementation of a formalized district-wide recycling program appears to relate to school district size. A greater percentage of larger school districts reported having the district coordinate district-wide recycling activities as well as having a service contract for collection of recyclables than reported by smaller districts." Arguments in Support . The author states that "ACR 128 encourages school districts to engage in recycling programs in an effort to increase the recycling rate in California while teaching our students to be responsible stewards of our environment." The author further states that the resolution will inform school districts of the resources available through CalRecycle. Related legislation . AB 747 (Emmerson), pending in the Senate Rules Committee, authorizes and encourages school districts and California State University and Colleges to establish and maintain a beverage container recycling program in all --------------------------- <1> SB 373 (Torlakson), Chapter 926, Statutes of 2001. ACR 128 Page D classrooms, administrative offices, and other areas owned or leased by the school district or college campus where a significant quantity of beverage containers is generated or may be collected. Prior legislation . SB 497 (Correa), held in the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file in 2009, requires school districts to maintain a sufficient number of beverage container recycling bins at each campus and public office of the district, but only to the extent that the district incurs no costs. SB 1321 (Correa), which was held in the Assembly Appropriations Suspense file in 2008, is similar to SB 497. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support None on file Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087