BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1329|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1329
Author: Brownley (D)
Amended: 7/1/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 7/6/09
AYES: Simitian, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal, Pavley
NOES: Runner, Ashburn
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 42-32, 6/3/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Plastics recycling
SOURCE : Californians Against Waste
DIGEST : This bill prohibits a retail establishment from
selling, distributing, or importing a rigid or flexible
polyvinyl chloride packaging container, on and after
January 1, 2013, and on and after January 1, 2014,
respectively.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, pursuant to the Integrated Waste
Management Act of 1989, requires every rigid plastic
packaging container to be made from 25 percent recycled
content or have a recycling rate of at least 45 percent.
(Section 42300 of the Public Resources Code)
This bill:
1. Makes finding regarding polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic
CONTINUED
AB 1329
Page
2
and recycling.
2. Defines "Single-use recyclable packaging container" is a
container that meets all of the following conditions:
A. It is a container used to contain, protect or hold
a consumer good, food or beverage, until that item is
to be opened or consumed, after which point the
container serves no other function and is intended to
be discarded.
B. It is a container that has the shape of a bottle,
a clamshell, a sack, a cup, a bowl, a shrink or
stretch wrap or other packaging shape.
3. Excludes from the definition of "Single-use recyclable
packaging container":
A. A container used solely in transportation and not
made available to consumers.
B. A container that is used solely for the
transportation and protection of a building material,
including, but not limited to, windows and related
products used in residential construction.
C. A container that encloses a dangerous drug, as
defined in Section 4022 of the Business and
Professions Code, or a container that encloses an
over-the-counter human or veterinary drug, including,
but not limited to, a drug as defined in Section
109925 of the Health and Safety Code or as defined in
Section 321 of Title 21 of the federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act.
D. A container in which a medical device, as defined
in Section 109920 of the Health and Safety Code, is
enclosed.
E. A container that is used to contain a
petroleum-based product, including a fuel, lubricant,
fuel additive, or other petroleum-based product used
on or in motor vehicles.
AB 1329
Page
3
4. Defines "Retail establishment" or "retailer" as an
individual, partnership, corporation, association, or
other legal relationship that engages in the business of
selling goods to retail buyers.
5. Prohibits, on and after July 1, 2014, a retail
establishment or retailer from selling, distributing, or
importing in commerce a single-use recyclable packaging
container that is comprised predominantly of PVC plastic
resin.
Background
What is PVC ? Most vinyl chloride is used to make PVC
plastic and vinyl products. Exposure to vinyl chloride
emissions has been linked to adverse human health effects,
including liver cancer, other liver diseases, and
neurological disorders. The Environmental Protection
Agency has classified vinyl chloride as a Group A human
carcinogen. The production of PVC is attributed to a host
of public health and environmental issues including the
release of dioxin, one of the most potent human
carcinogens.
Even with the issues surrounding PVC, it is ubiquitous and
is used in thousands of applications including building
materials such as cables, window frames, doors, walls,
paneling, water and wastewater pipes and in home products
such as vinyl flooring, vinyl wallpaper, window blinds and
shower curtains.
NOTE: Please refer to the Senate Environmental Quality
Committee analysis for further background
information.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/8/09)
Californians Against Waste (source)
Breast Cancer Action
Breast Cancer Fund
California Resource Recovery Association
AB 1329
Page
4
Center for Environmental Health
Clean Water Action
Dogwood Alliance
Environment California
Environmental Health Fund
Friends of the Earth
GrassRoots Recycling Network
Greenpeace
Heal the Bay
Natural Resources Defense Council
Northern California Recycling Association
Ocean Health Institute
OceanRevolution.org
Oregon Center for Environmental Health
Planning and Conservation League
Protect All Children's Environment
Puerto Rico College of Physicians and Surgeons
City and County of San Francisco
Save the American River Association
Seventh Generation Advisors
US International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/8/09)
American Chemistry Council
California Chamber of Commerce
California Film Extruders and Converters Association
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Restaurant Association
Chemical Industry Council of California
Consumer Specialty Products Association
Grocery Manufacturers Association
Industrial Environmental Association
Information Technology Industry Council
Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc.
Toy Industry Association
Vinyl Institute
Western Growers Association
Western States Petroleum Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters contend, "Very little
of the 60,000 tons of PVC packaging generated annually in
California is recycled due to prohibitively high costs and
lack of infrastructure and markets. Nearly
AB 1329
Page
5
indistinguishable from recyclable, non-toxic PET
[polyethylene terephthalate] bottles and containers,
studies by recyclers have concluded that just 0.001% PVC
contamination can ruin a batch PET? And PVC packaging
contributes disproportionately to the state's solid waste
burden, compared to readily available and competitively
priced alternatives, because there is virtually no
recycling market or opportunity? PVC production results in
the release of toxic chemicals, like dioxins and chlorine
gas that have required intensive and expensive clean-up in
the past? As packaging, PVC contains threatening additives
at very high rates, including phthalates, lead, and
cadmium? The Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse recently
found that 61% of PVC products tested contained lead or
cadmium, both of which are toxic in even small amounts and
are especially dangerous to children."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents contest this
legislation because the bill (1) fails to consider the
technological and performance aspects of PVC packaging
containers which necessitate their use for specific
applications, (2) ignores existing statutory authority that
rests with the Department of Toxic Substances Control to
regulate the use of heavy metals in packaging. Stricter
enforcement of this statute, with an emphasis on packaging
materials that are imported, would be the most prudent
public health and environmental protection policy the state
could take, and
(3) wrongly assumes that PVC packaging and bottles are not
being recycled or pose a significant threat to the
recycling of other plastic packaging, and (4) focuses
scarce state resources on a miniscule portion of the solid
waste stream.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis,
De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes,
Furutani, Hayashi, Hill, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A.
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana,
Skinner, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
AB 1329
Page
6
Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson,
Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Harkey, Huber, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Silva, Smyth,
Audra Strickland, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Caballero, Hall, Hernandez,
Solorio, Yamada
TSM:mw 7/8/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****