BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1998
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:  April 12, 2010

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
                                Wesley Chesbro, Chair
                   AB 1998 (Brownley) - As Amended:  April 5, 2010
           
          SUBJECT  :  Recycling:  plastic and paper carryout bags.

           SUMMARY  :  Prohibits stores, as defined, from providing  
          single-use carryout bags to customers. 

           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)Sunsets the above provisions on January 1, 2013.









                                                                  AB 1998
                                                                  Page  2

           THIS BILL  : 

          1)States findings and declarations relating to single-use bag  
            waste.  

          2)Moves the sunset date for the existing plastic bag recycling  
            program from January 1, 2013 to July 1, 2011.  

          3)Defines terms used in the bill, including: 

             a)   "Reusable bag" as a bag that is designed and  
               manufactured for at least 100 uses and is made of a  
               washable material that "does not contain lead or any toxic  
               metal in a toxic amount, as determined by the Department."   


             b)   "Single-use carryout bag" as a bag that is designed for  
               one or more uses, but fewer than 100 uses; is made of  
               plastic, paper, or other material; and, is provided by a  
               store to a customer at the point of sale.  

             c)   "Store" as supermarkets; stores over 10,000 square feet  
               that include a pharmacy; and, a convenience food store or  
               foodmart engaged in retailing a limited line of goods that  
               generally includes milk, bread, soda, and snacks.  

          4)On and after January 1, 2012, prohibits a store from providing  
            single-use carryout bags to customers at the point of sale.   
            Requires stores to make reusable bags available for purchase.   


          5)On or before January 1, 2015, requires the Department of  
            Resources Recover and Recycling to report to the Legislature  
            regarding the effectiveness of this bill.  Specifies that the  
            report include recommendations to further encourage the use of  
            reusable bags and to reduce the consumption of single-use  
            bags.  Sunsets this reporting requirement on January 1, 2019.   


           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :

           1)Background
           








                                                                  AB 1998
                                                                  Page  3

          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 US EPA, 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.  

          In February 2007, the Ocean Protection Council (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.  

          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  








                                                                  AB 1998
                                                                  Page  4

          environment.

          AB 2449 (Levine), Chapter 845, Statutes of 2006 requires 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 

           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.  The author states that  
          California currently spends approximately $25 million annually  
          to clean up plastic bag waste, and municipalities collectively  
          spend $300 million annually.  

          Heal the Bay, the bill's sponsor, states that 25 percent of the  
          world's population lives in countries in which a ban or fee has  
          been placed on single-use plastic carryout bags.  While these  
          policies are helpful in reducing marine debris from plastic,  
          they have the unintended consequence of shifting disposable bags  
          to paper, which have their own significant environmental  
          impacts.  This bill would eliminate the use of both plastic and  
          paper bags and would require consumers to switch to reusable  
          bags.    

           3)Related legislation

              a)   AB 2138 (Chesbro) establishes recycling and composting  
               requirements for take-out food packaging, including bags.   
               This bill is scheduled to be heard in this committee on  
               April 12th.  

             b)   SB 228 (DeSaulnier) requires bags labeled "compostable"  
               or "marine degradable" to be readily and easily  
               identifiable to assist in their collection and sorting.   








                                                                  AB 1998
                                                                  Page  5

               This bill has been referred to this committee.  

             c)   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 has been referred to this  
               committee.   

           4)Suggested amendments

              a)   The findings and declarations currently in the bill  
               contain inaccuracies and would benefit from technical and  
               clarifying changes.  The committee may wish to amend the  
               bill to make these changes.  
              
              b)   This bill sunsets the provisions in existing law on July  
               1, 2011 and commence the new requirements on January 1,  
               2012, which leaves a six month gap in oversight and  
               management of single-use carryout bags.  The committee may  
               wish to extend the sunset date for existing law to December  
               31, 2011 to eliminate this gap.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          Heal the Bay (sponsor)
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,  
          AFL-CIO
          California Coastal Coalition
          California State Lands Commission
          ChicoBag Company
          ChicoEco Inc.
          Clean Water California
          Defenders of Wildlife
          Environment California
          Planning and Conservation League
          San Diego Coastkeeper
          Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
          Sierra Club California
          StopWaste.Org
          7th Generation Advisors








                                                                  AB 1998
                                                                  Page  6


           Opposition 
           
          American Forest and Paper Association
          Biodegradable Products Institute
          California Film Extruders and Converters Association
          California Taxpayers' Association
          Metabolix
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :  Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)  
          319-2092