BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1998
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1998
AUTHOR: Brownley
AMENDED: May 28, 2010
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: June 28, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Caroll
Mortensen
SUBJECT : SOLID WASTE: SINGLE-USE CARRYOUT BAGS
SUMMARY :
Existing law , pursuant to Public Resources Code, Chapter 5.1,
42250 et seq.:
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. Under the program:
a) Plastic bags provided by the store must include a
label encouraging customers to return the bag to the
store for recycling;
b) Easily accessible recycling bins for plastic bags
must be provided;
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 the
California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB)
(now the Department of Resources Recovery and Recycling
or DRRR) upon request; and,
e) The operator of the store must make reusable bags
available to customers.
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2) Preempts local governments from requiring stores that meet
these provisions from implementing separate recycling
programs or from imposing a fee on plastic bags.
3) Sunsets the above provisions on January 1, 2013.
This bill :
1) Repeals the existing in-store plastic bag recycling program
(#1 and #2 above).
2) Defines terms used in the bill, including:
a) "Recycled paper bag" as a paper carryout bag that
contains a minimum of 40% post-consumer recycled
content; is accepted for recycling in curbside programs
in a majority of households that have access to curbside
recycling programs; is compostable; and, has printed on
the bag the name of the manufacturer, the location where
manufactured, and the percentage of post-consumer
content.
b) Until a standard adopted by DRRR, "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." By January 1, 2013,
requires DRRR to establish standards for reusable bags,
as specified.
c) "Single-use carryout bag" as a bag made of plastic,
paper, or other material that is provided by a store to
a customer at the point-of-sale and that is not a
reusable bag. Single-use carryout bag does not include
a bag provided at a pharmacy to a customer purchasing
prescription medication or a nonhandled bag used to
protect a purchased item from damaging or contaminating
other purchased items when placed in a recycled paper
bag or reusable bag.
d) "Store" as supermarkets; stores over 10,000 square
feet that include a pharmacy; and, a convenience food
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store or foodmart engaged in retailing a limited line of
goods that generally includes milk, bread, soda, and
snacks.
3) Prohibits, on and after January 1, 2012, a store from
providing single-use carryout bags to customers at the
point-of-sale. Requires stores to make reusable bags
available for purchase and authorizes stores to provide
reusable bags at no cost.
4) Requires, on and after July 1, 2013, that a store only
provide reusable bags to consumers.
5) Authorizes stores to provide customers participating in the
California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women,
Infants, and Children with reusable bags or recycled paper
bags at no cost.
6) Requires stores to make available for sale to consumers at
the point-of-sale a recycled paper bag at a reasonable
cost, but not less than five cents.
7) Requires convenience food stores and foodmarts to comply
with the new requirements by July 1, 2013.
8) Allows San Francisco to continue to offer compostable
plastic bags that meet specified requirements.
9) Requires, on and after January 1, 2013, and every two-years
thereafter, producers of reusable bags to submit a
certification to DRRR that each bag meets the requirements
specified in the bill and any standards developed by DRRR.
Producers must also submit a fee for each certification,
not to exceed $10,000 per producer for the initial
certification and between $2,000 and $3,000 every two-years
thereafter. Fees collected must be used by DRRR to
administer the requirements of the bill.
10)Authorizes DRRR to conduct inspections to enforce this
chapter.
11)Establishes, for stores that do not comply with the bag
distribution requirements above, administrative civil
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penalties up to $500 for the first violation, and an
additional $500 for subsequent violations, up to a total of
$5,000.
12)Establishes, for violations of the reusable bag
certification requirements, or any submission of false
information, administrative civil penalties of up to
$50,000 per violation, not to exceed an annual total of
$150,000.
13)Preempts local governments from enforcing or adopting any
new or existing law, ordinance, resolution, regulation, or
rule on any store, as defined, relating to reusable bags,
single-use carryout bags, recycled paper bags, or any other
bag referred to in the bill.
14)Makes related findings and declarations.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of Bill . According to the author, plastic
single-use bags are urban tumbleweeds in our communities as
these bags are blown into the gutters and collect in our
storm drain system, eventually making their way out to the
ocean.
2)Background . California taxpayers spend approximately $25
million annually to collect and bury the 19 billion plastic
bags used every year. However, these bags are rarely
recycled; DRRR estimates that less than 5% of all single use
plastic bags in the state are actually recycled. Instead,
local agencies spend millions more to dispose of plastic
bags and clean up discarded plastic bags.
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
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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. AB 1998 is proposing a sales ban on
just plastic bags.
3)Policy Considerations . While the basic framework for a
single-use carryout bag program are represented, issues
remain that should be addressed to ensure the bill can be
efficiently and effectively implemented and accomplishes the
goals it seeks to accomplish.
a) Local Government Preemption: Many local governments
have adopted ordinances or regulations that address
single-use bags in varying ways. Some ban all bags, some
just plastic, some charge fees or some combination of
these. This bill preempts local governments from
implementing or enforcing their programs and prevents new
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ones from being established. It would be beneficial to
clearly understand how this preemption will affect
existing and future programs.
b) Litter and Pollution Remediation: This bill takes a
slightly different approach than previous legislation.
One difference being the establishment of a funding
mechanism to deal with the litter and pollution, as well
as problems posed in the stormwater, sewer and water
treatment facilities associated with bag debris.
Previous legislation included fees to be placed on bags
to directly address those problems. AB 1998 does not
establish a funding mechanism for these programs. It
requires stores to make available a recycled paper bag at
not more than 5 cents that is retained by the store.
c) Recycled Paper Bags: This bill requires that stores
make available 40% postconsumer recycled paper bags at
the checkout counter for not less than 5 cents regardless
of size. While 40% postconsumer content is common in
grocery sacks, smaller paper bags often can not
accommodate that level of recycled content. Options
should be considered to encourage the highest levels of
recycled content while allowing time for the industry to
adjust.
d) Bag Certification: While it is important that
recycled content for paper bags and basic performance
characteristics for reusable bags be able to be
substantiated and meet the requirements of AB 1998, the
current process seems extremely cumbersome and expensive
without much return. A more streamlined and efficient
approach can be established.
e) In-Store Bag Recycling Program: AB 1998 proposes to
repeal this program. This requires stores to provide
recycling opportunities to their customers for plastic
bags. While often underutilized, it was a popular
program in many stores and concerns have been raised
about other options for recycling plastic bags.
Consumers have grown accustom to these programs to
recycle bags generated by not just the stores where they
were placed, but other establishments as well. Also,
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this program did provide a feedstock to the film plastic
recycling industry. The repeal would be effective
January 1, 2011, a year before the proposed program would
be implemented. The repeal of this program should be
evaluated, and at the very least, phased out as the new
program phases in.
f) Scope: Many local governments have ordinances or
regulations that address bags at a wide scope of stores.
AB 1998 covers bags used at the checkout stand at grocery
and convenience stores. While it covers the stores with
the highest bag use rates, it does leave other
establishments out. It also bans just plastic bags and
many local jurisdictions have banned all single-use bags.
4)Related Legislation .
a) 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. AB 2449
also preempted local governments from enacting a per-bag
fee on plastic bags.
b) AB 2058 (Levine) of 2007 would have prohibited the
free dispensing of carryout plastic bags by a store to
its customers, unless the store can demonstrate to the
CIWMB that 35% and 70% of the plastic bags it dispensed
in 2007 have been diverted from the waste stream by July
1, 2011 and July 1, 2012, respectively. AB 2058 died in
Senate Appropriations Committee.
c) AB 2138 (Chesbro) of 2010 establishes recycling and
composting requirements for take-out food packaging,
including bags. (Assembly Appropriations Committee).
d) SB 228 (DeSaulnier) of 2009 requires bags labeled
"compostable" or "marine degradable" to be readily and
easily identifiable to assist in their collection and
sorting. (Assembly Natural Resources Committee).
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e) SB 531 (DeSaulnier) of 2009 requires manufacturers of
plastic carryout bags to develop specified educational
materials to encourage the reduced use or recycling of
those bags. The CIWMB may modify the educational
materials and requires CIWMB to approve the educational
materials by January 2012.
f) AB 68 (Brownley) of 2009 and AB 87 (Davis) of 2009
both sought to place a 25-cent fee on the distribution of
single-use carry-out bags. Both bills were held in
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SOURCE : Heal the Bay
SUPPORT : AFSCME, Amerigreenbag.com, Association of
Communities United of South Los Angeles,
Ballona Creek Renaissance, Bay Area Council,
California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators, California Coastal Coalition,
California Coastkeeper Alliance, California
Grocer's Association, California League of
Conservation Voters, California State Lands
Commission, Californians Against Waste, Chico
Bag, Cities of Burbank, Del Mar, Long Beach,
Newport Beach, Pasadena, San Buenaventura,
Solana Beach, Ventura, Clean South Bay, Clean
Water Action California, Defenders of Wildlife,
Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association, Duro
Bag Manufacturing Company, Earth Resource
Foundation, Earthwise Bag Company, East Bay
Municipal Utility District, Environment
California, Envirosax, ForestEthics, Fresh and
Easy Neighborhood Market Inc., Friends of Five
Creeks, Global Green USA, Green Sangha,
Humboldt Coastkeepers, Humboldt County Board of
Supervisors, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles
County Solid Waste Management Committee/
Integrated Waste Management Task Force, Marin
County Board of Supervisors, Monterey County
Board of Supervisors, Monterey Regional Waste
Management District, Natural Resources Defense
Council, Neighborhood Market Association,
Northcoast Environmental Center, OCEANA, Orange
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County Coastkeeper, Ormond Beach Observers, Pam
Slater-Price, Chairwoman, San Diego County
Board of Supervisors, Planning and Conservation
League, Plastic Pollution Coalition, PW
Supermarkets Inc. (San Jose), Rainforest Action
Network, Rite Aid, San Diego Coastkeeper, San
Francisco Chamber of Commerce, San Luis Obispo
County Integrated Waste Management Authority,
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Santa Clara County
Board of Supervisors, Santa Monica Bay
Restoration Commission, Santa Monica Baykeeper,
Save Mart Supermarkets, Seventh Generation
Advisors, Sierra Club of California, Solid
Waste Solutions, Inc, StopWaste.org - Alameda
County Waste Management Authority, Steven
Bochco Productions, Suja Lowenthal -
Councilmember - City of Long Beach, Super A
Food Inc. (Commerce), Surfers' Environmental
Alliance, Surfrider Foundation (plus Humboldt
& Santa Barbara Chapter), State Lands
Commission, Urban Semillas, Washington
Elementary PTA, Western States Council of the
United Food & Commercial Workers, WiLDCOAST,
Wild Heritage Planners, WinCo Foods Inc.,
Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists, Youth
Opportunities for High School and Associations
of Communities United of South Los Angeles, 1
Bag at a Time, Inc., 910 individuals
OPPOSITION : American Chemistry Council, American Forest &
Paper Association, Biodegradable Products
Institute, Bradley Packaging Systems,
California Film Extruders & Converters
Association, California Forestry Association,
Californians for Extended Producer
Responsibility, Central California Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce, Command Packaging, Corona
Chamber of Commerce, Crown Poly Inc., Great
American Packaging, Heritage Bag, Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers
Association, Metabolix, Long Beach Area Chamber
of Commerce, Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce