BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 525 SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman 2011-2012 Regular Session BILL NO: AB 525 AUTHOR: Gordon AMENDED: September 1, 2011 FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: September 7, 2011 URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Caroll Mortensen SUBJECT : WASTE TIRE AND PAINT RECYCLING SUMMARY : Existing law : 1) Requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (DRRR) to adopt a "5-Year Plan" to establish goals and priorities for the management of waste tires in California funded with a fee on new tires sold in California. (Public Resources Code §42885.5). 2) Authorizes DRRR to offer a variety of grant, loan, and education programs to clean up illegally dumped tires and increase collection and reduce landfilling of waste tires. (§42873). 3) The above programs are funded by the Tire Recycling Management Fund (TRMF). The TRMF is supported by the California tire fee, which is a $1.75 per tire charge imposed on a person who purchases a new tire (§42885). 4) Establishes the architectural paint recovery program, implemented by DRRR, to require paint manufacturers to develop and implement a program to collect, transport, and process postconsumer paint to reduce the costs and environmental impacts of the disposal of postconsumer paint in this state (§48700 et seq.). AB 525 Page 2 This bill : 1) Establishes, until June 15, 2015, a program to provide funding to local jurisdictions for the use of rubberized asphalt concrete (RAC) and tire-derived aggregate (TDA) for road projects. 2) Establishes the Architectural Paint Stewardship Account and the Architectural Paint Stewardship Penalty Subaccount in the Integrated Waste Management Fund. COMMENTS : 1) AB 525 referred to Committee pursuant to Rule 29.10 . September 1, 2011 Senate Floor amendments added a provision related to the Architectural Paint Recovery Program (Program) that was not heard by the Committee. The September 1, 2011 amendment establishes accounts to receive funds and potential penalties necessary to implement the program. 2) Purpose of Bill . Waste tires represent one of the largest and most problematic in California's waste stream. Whole used tires, due to their shape and buoyancy, have a tendency to migrate upwards when landfilled, puncturing holes in lining and cells and otherwise undermining the integrity of the landfill structure. As a result, their disposal in landfills throughout California has been banned. According to the author, the grants for local public works projects that use waste tires, which had been authorized by statute that has since expired, and they need to be continued. Public works projects, specifically roadway projects divert waste tires from landfill. Roads that use materials from waste tire products such as rubberized asphalt concrete are superior to other road surface materials in several ways and are the more cost-effective option for local governments. However, local governments, most of who are financially strapped, frequently base their capital decisions on up-front expense, not long-term cost effectiveness. The author states that for continuing guaranteed funding for such local public works projects so AB 525 Page 3 their superiority may be demonstrated to local governments and others who will be making decisions about capital projects in what, hopefully, will be times of greater fiscal health. With the September 1, 2011 amendment, AB 525 also establishes the necessary financial accounts for funds associated with the architectural paint recovery program. This bill does not make any substantive changes to the architectural paint recovery program. 3) Waste Tire Background . For 2008, California generated approximately 44 million used tires. Of those approximately 22 million were recycled; 7.5 million were used for tire-derived fuel, 2.2 million were used as landfill cover, and 12.3 million were disposed of in landfills. Rubberized Asphalt Concrete (RAC) made from waste tires represents one of the most promising and beneficial end uses for tires. In addition to creating markets for used tires, roadways paved with RAC have been found to be safer, last longer and be more cost effective than ordinary asphalt. The Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Technology Center reports that a two-inch RAC resurfacing project uses over 2,000 waste tires and can save as much as $22,000 per lane mile over conventional asphalt. Tire-Derived Aggregate (TDA) is made from shredded scrap tires and is used in a wide range of construction projects. These uses include retaining wall backfill, lightweight embankment fill, landslide stabilization, vibration mitigation, and various landfill applications. Focusing a portion of tire recycling funds on grants for local agency RAC and TDA projects represents useful and cost effective means of both addressing California's waste tire problem as well as reducing the long-term cost of resurfacing, road building, and construction projects. 4) Architectural Paint Recovery Program Background . According to DRRR, Californians generate millions of gallons of leftover paint each year. Prior to the passage of AB 1343 (Huffman), Chapter 420, Statutes of 2011, which established AB 525 Page 4 the Architectural Paint Recovery Program, the only way for residents to properly manage their leftover paint was through local, taxpayer-funded household hazardous waste (HHW) programs. However, due to the immense cost to manage household hazardous waste, local programs typically can only afford to serve between 5-10 percent of the residents in their jurisdictions. Despite these low levels of participation, in 2009 paint represented almost one-third of the material collected through local HHW programs and cost local government millions of dollars to manage. Due to a drafting error in AB 1343, the Paint Recovery Account and Paint Recovery Penalty Subaccount established in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, as cited in the bill's digest, was not included in the bill. This bill establishes the Architectural Paint Stewardship Account for fees collected by DRRR for implementation of the program. AB 525 now also establishes the Architectural Paint Stewardship Penalty Subaccount for penalties collected by DRRR associated with the program. It also provides necessary collection and expenditure authority to DRRR for administration of these accounts. This bill does not make any substantive changes to the architectural paint recovery program enacted by AB 1343. SOURCE : Californians Against Waste SUPPORT : California Resource Recovery Association California State Association of Counties City of Lakewood City of San Francisco County of San Francisco CRM Company Regional Council of Rural Counties Republic Services, Inc. OPPOSITION : None on file