BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 712 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 25, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES Wesley Chesbro, Chair AB 712 (Williams) - As Amended: March 31, 2011 SUBJECT : Recycling: beverage containers SUMMARY : Prohibits the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) from providing Bottle Bill funds to a city, county, or city and county that prevents the siting or operation of a certified recycling center at a supermarket site. EXISTING LAW , the Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (Bottle Bill): 1)Establishes refund value and redemption payments for beverage containers. 2)Requires a distributor to pay a redemption payment for every beverage container sold or offered for sale in the state to CalRecycle, which is required to deposit those amounts in the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund (Fund). The money in the Fund is continuously appropriated for the payment of refund values and processing fees. 3)Specifies that every convenience zone must be served by at least one certified recycling center, with specified operating hours. If a zone is "unserved" by a certified recycling center, existing law requires that the dealer (store) redeem beverage containers from consumers. 4)Authorizes funding for specified purposes to increase beverage container recycling, including payments to cities and counties. THIS BILL prohibits CalRecycle from making any Bottle Bill payments, grants, or loans to a city, county, or city and county that has adopted or is enforcing a land-use restriction that prevents the siting or operation of a certified recycling center at a supermarket site. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : AB 712 Page 2 The Bottle Bill is designed to provide consumers with a financial incentive for recycling and to make recycling convenient to consumers so that the beverage container component of the solid waste stream will decrease. The centerpiece of the Bottle Bill is the California Redemption Value (CRV). Consumers pay a deposit, the CRV, on each beverage container they purchase. Retailers collect the CRV from consumers when they buy beverages. The dealer retains a small percentage of the deposit for administration and remits the remainder to the distributor, who also retains a small portion for administration before remitting the balance to the Department. When consumers return their empty beverage containers to a recycler (or donate them to a curbside or other program), the deposit is paid back as a refund. To provide convenient recycling opportunities to consumers, certified recycling centers are located on the site of a supermarket (dealer) and accept beverage containers for recycling and remit the CRV refund to consumers. There must be one certified recycling center in each convenience zone, which is typically a half-mile radius circle around a dealer. In order to assist these centers cover their operating costs, the Bottle Bill allocates handling fees. If there is no certified recycler in a convenience zone, the dealer is responsible for taking back containers. According to the author, there are eight cities that prohibit manned recycling facilities: Newport Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Ladera Ranch, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Tustin and Vista. The California Grocers Association provided two specific examples. The City of Tustin only allows bulk reverse vending or reverse vending machines on retail/commercial lots. Tustin does not allow a manned facility on a grocers' parking lot. The City of Hermosa Beach only allows recycling facilities in its heavy commercial zones. Hermosa Beach does not allow recycling centers in retail/commercial, where all of its grocery stores are located. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Grocers Association California Retailers Association AB 712 Page 3 Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092