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
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          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
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           Opposition 
           
          None on file

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :  Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916) 
          319-2092