BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                AB 712
                                                                       

                      SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
                        Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
                              2011-2012 Regular Session
                                           
           BILL NO:    AB 712
           AUTHOR:     Williams
           AMENDED:    March 31, 2011
           FISCAL:     No                HEARING DATE:     June 20, 2011
           URGENCY:    No                CONSULTANT:       Caroll 
           Mortensen
            
           SUBJECT  :    BEVERAGE CONTAINER RECYCLING

            SUMMARY  :    
           
            Existing law  :

           1) Requires a distributor to pay a redemption payment for 
              every beverage container sold or offered for sale in the 
              state to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery 
              (DRRR) 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.  (Public 
              Resources Code §14560).

           2) 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, the dealer (store) redeems beverage 
              containers from consumers.  (§14570 et seq.).  

           3) Authorizes funding for specified purposes to increase 
              beverage container recycling, including payments to cities 
              and counties.  (§14581).

            This bill  prohibits DRRR 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.

            COMMENTS  :









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            1)Purpose of Bill  .  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.  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.  Hermosa Beach only 
             allows recycling facilities in its heavy commercial zones.  
             Hermosa Beach does not allow recycling centers in 
             retail/commercial zones, where all of its grocery stores are 
             located.

            2)Background  .  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 DRRR. 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. 

            SOURCE  :        California Grocers Association  










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           SUPPORT  :       California Retailers Association  

           OPPOSITION  :    None on file