BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 818
                                                                  Page 1

          Date of Hearing:  April 4, 2011

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
                                Wesley Chesbro, Chair
               AB 818 (Blumenfield) - As Introduced:  February 17, 2011
           
          SUBJECT  :  Solid waste:  multifamily dwellings

           SUMMARY  :  Requires an owner of a multifamily dwelling with five 
          or more living units to arrange for recycling services that are 
          appropriate and available for the multifamily dwelling.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires local agencies to divert 50 percent of solid waste 
            disposed by their jurisdictions on and after the year 2000 
            through source reduction, recycling, and composting.

          2)Requires local enforcement agencies for solid waste (generally 
            cities or counties) to enforce statewide minimum enforcement 
            standards for solid waste handling and disposal.

          3)Requires local agencies to annually submit a report to the 
            California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery 
            (CalRecycle) summarizing progress in reducing and diverting 
            solid waste as part of their diversion mandates.

          4)Requires local agencies, on and after September 1, 1994, to 
            adopt ordinances relating to adequate areas for collecting and 
            loading recyclable materials in development projects and 
            prohibits a local agency from issuing a building permit after 
            July 1, 2005 for a building that does not comply with this 
            requirement.  

           THIS BILL  :

          1)Requires an owner of a multifamily dwelling (MFD) to arrange 
            for recycling services that are appropriate and available for 
            the MFD.  For the purposes of the bill an MFD is a residential 
            facility that consists of five or more living units.

          2)An owner of an MFD is not required to arrange for recycling 
            services if:

             a)   There is inadequate space for recycling containers, as 








                                                                  AB 818
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               certified by a solid waste enterprise that would otherwise 
               serve the MFD.  The certification is valid for no more than 
               five years.

             b)   The cost of recycling services creates a financial 
               hardship for the MFD owner.  An owner can claim a financial 
               hardship if the recycling services result in a cost 
               increase of 30 percent or more over the cost of providing 
               solid waste service alone.  As part of the claim, the owner 
               must include the contact information of the solid waste 
               enterprise that provided the information on which the claim 
               is made.  The claim is valid for no more than five years.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :

           1)Background.   According to the author, more than 7.1 million 
            Californians live in approximately 2.4 million MFDs.  Most of 
            these residents are renters, but fewer that 40 percent of them 
            have access to recycling services where they live.  While a 
            homeowner can choose to recycle, a renter who wants to recycle 
            is not able to when his/her landlord does not provide the 
            opportunity to do so.

            In California, about 8% of the disposed waste stream (3.3 
            million tons) comes from MFDs.  Additionally, MFDs account for 
            nearly 45% of housing units in San Francisco, 34% in Los 
            Angeles, and 29% in San Diego--significantly higher than the 
            national average of 16%.  Successful recycling programs in 
            multifamily housing require the education, participation, and 
            commitment of residents; the cooperation of local agencies; 
            and the participation of solid waste haulers.  A 2001 report 
            prepared by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, 
            "Recycling in Multifamily Dwellings," concludes that much of 
            the cost associated with recycling at MFDs is offset by 
            reduced disposal fees. 

           2)AB 32 Draft Regulations.   Pursuant to the Global Warming 
            Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), the California Air Resources 
            Board (ARB) has prepared a scoping plan that includes draft 
            regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by requiring 
            commercial businesses to recycle.  An MFD would be considered 
            a commercial business under these proposed regulations.  In 
            addition to the recycling requirements, local governments 








                                                                  AB 818
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            would have to provide education and outreach to, and 
            monitoring of, the commercial businesses.  ARB will hold a 
            hearing at the end of April 2011 to consider the adoption of 
            these regulations.

            The bill and the AB 32 draft regulations share a similar goal: 
            increase recycling of solid waste at MFDs through convenient 
            recycling opportunities.  However, the bill and the draft 
            regulations contain different provisions for implementation.  
            For example, the bill creates exemptions for an MFD owner that 
            are not included in the proposed AB 32 regulations.  Another 
            example is that the proposed AB 32 regulations may ultimately 
            define an MFD as a residential facility that consists of 16 or 
            more living units, as opposed to 5 or more living units.

            The author and the committee may wish to consider  monitoring 
            the draft regulations as this bill moves forward and amending 
            this bill if necessary to assure it does not enact 
            requirements that are less stringent than the regulations.  
           
           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          California State Association of Counties

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :  Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916) 
          319-2092