BILL NUMBER: AB 837 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 7, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 20, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 11, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Nestande
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to add Chapter 5.9 (commencing with Section 42360)
to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to
solid waste. An act to add and repeal Section 42357.6
of the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 837, as amended, Nestande. Solid waste: plastic food
containers. products.
Existing law requires rigid plastic packaging containers sold or
offered for sale in this state to meet specified criteria, including,
but not limited to, that the container be made from 25% postconsumer
material. Existing law prohibits a person , on and after
January 1, 2013, from selling a plastic food or
beverage container product that is labeled as
"biodegradable," "compostable," "degradable," or as otherwise
specified, unless, at the time of the sale, the container
product meets the applicable ASTM
standard specification for compostable plastics, as
or other specified , for the term used
on the label certification requirements .
These provisions are generally administered by the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery, and a city, a county, or the state
may impose civil liability for a violation.
This bill would require a manufacturer or supplier making an
environmental marketing claim relating to the recycled content of a
plastic food container product, as defined, to maintain certain
information and documentation in support of that claim. The bill
would require a manufacturer or supplier to furnish this information
to any member of the public upon request or to provide the
information and documentation by furnishing a link to a document on
its Internet Web site. The bill would repeal these requirements on
January 1, 2018.
This bill would define terms and would prohibit a manufacturer or
supplier from selling a plastic food container in this state that is
advertised with a specific recycled content amount unless the
manufacturer or supplier is able to provide certification of the
stated recycled content in a format that is easy to understand and
accurate. A manufacturer or supplier would be required to provide
this information within 90 days from the date of a request by a
member of the public or state agency or to post a link to a document
on its Internet Web site containing this information.
The bill would authorize the state to impose civil liability for
a violation of the bill's requirements and would require the
penalties collected by the Attorney General to be expended by the
Attorney General, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce
the above prohibition.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 42357.6 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
42357.6. (a) For purposes of this section, "plastic food
container product" means a product made of plastic that includes a
tray, clamshell container, or other receptacle and that is used, or
intended to be used, to hold food.
(b) A manufacturer or supplier making an environmental marketing
claim relating to the recycled content of a plastic food container
product shall maintain information and documentation, which shall be
in written form in its records, of both of the following in support
of that claim:
(1) The recycled content for materials has been recovered or
otherwise diverted from the solid waste stream either during the
manufacturing process (preconsumer) or after consumer use
(postconsumer).
(2) The recycled content claim conforms with the uniform standards
for recycled content contained in the Federal Trade Commission
Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (16 CF.R. Part
260).
(c) A manufacturer or supplier shall furnish the information and
documentation that it is required to maintain pursuant to this
section to any member of the public upon request or provide the
information and documentation by furnishing a link to a document on
its Internet Web site containing the information and documentation.
(d) This section does not limit the requirements of this chapter
or any other provision of law.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.
SECTION 1. Chapter 5.9 (commencing with Section
42360) is added to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources
Code, to read:
CHAPTER 5.9. PLASTIC FOOD CONTAINER RECYCLED CONTENT
42360. The Legislature finds and declares that it is the public
policy of the state that environmental marketing claims, whether
explicit or implied, should be substantiated by competent and
reliable evidence to prevent deceiving or misleading consumers about
the recycled content of plastic food containers.
42361. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:
(a) "Advertise" means an advertisement, promotional material
posted on the Internet, or any other sales or promotional material
made available to the public.
(b) "Plastic food container" means a plastic package, including,
but not limited to, a bottle, carton, clamshell container, or other
receptacle, for sale or distribution in the state, that meets both of
the following conditions:
(1) Is intended to be used to contain food items.
(2) Has a relatively inflexible finite shape or form.
(c) "Manufacturer" means a person, firm, association, partnership,
or corporation that produces a plastic food container.
(d) "Postconsumer material" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 42301.
(e) "Postindustrial material" means a material generated by an
original manufacturing and fabrication process.
(f) "Recycled content" means the total amount of postconsumer
material and postindustrial material in a plastic food container,
expressed as a percentage of the total amount of material in that
plastic container.
(g) "Sale" means a sale that is not a retail sale, as defined in
Section 6007 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(h) "Supplier" means a person who purchases plastic food
containers for sale or distribution in this state.
42362. (a) A manufacturer or supplier shall not sell a plastic
food container in this state that is advertised with a specific
recycled content amount unless the manufacturer or supplier is able
to provide certification of that claim in a format that is easy to
understand and accurate.
(b) A manufacturer or supplier, upon the request of a member of
the public or a state agency, shall submit to that member or state
agency, within 90 days of the request, information and documentation
demonstrating compliance with subdivision (a).
(c) A manufacturer or supplier is in compliance with this section
if it provides a link to a document on its Internet Web site
containing the certification information and documentation required
pursuant to subdivision (a).
42363. (a) The state may impose civil liability in the amount of
five hundred dollars ($500) for the first violation of this chapter,
one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the second violation of this
chapter, and two thousand dollars ($2,000) for the third and any
subsequent violation of this chapter.
(b) Civil penalties collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
paid to the Attorney General. The penalties collected pursuant to
this section by the Attorney General may be expended by the Attorney
General, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce this
chapter.
(c) The remedies provided by this section are not exclusive and
are in addition to the remedies that may be available pursuant to
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Part 2 of Division 7 of
the Business and Professions Code.
(d) Costs incurred by a state agency in carrying out this chapter
shall be recoverable by the Attorney General, upon the request of the
state agency, from the liable person or persons.