BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 567
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 567 (DeSaulnier)
As Amended August 16, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :21-13
NATURAL RESOURCES 6-3 APPROPRIATIONS 10-5
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Brownley, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Dickinson, Hill, Monning, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Skinner | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Dickinson, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Knight, Grove, Halderman |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires plastic products sold in the state and
labeled as "compostable," "home compostable," or "marine
degradable" to meet specified standards. Prohibits the sale of
plastic products labeled as "biodegradable," "degradable," or
"decomposable." Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits a plastic product from being sold that is labeled
"compostable," "home compostable," or "marine biodegradable"
unless the plastic product meets certain American Society for
Testing Materials (ASTM) standards or the Vincotte OK Compost
Home certification.
2)Defines "plastic product" as a product made of plastic, alone
or in combination with other material. A plastic product
includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
a) A consumer product (i.e., a product or part of a product
that is used, bought, or leased for use by a person for any
purpose);
b) A package or a packaging component;
c) A bag, sack, wrap, or other thin plastic sheet film
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product; or,
d) A food or beverage container or a container component,
including, a straw, lid, or utensil.
3)Prohibits a plastic product from being sold that is labeled
with the term "biodegradable," "degradable," or
"decomposable," or any form of those terms, or in any way
imply that the plastic product will break down, fragment,
biodegrade, or decompose in a landfill or other environment.
4)Imposes civil liability of $500 for the first violation of
these laws, $1,000 for the second violation, and $2,000 for
the third and any subsequent violation.
5)Repeals the existing law referenced below.
EXISTING LAW prohibits the sale of plastic bags and plastic food
and beverage containers labeled "compostable" or "marine
biodegradable" unless the plastic bag meets the ASTM standard
specification for those definitions. Prohibits sale of a
plastic bag that is labeled with the term "biodegradable,"
"degradable," or decomposable," or any form of those terms, or
in any way imply that the bag will break down, fragment,
biodegrade, or decompose in a landfill or other environment.
Imposes civil liability of $500 for the first violation of these
laws, $1,000 for the second violation, and $2,000 for the third
and any subsequent violation.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Minor, absorbable ongoing costs to the Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery (DRRR) to review standards.
(Integrated Waste Management Fund (IWMF))
2)Potential minor, absorbable ongoing costs to DRRR to adopt
standards and make recommendations to the Legislature. (IWMF)
3)Potential ongoing costs to DRRR of an unknown amount, but
possibly in the tens of thousands of dollars annually, to
enforce and oversee implementation of the bill's provisions.
(IWMF)
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4)Unknown ongoing General Fund (GF) costs, likely not
significant, to the Attorney General (AG) to enforce the
provisions of this bill. (GF)
5)Unknown ongoing revenue from imposition of civil penalties.
(GF)
COMMENTS : According to the author, under current law, a
manufacturer of plastic bags and food and beverage containers
cannot claim that their products are "biodegradable" and can
only claim their products are "compostable" if they meet the
ASTM scientific technical standard for compostability.
Currently the only restrictions on end-of-life claims for other
plastic products are bags and food and beverage containers.
Many plastic products currently sold in the state claim to be
biodegradable, though there is no technical standard for this
term. Numerous studies have shown that even compostable plastic
that meets existing ASTM standards does not break down in the
environment as the label implies. Some plastic products claim
to be "compostable" even though they do not meet the technical
standard for compostability, making the material unacceptable in
composting facilities.
The author notes that claiming that plastic is biodegradable is
inherently misleading, because the environmental conditions and
timeframe required for the supposed biodegradation are not
communicated to consumers. Most consumers will assume that
"biodegradable" means a product will quickly break down if
littered, which is not true even for compostable plastics
designed to break down in composting facilities. While a
scientific technical standard exists to verify that a product is
compostable, there is no such standard to verify if a product is
biodegradable.
This bill will expand the scope of the current labeling
restrictions for plastic bags and food packaging in Public
Resources Code Sections 42357-42359 to all plastic products.
Misleading product labels damage composting facilities' ability
to ensure that their feedstock will break down properly and be
available for resale to end users. This bill would help to
ensure that composting facilities receive useable material.
Furthermore, many California consumers intentionally purchase
products that have a minimal impact on the environment. This
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bill protects such consumers by deterring misleading product
labeling.
Federal Law . Unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or
affecting commerce are illegal under federal law. 15 U.S.C.
Section 45 (a)(1). The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published
guides that help to explain the effect the law has on
environmental labeling, advertising, and marketing. These
effects include the labeling of products or packages as
"degradable," "biodegradable," or "compostable."
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0001947