BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 568
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 27, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
SB 568 (Lowenthal) - As Amended: June 15, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 21-15
SUBJECT : Recycling: polystyrene food containers
SUMMARY : Prohibits a food vendor from dispensing prepared food
to a customer in a polystyrene foam food container after January
1, 2016 (July 1, 2017 for school districts) unless the local
government or school district adopts a recycling program that
can recycle at least 60% of its polystyrene foam food
containers.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires, under the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989
(IWMA), cities and counties to divert 50% of their solid waste
by 2000. The IWMA provides various programs to reduce litter
and educate consumers about the importance of recycling.
2)Provides, under the California Beverage Container Recycling
and Litter Reduction Act of 1986, funding and education
programs to reduce beverage container litter.
3)Prohibits a person from selling a plastic bag or a plastic
food or beverage container that is labeled as "compostable" or
"marine degradable" unless that plastic bag or container meets
American Society for Testing and Materials standards or a
standard adopted by the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery.
4)Prohibits the sale of a container that is connected to any
other container by means of a plastic ring or similar plastic
device that is not degradable when disposed of as litter.
5)Requires operators of stores, such as supermarkets, to
establish an in-store plastic carryout bag recycling program.
THIS BILL:
1)Prohibits a food vendor from dispensing prepared food to a
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customer in a polystyrene foam food container after January 1,
2016.
2)Defines "food vendor" as an operation that stores, prepares,
packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human
consumption at the retail level, including, but not limited
to, a restaurant, cafeteria, pushcart, vehicular food vendor,
caterer, store, shop, sales outlet, or other establishment,
including a grocery store or a delicatessen.
3)Defines "polystyrene foam food container" as a container made
of thermoplastic petrochemical material utilizing the styrene
monomer, that meets all of the following conditions:
a) Polystyrene is the sole resin used to produce the rigid
plastic packaging container.
b) The container is required by law to be labeled with a
"6," which indicates that the resin used to produce the
container was polystyrene.
c) The container is used, or is intended to be used, to
hold prepared food.
4)Defines "prepared food" as food, including a beverage, that is
served, packaged, cooked, chopped, sliced, mixed, brewed,
frozen, squeezed, or otherwise prepared for consumption.
Prepared food does not include raw, butchered meats, fish, or
poultry that is sold from a butcher case or a similar retail
appliance.
5)Applies the prohibition on polystyrene foam food containers to
school districts beginning on July 1, 2017.
6)Allows a food vendor that is a school district to dispense
prepared food to a customer in a polystyrene foam food
container after July 1, 2017 if the school district elects to
adopt a policy to implement a verifiable recycling program for
polystyrene foam food containers where there is a reasonable
likelihood that at least 60% of the polystyrene foam food
containers purchased annually by that school district will be
recycled.
7)Allows a city or county district to dispense prepared food to
a customer in a polystyrene foam food container after January
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1, 2016 if the city or county elects to adopt an ordinance
establishing a recycling program for polystyrene foam food
container for which the city or county makes a finding that,
based on empirical data, there is a reasonable likelihood that
at least 60% of the polystyrene foam food containers generated
annually in the city will be recycled by that program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Non-fiscal
COMMENTS :
1)Polystyrene and the Environment. According to a 2004 report
prepared by the California Integrated Waste Management Board,
in 1999, California disposed of over 3.3 million tons of
plastic in landfills. That is roughly equivalent to the
weight of the nearly 36 million Californians (averaging 185
pounds). Plastics represent 8.9 percent (by weight) and
perhaps twice as much (by volume) of the material disposed of
in California landfills. In general, plastics rank behind
paper as the second-largest category (by volume) of material
being landfilled in California. Polystyrene is one of the
most widely used plastics and is estimated at 0.8% (by weight)
of the materials landfilled. However, due to its lightweight
nature, its volume is much greater.
Commercial and institutional polystyrene products, including
polystyrene foam food container (a.k.a. Styrofoam), represent
42% of polystyrene production. Polystyrene foam food
containers present unique challenges in its management due in
part to contamination from food residue. Additionally, a
polystyrene foam food container by its nature has a useful
life that can be measured in minutes or hours. Yet, it takes
several decades to hundreds of years to deteriorate in the
environment or landfill. These containers also represent a
significant challenge as litter. A California Department of
Transportation study conducted from 1998-2000 found that
polystyrene products comprised 15% of the total volume of
litter collected from storm drains. This type of litter
reaches the sea by rivers and municipal drainage systems, and
then tends to break apart, where it can be eaten by animals.
2)Polystyrene and Human Health . Styrene is an industrial
chemical used to make polystyrene products. This year, the
National Toxicology Program, an interagency group coordinated
by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released
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the Twelfth Edition of its Report on Carcinogens. The report
said that styrene is reasonably anticipated to be a
carcinogen. While the low levels of the chemical in consumer
products make the risk to the average consumer low, workers in
certain occupations are potentially exposed to much higher
levels of styrene than the general population. Workers may
breathe in high levels of styrene in the workplace and absorb
styrene through the skin.
3)Local Jurisdictions. Numerous cities and counties in
California have already adopted some form of a polystyrene
ban. At least forty jurisdictions have banned polystyrene or
expanded polystyrene altogether, including San Francisco and
Oakland. An additional fifteen jurisdictions, including Los
Angeles City, Los Angeles County, Orange County, and San Jose,
have banned the products in government facilities or at
government events. Local jurisdictions have citied various
reasons for implementing the ban including the fact that
polystyrene is a common environmental pollutant and a
non-biodegradable substance, there is no meaningful way to
recycle the product, and biodegradable, compostable, or
recyclable disposable food service ware are relatively
affordable, safe, and more ecologically sound alternatives.
4)Previous Legislation.
AB 904 (Feuer) of 2008 would have prohibited a takeout food
provider from distributing single-use food service packaging
to a consumer unless the single-use food service packaging is
either compostable packaging or recyclable packaging as
defined in the bill. This bill died in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
AB 1329 (Brownley) of 2009 would have prohibited the sale or
distribution of a rigid polyvinyl chloride packaging
container. This bill was amended on the Senate Floor to
address another policy matter.
AB 1358 (Hill) of 2009 would have prohibited a food vendor,
restaurant, or retail food vendor from dispensing prepared
food to a customer in a disposable expanded polystyrene food
container, a disposable nonrecyclable plastic food container,
or a disposable nonrecycled paper container. The bill would
have authorized a food vendor, restaurant, or retail food
vendor to dispense prepared food in a compostable plastic
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container in a jurisdiction where organic waste is controlled
curbside for composting and to dispense prepared food in a
recyclable plastic container or a recycled paper container.
This bill was amended on the Assembly Floor to address another
policy matter.
AB 2138 (Chesbro) of 2010 would have prohibited a food service
provider from distributing a disposable food service packaging
or a single-use carryout bag, as defined, unless the packaging
or bag meets the criteria for either compostable packaging of
recyclable packaging. The bill would have prohibited a food
provider from distributing a disposable food service packaging
or a single-use carryout bag to a consumer, unless the
department determines the packaging or bag is recovered for
composting or recovered for recycling at a rate of twenty-five
percent (25%) or more. This bill died in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
5)Suggested Amendments. The bill allows a school district or
local government to avoid a polystyrene foam food container
ban if it can adopt a recycling program that has a likelihood
to achieve 60% or more recycling of the product. The bill
does not contain safeguards to ensure that the 60% recycling
goal is actually achieved once a recycling program is
established. The author and committee may wish to amend the
bill so that every five years, a recycling program adopted
pursuant to this bill must be renewed upon proof that the
program is at least achieving its 60% recycling goal.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California League of Conservation Voters
Californians Against Waste
City of Belmont
City of Encinitas
City of Long Beach
City of Manhattan Beach
City of Milbrea
City of Palo Alto
City of Pasadena
City and County of San Francisco
City of Santa Monica
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City of Sonoma
Environment California
Environmental Defense Fund
GreenTown Los Altos
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Mar Vista Community Council
Natural Resources Defense Council
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Sierra Club California
Solid Waste Association of North America
South Robertson Neighborhood Council
West Los Angeles Neighborhood Council
Opposition
Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers
America Chemistry Council
Black Business and Professional Association
Brawley Chamber of Commerce
California Chamber of Commerce
California Film Extruders & Converters Association
California Forestry Association
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
California Restaurant Association
Chambers Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties
Dart Container Corporation
El Centro Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau
El Monte/South El Monte Chamber of Commerce
Foodservice Packaging Institute
Fullerton Chamber of Commerce
Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce
Greater Corona Valley Chamber of Commerce
Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce
Industrial Environmental Association
Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce
Lemoore Chamber of Commerce
Long Beach Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce
Monterey Park Chamber of Commerce
Murrieta Chamber of Commerce
National Federation of Independent Business
Natural Environmental Protection Company
Pactiv Corporation
Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce
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Regional Black Chamber, San Fernando Valley
Seawright Custom Precast, Inc.
Society of the Plastics Industry
South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce
Southwest California Legislative Council
Stockton Chamber of Commerce
Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce
The Dardanelle Group
Valley Industry and Commerce Association
Wildomar Chamber of Commerce
72 Individuals
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092