California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 215

Introduced by Assembly Member Chesbro

January 31, 2013

An act to amend Section 42301 of the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 215, as introduced, Chesbro. Solid waste recycling.

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires rigid plastic packaging containers that are sold or offered for sale in this state to meet, on average, one of specified criteria and defines terms for purposes of those requirements. One of those criteria that a rigid plastic packaging container may meet to satisfy this requirement is that the container be source reduced. The act provides for the enforcement of these requirements by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery and provides that an entity making a false certification pursuant to those requirements is subject to a violation for fraud.

This bill would revise the definitions of the various terms used in the those requirements, including revising the definition of the term “source reduced” to impose new requirements, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program by changing the definition of a crime.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 42301 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

42301.  

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:

(a) “Container manufacturer” means a company or a successor
company that begin insert manufactures and end insert sells any rigid plastic packaging
container subject to this chapter to a manufacturer that sells or
offers for sale in this state any product packaged in that container.

(b) “Curbside collection program” means a recycling program
that collects materials set out by households for collection at the
curb at intervals not less than every two weeks. “Curbside
collection program” does not include redemption centers, buyback
locations, drop-off programs, material recovery facilities, or plastic
recovery facilities.

(c) “Refillable package” means a rigid plastic packaging
container that begin delete the board determines end delete is routinely returned to and
refilled by the product manufacturer begin insert or its agen end insert begin insert t end insert at least five times
with the original product contained by the begin delete package end delete begin insert rigid plastic end insert
begin insert packaging containers end insert .

(d) “Reusable package” means a rigid plastic packaging
container that begin delete the board determines end delete is routinely reused by
consumers at least five times to store the original product contained
by the package.

(e) “Manufacturer” means the producer or generator of a product
that is sold or offered for sale in the state and that is stored inside
of a rigid plastic packaging container.

(f) “Rigid plastic packaging container” means begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert plastic
begin delete package end delete begin insert packaging container end insert having a relatively inflexible finite
shape or form, with a minimum capacity of eight fluid ounces or
its equivalent volume and a maximum capacity of five fluid gallons
or its equivalent volume, that is capable of maintaining its shape
while holding other products, including, but not limited to, bottles,
cartons, and other receptacles, for sale or distribution in the state.

(g)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert “Postconsumer material” means a material that would
otherwise be destined for solid waste disposal, having completed
its intended end use and product lifecycle. begin delete Postconsumer material end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), end insert
begin insert “postconsumer end insert begin insert material end insert begin insert ” end insert does not include materials and
byproducts generated from, and commonly reused within, an
original manufacturing and fabrication process.

begin insert

(3) “Postconsumer material” includes finished plastic packaging
that has been rejected by a container or product manufacturer,
and that would be commonly disposed of, if the department
determines the material is later used in a process that is other than
an original manufacturing and fabrication process.

end insert begin insert

(4) “Postconsumer material” includes a rigid plastic packaging
container holding an obsolete or unsold product that is commonly
disposed of, and not commonly reused, within an original
manufacturing process, if the rigid plastic packaging container is
used as feedstock for new rigid plastic packaging containers or
under the alternative compliance method established by Section
42310.3.

end insert

(h) “Recycled” means a product or material that has been reused
in the production of another product and has been diverted from
disposal in a landfill.

(i) “Recycling rate” means the proportion, as measured by
weight, volume, or number, of a rigid plastic packaging container
sold or offered for sale in the state that is being recycled in a given
calendar year, that is one of the following:

(1) A particular type of rigid plastic packaging container, such
as a milk jug, soft drink container, or detergent bottle.

(2) A product-associated rigid plastic packaging container.

(3) A single resin type, as specified in Section 18015, of rigid
plastic packaging container, notwithstanding the exemption of that
container from this chapter pursuant to subdivision (b), (c), or (d)
of Section 42340.

(j) (1) “Source reduced container” means begin delete either of the end delete
begin delete following: end delete begin insert a rigid plastic container for which the container weight end insert
begin insert per unit or number of product uses has been reduced by 10 percent end insert
begin insert when compared with one of the following: end insert

begin delete

(A) A rigid plastic packaging container for which the
manufacturer seeks compliance as of January 1, 1995, whose
package weight per unit or use of product has been reduced by 10
percent when compared with the packaging used for that product
by the manufacturer from January 1, 1990, to December 31, 1994.

end delete begin delete

(B) A rigid plastic container for which the manufacturer seeks
compliance after January 1, 1995, whose package weight per unit
or use of product has been reduced by 10 percent when compared
with one of the following:

end delete begin delete

(i) The

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The rigid plastic end insert packaging begin insert container end insert used for the product
by the manufacturer on January 1, 1995.

begin delete

(ii) The

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The rigid plastic end insert packaging begin insert container end insert used for that product
by the begin insert product end insert manufacturer over the course of the first full year
of commerce in this state.

begin delete

(iii) The

end delete

begin insert (C) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A rigid plastic end insert packaging begin insert container end insert used in commerce begin delete that end delete
begin insert in this state during the end insert same year for similar products begin insert in similar end insert
begin insert rigid plastic packaging containers by the product manufacturer end insert
begin insert whose containers have not been considered source reduced, or a end insert
begin insert particular type of rigid plastic packaging container that is used end insert
begin insert to hold a similar product by other product manufacturers, as end insert
begin insert determined by the department, end insert whose containers have not been
considered source reduced.

(2) A rigid plastic packaging container is not a source reduced
container for the purposes of this chapter if the begin delete packaging end delete reduction
was achieved by any of the following:

(A) Substituting a different material type for a material that
previously constituted the principal material of the container.

(B) Increasing a container’s weight per unit or begin delete use of product end delete
begin insert number of product uses end insert after January 1, 1991.

(C) Packaging changes that adversely affect the potential for
the rigid plastic packaging container to be recycled or to be made
of postconsumer material.

(k) “Product-associated rigid plastic packaging container” means
a brand-specific, rigid plastic packaging begin insert container end insert line that may
have one or more sizes, shapes, or designs and that is used in
conjunction with a particular generic product line.

(l) “PETE” means polyethylene terephthalate as specified in
subdivision (a) of Section 18015.

(m) “HDPE” means high-density polyethylene.

SEC. 2.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.