BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 513
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 513 (Frazier) - As Introduced: February 20, 2013
SUBJECT : Tire recycling program: rubberized asphalt
SUMMARY : Establishes the Rubberized Asphalt Concrete (RAC)
Market Development Act, which codifies the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) RAC grant program
for local public works projects and requires CalRecycle to
allocate $10 million for these grants annually.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Pursuant to the California Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989, establishes a state policy goal that 75 percent of solid
waste generated be diverted from landfill disposal by 2020.
2)Establishes the California Tire Recycling Act, which:
a) Requires a person who purchases a new tire to pay a
California tire fee of $1.75 for each new tire purchased in
the state. One dollar of which is deposited into the Tire
Recycling Fund for oversight, enforcement, and market
development grants relating to waste tire management and
recycling. The remaining $0.75 is deposited into the Air
Pollution Control Fund for programs and projects that
mitigate or remediate air pollution caused by tires.
b) Reduces the fee on January 1, 2015 to $0.75 per tire, to
be deposited into the Tire Recycling Fund.
c) Authorizes CalRecycle to award grants, loans, subsidies,
and rebates and pay incentives for various purposes related
to reducing landfill disposal of waste tires.
d) Requires CalRecycle to adopt a Five-Year Plan, which
must be updated every two years, that establishes goals and
priorities for the waste tire program.
THIS BILL establishes the Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Market
Development Act, which:
AB 513
Page 2
1)Requires CalRecycle, in accordance with its tire recycling
program, to award grants to cities, counties, and other local
government agencies for public works projects that utilize
RAC.
2)Specifies that CalRecycle shall annually expend $10 million
from the Tire Recycling Fund for purposes of the grants.
3)Requires that the grants award $2 per 12 pounds of crumb
rubber used.
4)If the requests for grants exceed the funding allocated,
requires CalRecycle to "randomly select from all eligible
applicants, with a preference for local agencies that have
received less money in previous grant cycles."
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Tire management in California . According to CalRecycle,
approximately 40 million waste tires are generated in California
every year. Although CalRecycle's diversion goal is 90 percent,
the most recent Five-Year Plan (2011) states that the current
diversion rate is around 74 percent. According to the
California Waste Tire Market Report: 2011, of the 40.8 million
tires generated: 8.8 million were recycled as ground rubber, of
which 4.9 million were used as RAC; 2 million were used in civil
engineering projects; 6.9 million were reused (either sold as
used tires or retreaded); 6.2 million were used as "tire derived
fuel" in cement kilns or at co-generation facilities; and, 5
million were disposed in landfills. The remaining 2.1 million
were otherwise recycled (generally other forms of reuse, such as
dock bumpers), or used as landfill cover.
California's sluggish economy and high unemployment rate has
contributed to the decline in waste tires generated. The same
factors, along with local government budget constraints and a
decline in use by CalTrans has resulted in diminishing numbers
of tires going to RAC. Export, generally for energy generation
in Asia, has nearly tripled since 2009. Appropriate tire
recycling in California, provides significant environmental
benefits and creates green jobs.
What is RAC? RAC is a road paving material made by blending
AB 513
Page 3
ground-up recycled tires with asphalt to produce a binder, which
is then mixed with conventional aggregate materials. There are
two primary types of binders for RAC, asphalt-rubber and
terminal blend. Asphalt-rubber is defined by American Society
for Testing and Materials Standard D6114 as "a blend of paving
grade asphalt cement, ground recycled tire rubber and other
additives for use as binder in pavement construction." The
asphalt-rubber binder is field blended (at the hot mix plant)
and requires specialized mobile mixing equipment. The amount of
recycled rubber content for asphalt-rubber is around 20 percent.
Asphalt-rubber been successfully used in California for over 30
years. Terminal blends are binder materials that use finely
ground crumb rubber and are typically blended at the asphalt
refinery. Historically, terminal blend binders contained up to
10 percent crumb rubber. However, in recent years the crumb
rubber modifier content has been increased to 15-20 percent in
some projects. Terminal blend has 20 years of successful use in
California. While there are a number of recycling technologies
for waste tires, RAC continues to be among the highest and best
uses.
RAC has a number of benefits, both environmental and economic.
RAC does not require as thick an application as conventional
asphalt and has a longer life-span due to its resistance to
cutting and cracking. Some studies suggest that RAC lasts up to
50 percent longer. RAC also provides significant noise
reduction over conventional asphalt and concrete roads.
Moreover, RAC uses a lot of tires. A two-inch thick resurfacing
project uses about 2,000 waste tires per lane mile.
CalRecycle currently allocates $3 million annually for RAC
grants to local governments through its authority under the Tire
Recycling Act, and as prescribed in its Five-Year Plan.
This bill. This bill is intended to increase the use of RAC
throughout California by expanding and codifying CalRecycle's
existing RAC grant program. It specifies that the grants will
pay $2 per 12 pounds of crumb rubber used (approximately the
weight of one passenger tire) and eliminates the current
administrative cap of only three grants per local entity.
The unused balance in the Tire Recycling Fund is projected to be
$32 million in the 2013-14 Fiscal Year.
Suggested amendments . This bill contains an incorrect reference
AB 513
Page 4
to paragraph (c) of Section 42889 on page 2, line 11. The
current 42889 sunsets on January 1, 2015; this bill references
the paragraph that includes the sunset provision. After January
1, 2015, paragraph (c) of Section 42889 will be the correct
reference. The committee may wish to amend the bill to correct
this reference.
This bill requires CalReycle to "randomly select from all
eligible applicants" when the requests for grants exceed
available funds, but also directs CalRecycle to provide a
"preference for local agencies that have received less money in
previous grant cycles." The committee may wish to amend the
bill to strike out the latter requirement and simply allow
CalRecycle to randomly select from eligible applicants.
The current budget challenges facing state and local agencies
has created a significant need for park maintenance, including
projects to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) and maintaining bicycle trails. The committee may wish to
amend the bill to specify that state and local park ADA
compliance and bicycle trail maintenance projects are eligible
for grants.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Californians Against Waste (sponsor)
California Association of Recycling Market Development Zones
California State Association of Counties
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092