BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 521
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 521 (Stone) - As Amended: April 19, 2013
SUBJECT : Recycling: marine plastic pollution
SUMMARY : Establishes a product stewardship program for plastic
products that pose a significant risk to the marine environment.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Under the federal Marine Plastic Pollution Research and
Control Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-220, Title II) prohibits
the at-sea disposal of plastic and other solid materials for
all navigable waters within the United States. The law also
requires the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the US
Coast Guard to jointly conduct a public education program on
the marine environment.
2)Under the federal Clean Water Act requires the state to
identify a list of impaired water-bodies and develop and
implement Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for impaired water
bodies.
3)Under the Porter Cologne Water Quality Control Act (commencing
with Water Code Section 13000) regulates discharges of
pollutants in storm water and urban runoff by regulating,
through the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES), industrial discharges and discharges through the
municipal storm drain systems.
4)Under the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989,
requires each city or county to divert 50 percent of solid
waste from landfill disposal or transformation on and after
January 1, 2000. The Act establishes a statewide policy goal
that not less than 75 percent of solid waste be source
reduced, recycled, or composted on and after January 1, 2020.
5)Establishes the California Oil Recycling Enhancement Act,
which requires manufacturers of used oil to pay a fee of 4
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cents per quart (16 cents per gallon) to the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), which then pays
a recycling incentive of 4 cents per quart to industrial
generators, curbside collection program operators, and
certified used oil collection centers for used oil collected
from the public and transported for recycling. The Act
includes related grants and loans, development and
implementation of an information and education program, and a
reporting, monitoring, and enforcement program.
6)Establishes the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003, which
requires a retailer selling a covered electronic device (CED)
in California to collect a recycling fee (between $3 and $5)
from the consumer. Fees are deposited into the Electronic
Waste Recovery and Recycling Account, which is continuously
appropriated to CalRecycle and the Department of Toxic
Substances Control (DTSC) to make electronic waste recovery
payments to cover the net cost of an authorized collector in
operating a "free and convenient" system for collecting,
consolidating, and transporting CEDs, and to make electronic
waste recycling payments to cover an electronic waste
recycler's average net cost of receiving, processing, and
recycling CEDs. The Act defines CED as a product that
contains a video display device 4 inches and larger.
7)Establishes the Cell Phone Recycling Act, which requires every
retailer of cell phones to have in place a system for the
acceptance and collection of used cell phones for reuse,
recycling, or proper disposal.
8)Establishes the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act, which
requires every retailer of rechargeable batteries to have in
place a system for the acceptance and collection of used
rechargeable batteries for reuse, recycling, or proper
disposal.
9)Establishes the Dry Cell Battery Management Act, which
establishes requirements for the production and labeling of
consumer products with dry cell batteries and sets limits on
the amount of mercury in those batteries.
10)Establishes the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act, which
requires manufacturers to establish and maintain a program for
mercury-added thermostats. Requires the program to include
collection, handling, and arranging for appropriate management
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of mercury-added thermostats.
11)Requires pharmaceutical manufacturers that sell or distribute
a medication in California that is usually self-injected at
home with a hypodermic needle to submit to CalRecycle a plan
that describes any actions taken by the manufacturer for the
safe collection and proper disposal of the waste devices by
July 1, 2010, and annually thereafter.
12)Establishes the Product Stewardship for Carpets Program,
which requires manufacturers of carpet sold in California to
submit a carpet product stewardship plan to CalRecycle that
demonstrates how waste carpet will be collected and properly
managed.
13)Establishes the Architectural Paint Recovery Program, which
requires architectural paint manufacturers to develop and
implement a program to manage waste latex paint.
THIS BILL :
1)Establishes definitions for terms used in the bill, including:
a) "Covered item" or "category of covered items" as a
source of marine plastic pollution listed by CalRecycle;
b) "Marine plastic pollution" as plastic found in rivers,
streams, riparian habitats, beaches, and the marine
environment;
c) "Producer" as one of the following:
i) A person that manufactures a covered item and sells,
offers for sale, distributes, or uses that covered item
in a commercial enterprise under the person's own brand;
ii) If there is no person that fits the above
definition, the owner or licensee of a trademark under
which the covered item is sold, distributed, or used in a
commercial enterprise in the state; or,
iii) If there is no person that meets the above
definitions, the person that imports the covered item
into the state for sale, distribution, or use in a
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commercial enterprise.
d) "Producer responsibility organization" (organization) as
an organization designated by a group of producers to act
as an agent on their behalf to develop and operate a marine
plastic pollution recovery plan (plan).
2)On or before June 1, 2014, requires CalRecycle, in
coordination with the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) and the
State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to adopt
regulations that accomplish the following:
a) Procedures for the identification and listing of covered
items and categories of covered items;
b) Requirements for the contents, review, and approval of
plans;
c) Procedures for the calculation of the amount and
collection of the alternative compliance fee;
d) Establish marine plastic pollution reduction targets
(targets) for a producer of a covered item, after
CalRecycle determines the proportion of pollution reduction
of a covered item that each producer is required to
achieve;
e) Achieve an overall reduction goal of 75 percent by 2020
and 95 percent by 2025, compared to the baseline amount on
June 1, 2014.
3)On or before July 1, 2014, requires CalRecycle, in
consultation with OPC and SWRCB, to adopt a list of covered
items or categories of covered items that are the major
sources of marine plastic pollution in the state. Requires
CalRecycle to revise the list as new information becomes
available.
4)Authorizes CalRecycle to exclude any item that is already
subject to "effective marine plastic pollution prevention
policies."
5)Within six months of the inclusion of a covered item or
category of covered items being added to the CalRecycle list,
requires a producer or organization to design and submit a
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plan to reduce the marine plastic pollution caused by the
item, which shall include:
a) Measures to meet the targets established by CalRecycle;
and,
b) Measures for monitoring, measuring, assessing, and
reporting on the progress made toward the targets.
6)Requires CalRecycle, in consultation with OPC and SWRCB, to
review and approve the plan if it determines that it is
"likely to meet" the plan's goals and targets. If the plan is
not "likely to meet" the plan's goals and targets, authorizes
CalRecycle to require the producer or organization to revise
the plan.
7)Requires CalRecycle to recover any costs associated with
reviewing and approving the plan by establishing a fee on the
producer or organization, as prescribed.
8)Requires CalRecycle to periodically review the progress of a
producer in implementing and meeting the targets specified in
the plan.
9)Authorizes CalRecycle to administer civil penalties for
violations of this chapter of up to $1,000 per violation per
day and up to $10,000 per violation per day for intentional,
knowing, or negligent violations.
10)Allows a producer to pay an "alternative compliance fee" to
CalRecycle in lieu of submitting and implementing a plan.
Requires CalRecycle to set the fee, but specifies that the fee
cannot exceed the amount that the producer would expend in
developing and implementing a plan. Requires CalRecycle to
periodically revise the fee.
11)Authorizes CalRecycle to expend the fees collected for:
a) Innovative product design for the covered item; and,
b) Recovery, collection, and recycling programs to prevent
marine plastic pollution caused by the covered item.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
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COMMENTS :
This bill . According to the author, AB 521 will "help reduce
the amount of plastic garbage that pollutes California waterways
and coastlines. The bill [will] establish a new program to
prevent plastic pollution from reaching California's marine
environment by requiring producers of the most prevalent items
to be responsible for the reduction of this pollution."
Plastic pollution (aka, marine debris) . Plastics are estimated
to compose 60-80 percent of all marine debris and 90 percent of
all floating debris. According to the California Coastal
Commission, the primary source of marine debris is urban runoff,
of which lightweight plastic bags and plastic film are
particularly susceptible. Due to the interplay of ocean
currents, marine debris tends to accumulate in certain areas of
the ocean. The North Pacific Central Gyre is where much of the
marine debris originating in California ends up. This area of
the Pacific has been referred to as the "Garbage Patch" or the
"Pacific Trash Vortex" because of the significant quantities of
plastic that have accumulated there.
Most plastic marine debris exists as small plastic particles due
to excessive UV radiation exposure and subsequent
photo-degradation. These plastic pieces resemble food to marine
animals. Small pieces are confused with small fish, plankton,
or krill. Plastic bags can be mistaken for jellyfish,
especially by sea turtles. Plastic has been proven to
negatively affect at least 663 animal species worldwide,
including all known species of sea turtles, half of all marine
mammal species, and one-fifth of all species of seabirds. For
example, in the North Pacific, 90 percent of Laysan albatross
chicks have plastic debris in their gastrointestinal tract.
In addition to the physical impacts of plastic pollution,
hydrophobic chemicals present in the ocean in trace amounts
(e.g., from contaminated runoff and oil and chemical spills)
have an affinity for, and can bind to, plastic particles where
they enter and accumulate in the food chain.
In 2007, the OPC adopted a resolution on "reducing and
preventing marine debris." A year later, OPC released the
Implementation Strategy for the [OPC] Resolution to Reduce and
Prevent Ocean Litter, which established four broad objectives to
reduce marine debris: 1) Reduce single-use packaging and
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promote sustainable alternatives; 2) Prevent and control litter
and plastic debris; 3) Cleanup and remove ocean litter; and,
4) Coordinate with other jurisdictions in the pacific region.
Local government impacts . Currently, local governments bear
most of the burden of dealing with marine plastic pollution.
According to The Cost to West Coast Communities of Dealing with
Trash, Reducing Marine Debris, a report released by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency in September 2012, local
governments bear the costs of beach and waterway cleanup; street
sweeping; installation and maintenance of storm-water capture
devices; storm drain cleaning and maintenance; manual cleanup of
litter; and, public anti-littering campaigns. The report finds
that the states of Oregon, Washington, and California combined
spend more than $520 million annually to combat litter and
curtail marine debris. The report collected information from
more than 90 cities, ranging from 200 to nearly 4 million
residents. The largest cities expended an average of just over
$10 million annually. The smallest cities spent an average of
just under $100,000. According to the California Product
Stewardship Council, to date 133 local resolutions have been
adopted in California supporting product stewardship.
Product stewardship . According to the California Product
Stewardship Council:
Product stewardship involves consumers, government
agencies, and product manufacturers sharing the
responsibility of reducing the impact of product waste on
public health, the environment, and the economy. Extended
Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a strategy to place a
shared responsibility for end-of-life product management on
all entities involved in the product chain, instead of the
general public, while encouraging product design changes
that minimize a negative impact on human health and the
environment at every stage of the product's lifecycle.
This allows the costs of treatment and disposal to be
incorporated into the total cost of a product. It places
primary responsibility on the producer, or brand owner, who
makes design and marketing decisions. It also creates a
setting for markets to emerge that truly reflect the
environmental impacts of a product, and to which producers
and consumers respond.
Alternative compliance . This bill establishes an "alternative
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compliance fee," which would allow producers to opt out of the
plan requirements and would shift the burden for new product
design and cleanup and recycling programs for the product to
CalRecycle directly. The amount of the fee is to be determined
by CalRecycle, but shall not exceed the producer's costs if they
had opted to develop and implement a plan. It is not clear how
CalRecycle would be able to determine how much a producer's
costs would be for plan design and implementation, especially as
plans may vary widely in complexity and costs, depending on the
producer or organization and the product itself. It seems
likely that many (if not most) producers would opt to pay a
one-time fee rather than bear responsibility for implementing a
plan with very high collection rates and significant penalties
for violations, potentially weakening the producer
responsibility goals of the bill. The author may wish to amend
the bill to make the alternative compliance fee an annual fee ,
rather than a one-time fee, to ensure that CalRecycle is able to
continue to operate the programs required by the bill.
Clarifying amendment . The committee may wish to amend the bill
to clarify that if CalRecycle does not approve a plan, it is
required, rather than permitted, to require that the plan be
revised.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Aquarium of the Bay
Azul
Californians Against Waste
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
City of Monterey
ChicoEco, Inc.
Clean Water Action
Communities for a Better Environment
Environment California
Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association
Green Sangha
Heal the Bay
Long Beach Coalition for a Safe Environment
Mary Crowley, Executive Director and Founder of Ocean Voyages
Institute
MBA Polymers
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Monterey Bay Aquarium
Natural Resources Defense Council
Ocean Voyages Institute
Oceana
Oceans Advocate
Paul Koretz, Los Angeles City Councilmember
Planning and Conservation League
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Project Kaisei
San Francisco Commission on the Environment
Save our Shores
Seventh Generation Advisors
Surfrider Foundation
The 5 Gyres Institute
Turtle Island Restoration Network
WiLDCOAST
Opposition
American Chemistry Council
American Cleaning Institute
California Chamber of Commerce
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Restaurant Association
Consumer Specialty Products Association
Dart Container Corporation
Grocery Manufacturers Association
National Federation of Independent Business
Pactiv Corporation
SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association
Toy Industry Association
Western Plastics Association
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092