BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1022
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Date of Hearing: April 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 1022 (Eggman) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT: Electronic waste: CRT glass market development
systems
SUMMARY : Dedicates $10 million annually for cathode ray tube
(CRT) glass market development payments for manufacturers and
recyclers that manufacture products in California using recycled
CRT glass.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (Act)
to provide a cost-free and convenient means for consumers to
return, recycle, and ensure the safe and environmentally-sound
disposal of covered electronic devices (CEDs). A CED is a
video display device containing a screen greater than four
inches, measured diagonally. CEDs that are discarded are
considered covered electronic waste (CEW).
2)Requires a consumer to pay a CEW recycling fee upon the
purchase of a new or refurbished CED at the time of the retail
sale. The CEW recycling fee ranges from $3 to $5 for each
CED, depending on the screen size, and is used primarily to
pay CEW collectors and recyclers.
3)Provides for payments to CEW collectors and recyclers for
costs associated with collecting and recycling CEW that has
been generated in the state. Regulations expressly prohibit a
CEW collector or recycler from requesting payments for
non-California CEW. CEW owned by a person in California but
used entirely outside of the state is not eligible for
payment.
THIS BILL :
1)Defines "CRT glass" to mean glass derived from the treatment
or breakage of a cathode ray tube that is from or part of a
CED.
2)Establishes "CRT glass market development payments" for a
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manufacturer or an electronic waste recycler who uses CRT
glass to manufacture a product in the state.
3)Continuously appropriates $10 million annually for CRT glass
market development payments from the Electronic Waste Recovery
and Recycling Account.
4)Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to
administer the CRT glass market development payments (the
other payments under the Act are administered by CalRecycle).
5)Specifies that DTSC may only make a CRT glass market
development payment to a manufacturer or electronic waste
recycler if it determines that:
a) The manufacturer or recycler demonstrates that it is in
compliance with all applicable laws; and,
b) The manufacturer or recycler will use the glass to
manufacture a product in the state.
6)Sunsets the provisions of the bill on an unspecified date.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Background . In 2001, DTSC determined that CRT devices are
hazardous, which means that they must be managed as hazardous
waste when disposed. In response to this determination, the
Legislature enacted SB 20 and SB 50 (Sher) in 2003, which
established the Act to create a cost-free and convenient way for
consumers to return, recycle, and ensure the safe and
environmentally-sound disposal of hazardous video display
devices, including CRTs. Since January 2005, more than 965
million pounds (approximately 75 percent) of CEW have been
recycled as a result of the Act. The Act has created jobs and
fostered California's electronic waste and recycling
infrastructure with approximately 600 approved CEW collectors
and 60 approved recyclers throughout the state. The state's CEW
infrastructure also recovers substantial quantities of
miscellaneous electronic waste not covered by the CEW payment
system.
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A CRT includes the glass tube and panel contained in older-model
televisions and computer monitors. Because of its high
lead-content (about 25 percent), there are limited recycling
options for CRT glass. Last month, CalRecycle held a CEW
Recycling Program Stakeholder Workshop, which included a
discussion about the challenges of managing CRT glass.
Currently, this material can only be used to manufacture new CRT
glass, for which there is very little market, and in lead
smelters, which recycles only the lead contained in the glass.
CalRecycle has only identified three smelters in the US that
will accept significant quantities of CRT glass. The panel
portion of the glass is less hazardous, containing little to no
lead and barium for radiation shielding, but also lacks a
recycling market. As a result, CRT glass is being stockpiled by
electronic waste recyclers. According to DTSC, in 2010 more
than 17 million pounds of CRT glass had accumulated at
collection facilities.
In October of last year, DTSC adopted emergency regulations to
try to address this glut of CRT glass. The regulations: allow
recycling options other than CRT glass-to-CRT glass and lead
smelting, consistent with the requirements for other hazardous
waste recycling requirements; allow the disposal of leaded CRT
glass at hazardous waste disposal facilities; and, allow the
disposal of non-leaded panel glass (e.g., barium-coated panel
glass) at solid waste landfills. While these regulations create
a pathway for expanded recycling and disposal, they will not
address the need for new processing technologies to make CRT
glass recyclable.
CalRecycle indicates that new lead extraction technologies are
being developed on a small scale, which may enable both the lead
and the glass to be recycled. On example of this technology is
Closed Loop Recycling, located in Arizona, which has developed a
process that separates CRTs. The less-hazardous panel glass is
separated for polishing to remove any coatings and the clean
glass is sold for recycling. The leaded funnel and any leaded
panel glass is processed using a new type of furnace that
operates at a lower temperature than traditional glass furnaces.
This lower temperature prevents the lead from volatizing,
allowing the lead and the molten glass to be separated for
recycling.
This bill: According to the author, this bill is intended to
keep leaded CRT glass out of the waste stream and create jobs in
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California by providing incentives for CRT glass recycling. The
incentives would be funded using existing fees collected under
the Act.
Suggested amendments : The committee may wish to make the
following amendments to AB 1022:
1)To be consistent with the other payments made under PRC
Section 42476, specify that the CRT glass market development
payments are to be administered by CalRecycle rather than
DTSC.
2)In order to ensure adequate oversight of the management of
potentially hazardous CRT glass, require that CalRecycle
administer the payments in consultation with DTSC.
3)Specify that the payments are available for processing
technologies that separate the lead from CRT glass in a manner
that allows the non-hazardous glass to be recycled.
4)Clarify that the term "manufacturer" for purposes of the CRT
glass market development payments refers to the producer or
manufacturer of a product containing recycled CRT glass in
California. (The current definition refers to manufacturers
of CEDs.)
5)Clarify that the CRT glass market development payments are
authorized until January 1, 2023.
6)Make related technical changes.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Californians Against Waste (sponsor)
California Association of Recycling Market Development Zones
Glass Packaging Institute
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sims Recycling Solutions
Opposition
None on file
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Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092