BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1826
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 1826 (Chesbro) - As Amended: April 22, 2014
SUBJECT : Solid waste: organic waste
SUMMARY : Requires generators of specified amounts of organic
waste to arrange recycling services for that material.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the California Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989, which:
a) Specifies a state policy goal that 75 percent of solid
waste generated be diverted from landfill disposal by 2020.
b) Requires each local jurisdiction to divert 50 percent of
solid waste from landfill disposal.
c) Requires a commercial waste generator, including
multi-family dwellings, to arrange for recycling services
and requires local governments to implement commercial
solid waste recycling programs designed to divert solid
waste from businesses.
2)Establishes the California Global Warming Solutions Act of
2006 (AB 32), which requires the California Air Resources
Board (ARB) to:
a) Adopt regulations requiring the reporting and
verification of statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
b) Adopt a statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent to 1990
emissions levels by 2020.
THIS BILL :
1)Requires businesses that generate organic waste to arrange for
recycling services for that material on the following
schedule:
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a) Beginning January 1, 2016, a business that generates
eight cubic yards or more of organic waste per week;
b) Beginning January 2, 1017, a business that generates
four cubic yards of organic waste per week; and,
c) On and after January 1, 2019, a business that generates
one cubic yard or more of organic waste per week.
2)Defines terms used in the bill, including:
a) "Business" as a commercial or public entity including,
but not limited to, a firm, partnership, proprietorship,
joint stock company, corporation, or association that is
organized as a non-profit or for-profit entity, or a
multifamily dwelling.
b) "Organic waste" as food waste, green waste, landscape
and pruning waste, non-hazardous wood waste, and
food-soiled paper.
c) "Organic waste generator" as a business that is subject
to the requirements of the bill.
3)Requires organic waste generators to do one of the following:
a) Source separate organic waste and subscribe to recycling
service that includes collection or self-hauling; or,
b) Subscribe to an organic waste recycling service that may
include mixed waste processing that specifically recycles
organic waste.
4)Requires businesses that contract for landscaping or gardening
services to require that the organic waste generated be
recycled in compliance with the bill.
5)Specifies that multifamily dwellings of fewer than five units
are exempt from the requirements of this bill.
6)Specifies that food waste generated by multifamily dwellings
of five or more units is not subject to the requirements of
this bill.
7)On and after January 1, 2016, requires each local jurisdiction
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to implement an organic waste recycling program that is
appropriate for the jurisdiction and designed to divert
organic waste generated by businesses. Specifies that local
jurisdictions that have an organic waste recycling program in
place prior to January 1, 2016 do not have to implement a new
or expanded program.
8) Authorizes local jurisdictions to exempt businesses from the
requirements of the bill on a case-by-case basis for specified
reasons.
9)Requires local jurisdictions to include specified information
relating to the organic waste recycling program in each
jurisdiction's annual report to the Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).
10)Specifies that if a local jurisdiction adds or expands an
organic waste recycling program pursuant to the bill, it is
not required to update its source reduction and recycling
element or obtain CalRecycle's approval.
11)Specifies that the bill does not limit the authority of a
local jurisdiction to adopt requirements that are more
stringent than the bill and clarifies that the bill does not
modify, limit, or abrogate:
a) A solid waste franchise granted by a local government;
b) A contract, license, or permit to collect solid waste
granted by a local government; or,
c) The existing right of a business to sell or donate its
recyclable organic waste materials.
12)Requires CalRecycle to identify and recommend actions to
address state and federal permitting and siting challenges and
to encourage the continued viability of the state's organic
waste processing and recycling infrastructure. Requires
CalRecycle to cooperate with local government agencies and the
solid waste industry to provide assistance and incentives for
increasing the feasibility of organic waste recycling.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
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1)This bill . According to the author, "AB 1826 will help
California achieve the state's air quality, GHG, and waste
reduction goals by diverting organic materials from
landfills."
2)Meeting the state's recycling goals . CalRecycle is tasked
with diverting at least 75 percent of solid waste statewide by
2020. Currently, organic materials make up one-third of the
waste stream and food continues to be the highest single item
disposed at over 15 percent of disposal. CalRecycle is also
charged with implementing its Strategic Directive 6.1, which
calls for reducing organic waste disposal by 50 percent by
2020. According to CalRecycle, significant gains in organic
waste diversion are necessary to meet the 75 percent goal and
implementing Strategic Directive 6.1. Recycling technologies
for organic waste include composting, anaerobic digestion, and
other types of processing that generate renewable fuels,
energy, soil amendments, and mulch. Other states have taken
similar actions, and 23 have banned the disposal of green
waste (i.e., yard trimmings and landscape waste) in landfills.
Compost and other soil amendments that can be produced from
organic materials have been shown to improve soil health by
incorporating organic matter, beneficial micro-organisms, and
nutrients and reduce the need for chemical pesticides and
fertilizers. These products also conserve water by allowing
water to penetrate the soil more quickly and decreasing
runoff.
Recycling organic materials also creates local jobs.
According to CalRecycle, composting creates an average of four
jobs for every 1,000 tons of material, approximately four
times more than landfilling.
3)Waste reduction and GHGs . According to ARB, a total reduction
of 80 million metric tons (MMT), or 16 percent compared to
business as usual, is necessary to reduce statewide GHG
emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. ARB intends to achieve
approximately 78 percent of the reductions through direct
regulations. ARB proposes to achieve the balance of
reductions necessary to meet the 2020 limit (approximately 18
MMT) through a cap-and-trade program.
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The 2012-13 Budget Act authorized the Department of Finance to
allocate at least $500 million from cap-and-trade revenue, and
make commensurate reductions to General Fund expenditure
authority, to support the regulatory purposes of AB 32. The
Governor's proposed 2013-14 Budget includes a brief discussion
of Administration priorities for investment, emphasizing
investments in the transportation and energy sectors from
which large reductions in GHG emissions are possible. In
addition, areas to be examined during the planning process
include sustainable agriculture practices (including the
development of bioenergy), forest management and urban
forestry, and the diversion of organic waste to bioenergy and
composting. ARB's draft three-year investment plan for
cap-and-trade revenues includes waste diversion as a funding
priority.
Recycling organic waste provides significant GHG reductions
over landfilling. Composting and other organics processing
technologies, including anaerobic digestion, reduce GHGs by
avoiding the emissions that would be generated by the
material's decomposition in a landfill. Landfill gas is
generated by the decomposition of organic materials such as
food, paper, wood, and yard waste. Fifty percent of landfill
gas is methane, a GHG that is 21 times more efficient at
trapping heat than carbon dioxide. While most modern
landfills have systems in place to capture methane,
significant amounts continue to escape into the atmosphere.
According to ARB's GHG inventory, approximately 7 million tons
of CO2 equivalent are released annually by landfills. That
number is expected to increase to 8.5 million tons of CO2
equivalent by 2020.
The Governor's 2014-15 Budget proposal for cap-and -trade
revenues, the Cap-and-Trade Auction Revenue Expenditure Plan,
requests $30 million for each of the next two years for
CalRecycle to support projects designed to increase recycling
and composting. The proposal includes $20 million for grants
to expand existing or develop new facilities that process
organic or recyclable materials.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Biogas Council
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Association of Compost Producers
Biodegradable Products Institute
Bioenergy Association of California
Breathe California
California Biomass Energy Alliance
California Climate and Agriculture Network
California Coastal Protection Network
California League of Conservation Voters
California Resource Recovery Association
Californians Against Waste (sponsor)
Castaway Solutions
Center for Biological Diversity
City and County of San Francisco
Clean Power Campaign
CleanWorld
Coalition for Clean Air
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Costa Mesa Sanitary District
CR&R Environmental Services
Ecology Center
Environment California
Frank M Booth Design Build Co.
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
Global Green USA
Grassroots Recycling Network
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice
GreenWaste Recovery
Harvest Power
Inland Empire Disposal Association
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
Napa Recycling & Waste Services
Natural Resources Defense Council
NatureWorks, LLC
Northern California Recycling Association
Peabody Engineering
Planning and Conservation League
Recology
Sierra Club California
Solid Waste Association of Orange County
Sonoma Compost
StopWaste.Org
Synergex International
US Composting Council
Vasko Electric, Inc.
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Opposition
California Grocers Association
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092