BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1826
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1826 (Chesbro)
As Amended August 6, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |54-22|(May 15, 2014) |SENATE: |23-12|(August 11, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY : Phases in requirements for generators of specified
amounts of organic waste to arrange recycling services for that
material beginning January 1, 2016, through January 1, 2019.
The Senate amendments :
1)Include "food soiled paper waste" that is mixed in with food
waste in the definition of "organic waste."
2)Define "rural jurisdiction" as a jurisdiction located within a
rural county, and define "rural county" as a county with a
total population below 70,000.
3)Change the implementation date for generators from January 1,
2016, to April 1, 2016.
4)Revise the threshold for the 2019 requirement from one cubic
yard of organic waste to four cubic yards of solid waste.
Authorizes CalRecycle to reduce the threshold to two cubic
yards of solid waste on or after January 1, 2020, if it
determines that statewide disposal of organic waste has not
been reduced by 50%.
5)Authorize rural counties opt out of this bill's requirements,
as specified.
6)Clarify the compliance mechanisms available to commercial
generators of organic waste.
7)Specify that a business may contract for organic waste
recycling services that are not offered through a local
franchise agreement for solid waste.
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8)Make clarifying changes to the local plan requirements.
9)For purposes of the local plan requirements only, define
"organic waste recycling facility" as compost facilities and
other facilities that recycle organic waste.
10)Authorize local jurisdictions to exempt businesses (or groups
of businesses) that generate less than one-half of a cubic
yard of organic waste per week.
11)Authorize local jurisdictions to exempt businesses (or groups
of businesses) that generate less than one cubic yard of
organic waste per week, if the local jurisdiction provides
specified information to CalRecycle. Specifies that
exemptions issues under this provision will become inoperative
if CalRecycle determines on or after January 1, 2020, that
statewide disposal of organic waste has not been reduced by
50%.
12)Specify that nothing in this bill modifies, limits, or
abrogates the authority of a local jurisdiction with respect
to land use, zoning, or facility siting decisions.
13)Require CalRecycle to post state financing mechanisms and
incentives that are available for the in-state development of
organic waste infrastructure.
14)Remove the requirement for CalRecycle to provide "incentives"
for organic waste recycling.
15)Make related technical and clarifying changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the California Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989, which:
a) Specifies a state policy goal that 75% of solid waste
generated be diverted from landfill disposal by 2020.
b) Requires each local jurisdiction to divert 50% of solid
waste from landfill disposal.
c) Requires a commercial waste generator, including
multi-family dwellings, to arrange for recycling services
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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 (Núñez), Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006), 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : 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."
CalRecycle is tasked with diverting at least 75% 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% of disposal.
CalRecycle is also charged with implementing its Strategic
Directive 6.1, which calls for reducing organic waste disposal
by 50% by 2020. According to CalRecycle, significant gains in
organic waste diversion are necessary to meet the 75% 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
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to CalRecycle, composting creates an average of four jobs for
every 1,000 tons of material, approximately four times more than
landfilling.
ARB had indicated that a total reduction of 80 million metric
tons (MMT), or 16% compared to business as usual, is necessary
to reduce statewide GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. ARB
intends to achieve approximately 78% of the reductions through
direct regulations. The balance of reductions necessary to meet
the 2020 limit (approximately 18 MMT) will be accomplished
through the state's cap-and-trade program.
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 (CO2). 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 seven 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 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. ARB's
draft three-year investment plan for cap-and-trade revenues
includes waste diversion as a funding priority.
The 2014-15 Budget allocates $20 million from cap-and-trade
revenue for CalRecycle to support projects designed to increase
organic waste recycling. CalRecycle is currently reviewing
grant applications for this funding.
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0004485
AB 1826
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