BILL NUMBER: AB 2633	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Allen

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act relating to solid waste.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2633, as introduced, Allen. Recycling: plastic material.
   Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery to administer state programs to recycle solid waste, plastic
trash bags, plastic packaging containers, waste tires, newsprint,
and other specified materials.
   The existing California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989
requires each city, county, city and county, and regional agency, if
any, to develop a source reduction and recycling element of an
integrated waste management plan containing specified components. On
and after January 1, 2000, the element is required to divert 50% of
the solid waste subject to the element, except as specified, through
source reduction, recycling, and composting activities.
   This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would utilize the technology available to
cost-effectively address management of solid waste and maximize the
value recovered from reusable plastic material by, among other
things, investigating emerging technologies that convert used plastic
products into new plastic feedstock, such as propylene monomer.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) California's goal of diverting not less than 75 percent of
solid waste, including plastic products, from landfills does not take
into account that landfills will continue to be the only disposal
alternative for many plastic products.
   (b) Existing law and current policies do not recognize new
technologies that are available to maximize the reusable lifespan of
plastic products and that are integral to meeting the state's
diversion goals. The new technologies and policies could address
several obstacles the state currently faces with regard to plastic
products, including the multicomponent construction in plastic
products, as in plastic containers with integral caps and valves,
usage history of plastic products, such as nonhazardous used hospital
coverings, contamination levels of the plastic products, such as
food service wastes and plastic products used for floor cleaning, and
the diversity of plastic grades, or types of plastic, within each
plastic material class.
   (c) According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, in
2011, 13.1 million tons of textiles ended up in landfills, an
increase of 44 percent from 1999, while only 2 million tons were
diverted from landfills. The low diversion percentage is largely due
to the multicomponent nature of many textiles that are in the
landfills. Further, 60 percent of textiles that end up in landfills
are PET polyester, the same material of which plastic beverage
containers are made.
  SEC. 2.  It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
that would utilize technology available to cost-effectively address
the management of solid waste and maximize the value recovered from
reusable plastic products by doing the following:
   (a) Provide incentives to businesses and organizations that
practice state-of-the-art, cost-effective material separation and
recovery techniques to locate recycling centers in California.
   (b) Investigate emerging technologies that convert used plastic
products into new plastic feedstock, such as propylene monomer.
   (c) Encourage waste-to-energy and waste-to-fuel pyrolysis projects
that address the various grades of plastic products that are in
landfills.
   (d) Complement the state and international trend towards
biodegradation by encouraging the use of anaerobic digesters and
landfills as available venues for anaerobic biodegradation of plastic
products that are embedded with new biodegradable technology. This
usage of anaerobic digesters and landfills will result in the release
of additional biogas that can be captured and used as renewable
energy.