BILL NUMBER: AB 2633	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 28, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Allen

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act  to amend Section 41780.01 of, and to add Section
41780.03 to, the Public Resources Code,   relating to solid
waste.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2633, as amended, 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.  The act
also declares that it is the policy goal of the state that not less
than   75% of solid waste generated be source reduced,
recycled, or composted by the year 2020, and annually thereafter.
 
   This bill would restate the policy goal of the state to provide
that not less than 75% of solid waste generated be source reduced,
recycled, anaerobically digested, used for electricity generation, or
composted by the year 2020, and annually thereafter. The bill would
also require the department to investigate emerging technologies that
convert used plastic products into new plastic feedstock, adopt
regulations and protocols by January 1, 2016, that encourage
waste-to-energy and waste-to-fuel pyrolysis projects that address the
various grades of plastic products that are in landfills, and,
beginning January 1, 2016, and each year thereafter, examine and
report to the Legislature on possible incentives for businesses and
organizations that practice state-of-the-art, cost-effective material
separation and recovery techniques to locate recycling centers in
California.  
   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
  yes  . 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   .    Section 41780.01 of the 
 Public Resources Code   is amended to read: 
   41780.01.  (a) The Legislature hereby declares that it is the
policy goal of the state that not less than 75 percent of solid waste
generated be source reduced, recycled,  anaerobically digested,
used for electricity generation,  or composted by the year 2020,
and annually thereafter.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department shall not
establish or enforce a diversion rate on a city or county that is
greater than the 50 percent diversion rate established pursuant to
Section 41780.
   SEC. 3.    Section 41780.03 is added to the 
 Public Resources Code   , to read:  
   41780.03.  The department shall do all of the following:
   (a) Investigate emerging technologies that convert used plastic
products into new plastic feedstock, such as propylene monomer.
   (b) Adopt regulations and protocols by January 1, 2016, that
encourage waste-to-energy and waste-to-fuel pyrolysis projects that
address the various grades of plastic products that are in landfills.

   (c) By January 1, 2016, and each January 1 thereafter, examine and
report to the Legislature on possible incentives for businesses and
organizations that practice state-of-the-art, cost-effective material
separation and recovery techniques to locate recycling centers in
California.
   (d) (1) The requirement for submitting a report to the Legislature
under subdivision (c) is inoperative on January 1, 2020, pursuant to
Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
   (2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
 
  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.