BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 270
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 270
AUTHOR: Padilla, De León, and Lara
AMENDED: August 21, 2014
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: August 29, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Joanne Roy
SUBJECT : SOLID WASTE: SINGLE-USE CARRYOUT BAGS
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Under the At-Store Recycling Program (Public Resources Code
§42250 et seq.) (part of the California Integrated Waste
Management Act of 1989):
a) Requires operators of stores, defined as supermarkets
and stores over 10,000 square feet that includes a
pharmacy, to establish an at-store recycling program.
Under the program:
i) Plastic bags provided by the store must
include a label encouraging customers to return the
bag to the store for recycling.
ii) Clearly labeled and easily accessible
recycling bins for plastic bags must be provided.
iii) All plastic bags collected must be recycled in
a manner consistent with the local jurisdiction's
recycling plan.
iv) The store must maintain records relating to
the program for at least three years and must make
the records available to the local jurisdiction or
the Department of Resources Recovery and Recycling
(CalRecycle) upon request.
v) The operator of the store must make reusable
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bags available to customers.
b) Requires plastic carryout bag manufacturers to develop
educational materials to encourage reducing and recycling
of plastic carryout bags and make those materials
available to stores.
c) Allows cities and counties to adopt, implement, and
enforce local laws related to local curbside or drop-off
recycling programs.
d) Authorizes a city, county, or the state to levy fines
for stores in violation of this law.
e) Defines "reusable bag" as a bag with handles and made
of either cloth or durable plastic. Requires a reusable
bag made of plastic to be at least 2.25 mils thick and
specifically designed for multiple uses.
f) Sunsets the above provisions on January 1, 2020.
2)Establishes the Toxics in Packaging Prevention Act, which:
a) Prohibits a person from offering for sale or for
promotional purposes in this state a product in a package
that includes a regulated metal in the package itself or
in a packaging component if the regulated metal has been
intentionally introduced into the package or packaging
component during manufacturing or distribution.
b) Defines "regulated metal" as lead, mercury, cadmium, or
hexavalent chromium.
c) Defines "package" as any container, produced either
domestically or in a foreign country that provides a means
of marketing, protecting, or handling a product from its
point of manufacture to its sale or transfer to a
consumer, including a unity package, an intermediate
package, or a shipping container. "Package" also includes
unsealed receptacles, including carrying cases, crates,
cups, pails, rigid foil and other trays, wrappers and
wrapping films, bags (including single-use carryout bags),
and tubs.
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d) Excludes reusable bags from the definition of "package."
3)Establishes the Recycling Market Development Revolving Loan
Program to provide low-interest loans to businesses within
one of the state's Recycled Market Development Zones (RMDZ)
for the purchase of equipment and other relevant business
costs.
This bill :
1)Defines terms in the bill, including:
a) "Recycled paper bag" as a paper carryout bag provided
by a store to a customer at the point of sale and contains
a minimum of 40% postconsumer recycled materials. For a
bag with the capacity to hold eight pounds or less, the
bag must contain at least 20% postconsumer recycled
materials. A recycled paper bag must be accepted for
recycling in a majority of households in curbside
recycling programs in the state, as well as have specified
information printed on the bag.
b) "Reusable grocery bag" as, on and after July 1, 2016, a
bag that meets requirements specified in 2) below.
c) "Single-use carryout bag" as a bag made of plastic,
paper, or other material that is provided by a store to a
customer at the point of sale. Exempts from this
definition specified bags, including a bag provided by a
pharmacy for a prescription purchase, a nonhandled bag
used to protect an item from damaging or contaminating
other items when placed in a recycled paper bag or
reusable grocery bag, and a dry-cleaning or garment bag.
d) "Store" as a full-line self-service retail store with
gross annual sales of at least $2 million and sells a line
of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some
perishables (a typical grocery store); has at least 10,000
square feet of retail space and a pharmacy; or, a
convenience food store or foodmart. Includes in the
definition of store any other retail establishment that
voluntarily agrees to comply with the requirements of the
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bill.
2)Beginning July 1, 2015, requires that a reusable grocery bag
be able to be used a minimum of 125 times, as specified; can
be cleaned; have specified information visible on the bag;
cannot contain lead, cadmium, or any other toxic material
that may pose a threat to public health; and, must be
consistent with federal regulations related to recyclable
claims if the bag producer claims the bag is recyclable.
3)Establishes certification requirements for producers of
reusable bags and suppliers of postconsumer recycled content.
4)Prohibits stores from making single-use carryout bags
available at the point of sale on the following timeline:
a) On and after January 1, 2015, at either a grocery store
or retailer with at least 10,000 square feet of retail
space and a pharmacy.
b) On and after July 1, 2016, at a convenience food store
and foodmart.
5)Authorizes a store to make available a reusable grocery bag
or recycled paper bag at the point of sale. Requires that
these bags may not be sold to a consumer for less than $0.10.
6)Requires that all moneys collected by stores pursuant to the
bill be retained at the store and be used for costs
associated with complying with the bill; actual costs of
providing recycled paper bags and reusable grocery bags; and,
costs associated with a store's educational materials or
educational campaign encouraging the use of reusable bags.
7)Requires a store to provide a reusable bag or recycled paper
bag at no charge to any customer using California Special
Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children
benefits, CalFresh benefits (federally known as Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] benefits), California
Food Assistance Program benefits, or cash aid benefits.
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8)Authorizes stores that are not included in the bill to
voluntarily participate in the bill's requirements by
submitting an irrevocable written notice to CalRecycle
containing specified information.
9)Authorizes a city, county, city and county, or the state to
impose civil liability of $1,000 for the first violation of
the proposed law, $2,000 for the second violation, and $5,000
for each subsequent violation. Collected penalties must be
paid to whichever agency brought the action.
10)Preempts local ordinances adopted on or after September 1,
2014, relating to reusable grocery bags, single-use carryout
bags, or recycled paper bags.
11)Appropriates $2 million from the Recycled Market Development
Revolving Loan Subaccount for loans for the creation and
retention of jobs and economic activity in the state for the
manufacture and recycling of plastic reusable grocery bags
that use recycled content. Requires recipients of a loan to
retain and retrain existing employees for the manufacturing
of reusable grocery bags that meet the requirements of the
bill. Specifies that any funds not expended by the end of
the 2015-16 fiscal year revert back to the Subaccount.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . The author states, "California uses an
estimated 14 billion single-use plastic bags a year.
According to CalRecycle, less than five percent of
single-use plastic bags are recycled. Plastic bags cause
litter, slow sorting and jam machinery at recycling centers
costing California more than an estimated $25 million each
year to collect and bury the plastic bag waste. By banning
plastic bags on a statewide level, the amount of litter and
plastic marine debris caused by plastic bags can be
significantly reduced."
2) Background . Plastic bags and plastic film together
represent 2.2% of the waste stream, and every year
California taxpayers spend $25 million disposing of the 19
billion plastic bags used annually. Although plastic
represents a relatively small fraction of the overall waste
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stream in California, plastic waste is the predominate form
of marine debris. Plastics are estimated to compose 60-80%
of all marine debris and 90% of all floating debris.
According to the California Coastal Commission, the primary
source of marine debris is urban runoff, of which
lightweight plastic bags and plastic film are particularly
susceptible. Due to the interplay of ocean currents, marine
debris preferentially accumulates in certain areas
throughout the ocean. The North Pacific Central Gyre is the
ultimate destination for much of the marine debris
originating from the California coast. A study by the
Algalita Marine Research Foundation found an average of more
than 300,000 plastic pieces per square mile of the Gyre and
that the mass of plastic was six times greater than
zooplankton floating on the water's surface.
Most plastic marine debris exists as small plastic particles
due to excessive UV radiation exposure and subsequent
photo-degradation. These plastic pieces are ingested by
aquatic organisms and have already negatively affected over
250 animal species worldwide. In addition, hydrophobic
chemicals present in the ocean in trace amounts (e.g., from
contaminated runoff and oil and chemical spills) have an
affinity for, and can bind to, plastic particles and may
also enter and accumulate in the food chain through the same
mechanism.
3) Should Slightly Thicker Plastic Bags Be Considered
"Reusable" Bags ? This bill allows a bag made from plastic
film be considered "reusable" if it is "capable of carrying
22 pounds over a distance of 175 feet for a minimum of 125
uses and be at least 2.25 mils thick?" (SB 270 as amended
August 21, 2014, Page 8, lines 6-9).
A plastic bag with a 2.25 mils thickness has a slightly thicker
plastic film than a single-use bag and currently is
typically provided by a retail/department store at the point
of purchase such as See's Candy or Fleet Feet. It is
questionable whether most people would consider such bags as
"reusable" in the same, general sense as a cloth bag. Will
consumers actually reuse these slightly thicker bags at
least 125 times or will these bags be treated more like
single-use bags? Will these types of bags change consumer
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habits and result in litter reduction? Will these slightly
thicker plastic bags satisfy the goal of the bill, which is
to reduce plastic bag litter and marine debris?
4) Why Are Paper Bags in This Bill ? SB 270 mandates a fee on
paper bags at the point of sale. Paper bags do not pose the
same threats to the marine environment. Also, unlike
plastic bags, paper bags are more commonly recycled and
contain recycled content. If the goal of this bill is to
reduce plastic marine debris, why are paper bags included?
5) Local Bag Ordinances . Approximately 100 local governments
throughout California have adopted ordinances banning
plastic bags such as San Francisco, San Jose, Long Beach,
Los Angeles County, Santa Clara County, and Alameda County.
Many of these cities and counties also require stores to
charge a fee for a paper carryout bag, and a few have banned
both single-use plastic and paper carryout bags. Some local
ordinances allow the money generated by bag purchases and
retained by stores to be used only for the stores' costs of
compliance, actual costs of providing recyclable paper
carryout bags, or costs for educational materials/campaigns
encouraging the use of reusable bags.
This bill does not pre-empt existing ordinances; however, it
does provide uniformity moving forward by pre-empting local
ordinances adopted after September 1, 2014.
6) Recycling Market Development Revolving Loan Subaccount .
CalRecycle provides money in this subaccount as a source of
financing to recycling-based businesses, non-profit
organizations, and public entities for the purpose of
increasing the diversion of non-hazardous solid waste from
California landfills and to promote market demand for
secondary and postconsumer materials. Types of projects
typically funded include machinery and equipment, working
capital, real estate purchase (maximum of $1 million), real
estate improvement, and refinancing of onerous debt that
results in increased diversion. The fund balance of this
subaccount generally fluctuates between $3-9 million; the
beginning balance for fiscal year 2014-15 was $3.3 million.
This bill appropriates $2 million to provide loans for the
creation and retention of jobs and economic activity in
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California for the manufacture and recycling of plastic
reusable grocery bags that use recycled content.
7) Related and Past Legislation . SB 405 (Padilla) in the
current Session is substantially similar to SB 270.
Generally, SB 405 prohibited grocery stores from providing
single-use plastic bags to consumers and requires stores to
make reusable bags available for purchase by customers. SB
405 died on the Senate Floor.
SB 700 (Wolk) in the current Session would have required retail
establishments, as defined, to collect a fee of 5 cents for
every single-use carryout bag provided to a customer. The
bill requires that the fees be available for grants to
cities and counties for local parks and local programs that
reduce and cleanup litter. This bill was held in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
AB 158 (Levine) in the current Session is substantially similar
to SB 270. Generally, this bill prohibits grocery stores
from providing single-use plastic bags to customers and
requires stores to make reusable bags available for purchase
by customers. AB 158 did not contain a minimum fee for
reusable bags. This bill was moved to the Assembly inactive
file by the author.
SB 1219 (Wolk), Chapter 384, Statutes of 2012, extended the
sunset of the At-Store Recycling Program requirements from
January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2020 and repealed the
provisions preempting local regulatory action related to the
at-store recycling program requirements.
SB 1106 (Strickland) of 2012 prohibits the manufacture,
distribution, and sale of reusable bags without a warning
label that both specifies the need for reusable bags to be
cleaned and disinfected between uses and outlines the health
risks associated with not cleaning or disinfecting reusable
bags between uses. SB 1106 failed in the Senate
Environmental Quality Committee April 23, 2012 (2-5).
AB 298 (Brownley) of 2012, would have generally prohibited
stores from providing single-use plastic bags to customers,
required stores to make reusable grocery bags, as defined,
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available for purchase by customers, and created standards
for reusable bags. AB 298 was held on the Senate
Appropriations Committee suspense file.
AB 1834 (Brownley) of 2012 would have defined "reusable bag"
for purposes of the At-Store Recycling Program Law and would
have specified that on and after July 1, 2013, the
definition of what is a reusable bag under this bill will
become operative. Between January 1, 2013 until June 30,
2013, the current At-Store Recycling Program Law would have
remained operative. This bill would have become operative
only if SB 1219 (Wolk) became law. AB 1834 was placed on
the Senate inactive file and died on the Senate floor.
SB 915 (Calderon) of 2011 sets plastic bag reduction and
recycled content goals. A hearing in the Senate
Environmental Quality Committee was canceled at the request
of the author.
AB 2138 (Chesbro) of 2010 would have established recycling
and composting requirements for take-out food packaging,
including bags. AB 2138 was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Committee suspense file.
AB 1998 (Brownley) of 2010 would have repealed the at-store
recycling program and instead prohibited stores from
providing a single-use plastic carryout bag to a customer
and required stores to provide reusable bags for purchase or
recycled paper bags for a fee. AB 1998 failed in the Senate
on August 31, 2010 (14-21).
SB 531 (DeSaulnier) of 2009 would have required
manufacturers of plastic carryout bags to consult with
various entities, including the California Integrated Waste
Management Board (CIWMB), when developing specified
educational materials to encourage the reduced use or
recycling of those bags, and authorized CIWMB to modify
those materials. SB 531 was held in Assembly Natural
Resources Committee without further action.
AB 68 (Brownley) of 2009 and AB 87 (Davis) of 2009 both
would have required a 25-cent fee on the distribution of
single-use carryout bags. Both bills were held in the
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Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2058 (Levine) of 2007 would have prohibited the free
dispensing of carryout plastic bags by a store to its
customers, unless the store can demonstrate to CIWMB that
70% of the plastic bags it dispensed had been diverted from
the waste stream. AB 2058 was held in Senate Appropriations
Committee.
SOURCE : Author
SUPPORT : None on file
OPPOSITION : None on file