BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 876
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
876 (McCarty)
As Amended June 1, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Natural |7-2 |Williams, Cristina |Dahle, Hadley |
|Resources | |Garcia, Harper, | |
| | |McCarty, Rendon, | |
| | |Mark Stone, Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Appropriations |12-5 |Gomez, Bonta, |Bigelow, Chang, |
| | |Calderon, Daly, |Gallagher, Jones, |
| | |Eggman, |Wagner |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: This bill would require local governments to include
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organic waste recycling facilities in the existing planning
requirements for countywide solid waste management. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Commencing August 1, 2017, requires a county or regional agency
to include in its annual report to the Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) the following information:
a) An estimate of the amount of organic waste that will be
generated by the county over a 15-year period;
b) An estimate of the additional organic waste recycling
facility capacity that will be needed to process the organic
waste generated; and,
c) Areas identified by the county or regional agency as
location for new or expanded organic waste recycling
facilities capable of safely handling the material.
2)States that if the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies shall be made by the state.
EXISTING LAW, pursuant to the Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989:
1)Requires local agencies to divert, through source reduction,
recycling, and composting, 50% of solid waste disposed by their
jurisdictions.
2)Establishes a statewide diversion goal of 75% by 2020.
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3)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.
4)Requires generators of specified amounts of organic waste (i.e.,
food waste and yard waste) to arrange for recycling services for
that material.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill has the following costs:
1)Increased initial implementation costs of approximately $380,000
annually for two years for CalRecyle to advise counties, verify
and approve siting elements, and enforce the new requirements.
2)Ongoing costs to CalRecyle of approximately $200,000 annually.
3)Potential state costs for local reimbursement in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars range if this bill is determined to be a
reimbursable state-mandate.
COMMENTS: CalRecycle is tasked with diverting at least 75% of
solid waste statewide by 2020. Organic materials make up
one-third of the waste stream and food continues to be the
greatest single item disposed, making up over 15% of materials
landfilled. 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
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fuels, energy, soil amendments, and mulch.
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 decreasing runoff.
According to ARB, a total reduction of 80 million metric tons
(MMT), or 16% compared to business as usual, is necessary to
reduce statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by
2020. ARB intends to achieve approximately 78% of the reductions
through direct regulations. The Air Resources Board (ARB)
proposes to achieve the balance of reductions necessary to meet
the 2020 limit (approximately 18 MMT) through its 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.
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 carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent are released
annually by landfills. That number is expected to increase to 8.5
million tons of CO2 equivalent by 2020.
While the Legislature has taken significant steps to ensure that
organic waste is recycled, local efforts are essential to
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implement the state requirements. This bill facilitates local
planning by requiring counties and regional agencies to plan for
15-years of organic waste recycling capacity.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
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