BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1045
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1045
(Irwin) - As Amended March 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Organic waste: composting
SUMMARY: Requires the California Environmental Protection
Agency (CalEPA) to establish policies to encourage recycling of
organic waste and coordinate the oversight and regulation of
organic waste recycling facilities.
EXISTING LAW, pursuant to the Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989 (Act):
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.
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
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services for that material.
THIS BILL:
1)Requires CalEPA, in coordination with the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), to develop and
implement policies to aid in diverting 50% of organic waste
from landfills by 2020 by promoting the use of agricultural,
forestry, and urban organic waste as feedstock for compost and
by promoting the appropriate use of that compost throughout
the state.
2)Establishes, and requires CalEPA to establish policies that
promote, a goal of reducing at least five million metric tons
of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year through the
development and application of compost on working lands, as
specified. Authorizes CalEPA to work with the California
Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to achieve this
goal.
3) Requires CalEPA to convene CalRecycle, the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB), and the Air Resources Board
(ARB) to ensure proper coordination of agency regulations and
goals to implement this section.
4)States legislative findings and declarations relating to the
state's recycling requirements and the environmental and
agricultural benefits of compost.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
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COMMENTS:
1)This bill. According to the author:
Currently, three state agencies have jurisdiction over
compost and compost facilities: CalRecycle, the State
Water Resources Control Board, and the Air Resources Board.
In addition, the state has a number of goals that will
encourage more compost facilities and will ultimately lead
to the production of more compost. These goals include
diverting 75% of our waste from landfills, recycling
organic waste, and reducing fugitive greenhouse gas
emissions.
These goals demonstrate the need for a more coordinated
effort among state entities to promote the use of waste
materials, their conversion to compost, and to begin to
identify how compost should be used to maximize soil carbon
management.
AB 1045 establishes a statewide policy to promote the
development and deployment of compost. It recognizes that
there are multiple agencies involved in the policy making
regarding the feedstock, transportation, development, and
ultimate usage of compost. AB 1045 identifies the need for
the state to look at compost as a valuable resource, one
that helps agriculture and the rural economy, and also
reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps our state meet
its waste diversion goals.
2)Meeting the state's recycling goals. 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 highest single item disposed at over
15% of materials landfilled. CalRecycle is also charged with
implementing its Strategic Directive 6.1, which calls for
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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.
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.
3)Waste reduction and GHGs. According to ARB, 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. 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 CO2 equivalent are released annually by landfills. That
number is expected to increase to 8.5 million tons of CO2
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equivalent by 2020.
4)Compost permitting. As noted by the author, three of
CalEPA's entities are involved in regulating compost
facilities. ARB and local air districts oversee air
emissions. For example, the South Coast Air Quality
Management District requires that all new compost facilities
located within its jurisdiction to be fully enclosed and meet
specified requirements for emissions for any vented emissions.
SWRCB and regional water quality control boards regulate
wastewater discharges and recently adopted general waste
discharge requirements for composting operations that include,
among other requirements, no storm water runoff from the site.
CalRecycle requires that compost facilities are permitted and
regulates general facility operations.
While all of these entities are acting appropriately within
their jurisdiction, there is little coordination between them
to ensure that the requirements are consistent with the
overall waste reduction and GHG emissions reduction goals of
the state. This bill would require CalEPA to ensure
coordination among its boards and departments.
5)Suggested amendments. This bill requires CalEPA and
CalRecycle to develop and implement policies to "aid in
diverting 50% of organic waste from landfills by 2020?" As
there is no existing law or regulation requiring that 50% of
organic waste be diverted from landfills, this provision could
be interpreted as establishing such a requirement, which,
according to the author, is not the intent of the bill. The
committee may wish to amend the bill to clarify this language.
This bill authorizes, but does not require, CalEPA to work with
CDFA. Given CDFA's oversight role in the use of soil
amendments, the committee may wish to amend the bill to
require CalEPA to consult with CDFA.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
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Support
AFSCME, AFL-CIO
California Compost Coalition
California Organics Recycling Council
Californians Against Waste
Carbon Cycle Institute
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
San Francisco Department of the Environment
Stopwaste
1 individual
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
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