BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1045|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1045
Author: Irwin (D), et al.
Amended: 9/4/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 5-0, 7/1/15
AYES: Wieckowski, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gaines, Bates
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-1, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 62-2, 5/28/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Organic waste: composting
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires the California Environmental
Protection Agency (CalEPA) to promote the use of agricultural,
forestry, and urban organic waste as a feedstock for compost and
to promote the use of that feedstock. This bill would also
direct the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
(CalRecycle) to coordinate with the State Air Resources Board
(ARB) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to
coordinate permitting and regulation of composting facilities.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/15 address potential Bagley-Keene
meeting issues by deleting the formal establishment of the
Organic Waste Recycling Group, and add a sunset date of January
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1, 2021.
ANALYSIS: Existing law, pursuant to the Integrated Waste
Management Act of 1989 (Public Resources Code §40000 et seq.):
1)Establishes a statewide diversion goal of 75% by 2020.
2)Requires local agencies to divert, through source reduction,
recycling, and composting, 50% of solid waste disposed by
their jurisdictions.
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.
Existing law requires the ARB, under the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (commonly referred to as AB 32),
to determine the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
level and approve a statewide GHG emissions limit that is
equivalent to that level, to be achieved by 2020, and to adopt
GHG emissions reductions measures by regulation. The ARB is
authorized to include the use of market-based mechanisms to
comply with these regulations. (Health and Safety Code §38500
et seq.).
This bill:
1)States legislative findings and declarations regarding the
state's recycling and composting policies and the
environmental and agricultural benefits of compost development
and application.
2)Requires CalEPA, in coordination with CalRecycle, SWRCB, ARB,
and the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), to develop
and implement policies to aid in diverting organic waste from
landfills.
3)Requires CalEPA, in developing these policies to promote a
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goal of five million metric tons of GHG emissions reductions.
4)Requires CalEPA and various state agencies to coordinate
efforts, regulations, and goals related to organic waste
processing and recycling.
5)Sunsets the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2021.
Background
1)Statewide waste diversion goals. CalRecycle is tasked with
diverting at least 75% of solid waste statewide by 2020.
Currently, an estimated 35 million tons of waste are disposed
of in California's landfills annually, of which 32% is
compostable organic materials, 29% is construction and
demolition debris, and 17% is paper.
In addition, CalRecycle is charged with implementing Strategic
Directive 6.1, which calls for reducing organic waste disposal
by 50% by 2020. According to CalRecycle, significant gains in
organic waste diversion (through recycling technologies or
organic waste, including composting and anaerobic digestion)
are necessary to meet the 75% goal and to implement Strategic
Directive 6.1.
2)Recycling organic waste. For purposes of recycling, "organic
waste" is defined as food waste, green waste, landscape and
pruning waste, nonhazardous wood waste, and food-soiled paper
waste that is mixed in with food waste. Organic material,
like food waste and yard waste, represents about one-third of
the solid waste sent to landfills even though a large
percentage can be recycled or composted.
Recycling technologies for organic waste include composting,
anaerobic digestion, and other types of processing that
generate renewable fuels, energy, soil amendments, and mulch.
Anaerobic digestion, which produces biogas that can be
processed into biomethane fuel, is particularly suited to
handle food waste. Green waste is more efficiently processed
through composting.
3)What is compost? According to CalRecycle, compost is the
controlled decomposition of organic material such as leaves,
twigs, grass clippings and food scraps. A wide range of
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materials may be composted, but they must consist of
principally organic components (i.e. carbon-containing
remnants or residues of life processes). Compost products may
vary since the properties of any given compost depend on the
nature of the original feedstock and the conditions under
which it was decomposed. However, mature compost is normally
dark brown in color and should have an even texture and an
earthy aroma.
Composting is a means of controlling and accelerating the
decomposition process. An overabundance of soil organisms is
responsible for transforming the organic matter in compost
into carbon dioxide, water, humic substances (components of
soil that affect physical and chemical properties and improve
soil fertility) and energy in the form of heat. Most
composting facilities use a thermophilic process, which breaks
down the waste with heat-loving bacteria, and rely on high
temperatures to meet pathogen reduction standards.
Composting diverts organic materials out of landfills and turns
it into a product that is useful for soil restoration. In
addition to improving the quality of soil, compost prevents
soil erosion, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers,
herbicides, and pesticides, and enables better soil water
retention.
4)Composting in California. According to CalRecycle, there are
181 composting facilities in the state. However, some of
these facilities may not be involved in waste diversion (e.g.
agricultural residuals, manure, and other material not
destined for disposal). CalRecycle estimates that the top 30
compost facilities that take organics out of the waste stream
handle approximately 80% of the material.
Comments
1)Purpose of Bill. According to the author, "AB 1045
establishes a statewide policy to promote the use of compost
by requiring state entities to work together to establish a
coordinated effort for the development and deployment of
compost in order to achieve multiple state goals."
2)Coordinating efforts. Multiple state agencies are involved
with regulating composting. CalRecycle permits compostable
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material handling operations and facilities. The ARB is the
state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of
emissions of GHGs that cause global warming in order to reduce
emissions of GHGs. The CDFA annually inspects compost
facilities selling to organic food producers for adherence to
National Organic Program regulations. The SWRCB and the
regional water quality control boards issue individual waste
discharge requirements for larger composting facilities. This
bill proposes to provide for improved state agency
coordination of organic waste recycling efforts and
development.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 876 (McCarty, 2015) requires a county or regional agency to
include in its annual report to CalRecycle specified information
regarding organic waste recycling. AB 876 has been enrolled.
AB 1826 (Chesbro, Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014) phased in
requirements for generators of specified amounts of organic
waste to arrange recycling services for that material beginning
January 1, 2016, through January 1, 2019.
AB 341 (Chesbro, Chapter 476, Statutes of 2011) required local
businesses and multifamily residential dwellings of five or more
units that generate more than four cubic yards of solid waste
per week to separate recyclable materials from solid waste and
subscribe to a basic level of recycling service that included
collection, self-hauling, or other arrangements for the pickup
of the recyclable materials or subscribe to a recycling service
that may include mixed waste processing that yields diversion
results comparable to source separation.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Cost pressures up to $130,000 annually from the Integrated
Waste Management Fund (special fund) for CalRecycle to promote
the creation and use of compost, participate in the working
group, and to coordinate with the SWRCB and the ARB on
permitting.
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Cost pressures up to $175,000 annually (special) for the ARB
to participate in the working group and to develop coordinated
permitting and regulation of composting facilities.
Minor and absorbable costs to the CDFA and the SWRCB to
coordinate with CalEPA and CalRecycle.
SUPPORT: (Verified9/4/15)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Compost Coalition
California League of Conservation Voters
California Organics Recycling Council
Californians Against Waste
Carbon Cycle Institute
City and County of San Francisco Department of the Environment
City of Thousand Oaks
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
County of Ventura
Humboldt Waste Management Authority
Planning and Conservation League
Republic Services, Inc.
Rural County Representatives of California
San Francisco Department of the Environment
Stop Waste
Waste Management
West Marin Compost Coalition
One individual
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/4/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 62-2, 5/28/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin,
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Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein,
McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams,
Wood, Atkins
NOES: Travis Allen, Harper
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bigelow, Bloom, Brough, Chang, Dahle, Beth
Gaines, Grove, Jones, Kim, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte,
Patterson, Wagner, Waldron
Prepared by:Joanne Roy / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
9/8/15 14:55:32
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