BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1103
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|Author: |Dodd |
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|Version: |6/6/2016 |Hearing |6/15/2016 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Joanne Roy |
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SUBJECT: Solid waste: disposal.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law, pursuant to the California Integrated Waste
Management Act of 1989 (Public Resources Code §40000 et seq.):
1) Establishes a state recycling goal of 75% of solid waste
generated be diverted from landfill disposal by 2020 through
source reduction, recycling, and composting.
2) Requires each local jurisdiction to divert 50% of solid waste
from landfill disposal through source reduction, recycling,
and composting.
3) Requires exporters, brokers, and transporters of recyclables
or compost to submit periodic information to CalRecycle on
the types, quantities, and destinations of materials that are
disposed of, sold, or transferred.
4) Grants CalRecycle regulatory authority to adopt practices and
procedures related to waste tracking in the state.
This bill:
1) Adds self-haulers to the requirement that exporters, brokers,
transporters of recyclables or compost submit specified,
periodic information to CalRecycle.
2) Requires CalRecycle to develop regulations to define
AB 1103 (Dodd) Page 2
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"self-hauler" and must include in the definition, at a
minimum, a person or entity that generates and transports,
utilizing its own employees and equipment, more than one
cubic yard per week of its own food waste to a location or
facility that is not owned and operated by that person or
entity.
Background
Statewide waste diversion goals. 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.
CalRecycle has a goal of diverting from landfills at least 75%
of solid waste statewide by 2020 through source reduction,
recycling and composting. Source reduction, or waste
prevention, is designing products to reduce the amount of waste
that will later need to be thrown away and also to make the
resulting waste less toxic. Recycling is the recovery of useful
materials, such as paper, glass, plastic, and metals, from the
trash used to make new products reducing the amount of virgin
raw materials needed. Composting involves collecting organic
waste, such as food scraps and yard trimmings, and storing it
under conditions designed to help it break down naturally. This
resulting compost can then be used as a natural fertilizer/soil
amendment.
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 of
organic waste, including composting and anaerobic digestion) are
necessary to meet the 75% goal and to implement Strategic
Directive 6.1.
By using and reusing materials in the most productive and
sustainable ways across their entire life cycle, conserving
resources and reducing wastes help slow climate change and
minimize the environmental impacts of used materials.
Comments
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Purpose of Bill. According to the author:
The Legislature has enacted programs for the collection,
and recycling of organic waste for reporting the
disposition of that waste. Most recently, the Legislature
enacted, and the Governor signed AB 901 (Chapter 746,
Statutes of 2015), which among other things requires
disposal facility operators to submit tonnage information
to CalRecycle, and exporters, brokers, and transporters of
recyclables or compost to submit periodic information to
CalRecycle on the types, quantities, and destinations of
materials that are disposed of, sold, or transferred inside
or outside of the state. These reporting requirements
apply to permitted facilities and to authorized waste
haulers, either locally operated or franchised.
Unfortunately, there still may be a significant amount of
organic waste that is collected and disposed of in one or
another manner by so-called "self-haulers" who operate in
an unmonitored fashion, unauthorized, and possibly
illegally. As unauthorized self-haulers, these
transporters are not likely to abide by reporting
requirements nor transport organic waste to appropriate
recycling facilities. To the extent that these
self-haulers move to dispose of a significant amount of
organic waste, without state and local knowledge,
California will have an incomplete picture of how much
organic waste is being diverted from landfills and what the
true amount of methane/GHG reduction is actually being
achieved, relative to the state's statutory goals. That
information gap needs to be closed, and the transporting of
all organic waste needs to be monitored and reported.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 901 (Gordon, Chapter 746, Statutes of 2015) updated, revised,
and expanded the information recycling and composting facilities
are required to submit to CalRecycle.
AB 1826 (Chesbro, Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014) required
generators of specified amounts of organic waste to arrange for
recycling services and requires local governments to implement
organic waste recycling programs.
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AB 341 (Chesbro, Chapter 476, Statutes of 2011) established a
statewide 75% recycling goal and required commercial waste
generators to arrange for recycling services and required local
governments to implement commercial solid waste recycling
programs.
SOURCE: California Refuse and Recycling Council
SUPPORT:
None received
OPPOSITION:
None received
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