BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1103
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1103 (Dodd)
As Amended June 6, 2016
Majority vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 26, 2015) |SENATE: | 33-5 |(August 15, |
| | | | | |2016) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY: This bill adds self-haulers to the requirement that
exporters, brokers, and transporters of recyclables or compost
submit specified, periodic information to the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) and requires
CalRecycle to develop regulations to define "self-hauler."
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of the bill,
and instead:
1)Add self-haulers to the requirement that exporters, brokers,
transporters of recyclables or compost submit specified,
periodic information to CalRecycle.
2)Require CalRecycle to develop regulations to define
AB 1103
Page 2
"self-hauler" and 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.
EXISTING LAW, pursuant to the California Integrated Waste
Management Act:
1)Establishes a state recycling goal that 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.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to Senate Appropriations Committee,
pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, this bill has negligible state
costs.
COMMENTS: 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.
AB 1103
Page 3
CalRecycle is tasked with diverting at least 75% of solid waste
generated 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 implement 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 decreasing runoff.
Recycling organic waste provides significant Greenhouse Gas
(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 over 80 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 California
Air Resources Board (ARB) 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
equivalent by 2020.
According to the author, there is a significant amount of
organic waste that is collected by "self-haulers" who may not be
captured by CalRecycle's waste tracking system. To the extent
AB 1103
Page 4
that these self-haulers transport a significant amount of
organic waste, California may have an incomplete picture of how
much organic waste is being diverted from landfills and what the
true amount GHG emissions reductions are actually being
achieved, relative to the state's statutory goals.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN: 0003634