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) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | | | | | | |COMMITTEE VOTE: |8-0 |(August 24, |RECOMMENDATION: |Concur | | | |2016) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (Nat. Res.) Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES. SUMMARY: This bill adds self-haulers to the requirement that exporters, brokers, and transporters of recyclables or compost AB 1103 Page 2 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 "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. AB 1103 Page 3 FISCAL EFFECT: 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. 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 AB 1103 Page 4 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 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 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: 0004907