BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1447
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1447 (Alejo) - As Amended May 5, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill establishes minimum recycled content standards for
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) food and beverage packaging
manufactured or filled in the state. Specifically, this bill:
AB 1447
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1)Defines "PET plastic packaging" to mean food, drink, or
beverage packaging material that consists primarily of
polyethylene terephthalate and used to contain food or
beverages.
2)On and after July 1, 2016, requires each manufacturer of PET
plastic packaging for sale in the state to include a minimum
of 10% of postfilled PET plastic in the plastic packaging that
it manufactures, or any empty plastic packaging, imported
into the state to be filled with food or drink in the state
contain a minimum of 10% .
3)Specifies annual reporting requirements to CalRecyle beginning
January 1, 2017, and annually thereafter.
4)Provides violations of this requirement are subject to fines
and civil penalties of $1,000 per violation.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Increased annual costs to CalRecyle of $761,000 and 8PYs to
implement a new monitoring, tracking and enforcement program
(Waste Management Fund).
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, in order to increase the
amount of plastic recycling in-state, meet consumers' basic
expectations for buying recycled materials, and create parity
with other container minimum recycling laws, AB 1447 proposes
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to create a minimum recycled content standard for all PET
containers sold in the state at 10%.
2)Backgroud. PET is the most common plastic used in food and
beverage packaging, including bottled water and soda.
According to CalRecycle data, 43% of Bottle Bill containers
are PET, making it the most common beverage packaging material
in California.
Several plastic food and drink manufacturers located in
California have received non-objection letters from the FDA
and comply with the state's existing recycled content
requirements for rigid plastic packaging containers. Several
beverage manufacturers also include postfilled content in
their packaging. For example, Arrowhead and Nestle bottled
water both report a 50% recycled content rate; Pepsi reports
10% recycled content; and, Naked Juice reports that their
bottles are made from 100% recycled content.
California has seven reclaimers accepting plastic for washing
and producing recycled flake or pellets and 30 manufacturers
that use recycled plastic to manufacture new products. While
there has been significant growth in the use of recycled
plastic in California, the vast majority of recycled plastic
is sent overseas.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
AB 1447
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319-2081