BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2530


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          Date of Hearing:  May 11, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          AB  
          2530 (Gordon) - As Amended April 18, 2016


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill requires manufacturers of plastic beverage containers  
          sold in the state to label the containers with the percentage of  
          postconsumer recycled content.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Beginning January 1, 2018, requires manufacturers a plastic  
            beverage containers sold in the state to clearly indicate the  
            average percentage of postconsumer recycled content in the  
            beverage container, as specified.  


          2)For purposes of making a claim of postconsumer recycled  








                                                                    AB 2530


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            content and labeling the average percentage of postconsumer  
            recycled content, requires the manufacturer to utilize one or  
            more of the following approaches:


             a)   The average percentage of postconsumer recycled content  
               in all plastic beverage containers sold by the manufacturer  
               in the state during the previous year.


             b)   The average percentage of postconsumer recycled content  
               in the plastic beverage containers sold by the manufacturer  
               from a product line that carries the claim.  


             c)   Any other reasonable methodology consistent with the  
               Federal Trade Commission's Guides for the Use of  
               Environmental Marketing Claims.


          3)Requires any claim of recycled content to be accurate and  
            consistent with the Federal Trade Commission's Guides for the  
            Use of Environmental Marketing Claims.


          4)Allows a manufacturer to use an independent third-party  
            certification entity to meet the requirements of the bill.


          5)Requires a manufacturer to demonstrate compliance with the  
            bill's requirements to CalRecycle on an annual basis. 


          6)Prohibits CalRecycle from reducing the processing fee  
            requirements for a manufacturer of a plastic beverage  
            container unless the manufacturer complies with the  
            requirements of the bill.  










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          FISCAL EFFECT:


          1)Increased initial and ongoing annual enforcement costs of  
            between $400,000 and $600,000 beginning in 2017-18 for  
            CalRecycle to: a) review and determine label compliance; b)  
            review and determine the accuracy of claimed recycled content;  
            c) verify third-party certifications; d) perform periodic  
            inspections at dealer locations; and e) communicate and  
            process fee rate change to manufacturers.


          2)Unknown potential processing fee increases if manufacturers  
            fail to label their containers.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose.  According to the author, consumers should be able to  
            easily determine whether the beverages they purchase are made  
            out of recycled plastic and know whether the beverage  
            container material they have recycled is going back into new  
            beverage containers.  This bill provides consumers with that  
            information.


          2)Background.  The California Beverage Container Recycling and  
            Litter Reduction Act (Bottle Bill) requires beverage  
            containers sold in this state to have a California refund  
            value (CRV) of 5 cents for containers that hold fewer than 24  
            ounces and 10 cents for containers that hold 24 ounces or  
            more, and requires a distributor to pay a redemption payment  
            to CalRecycle.  These funds are continuously appropriated to  
            CalRecycle for the payment of refund values and processing  
            fees.  


          3)Plastic recycling in California.  California has around 10  








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            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.  


            In 2014, Californians returned approximately 17.7 billion (one  
            million tons) beverage containers covered by the Bottle Bill.   
            Plastic containers accounted for 220,000 tons.  Approximately  
            half of these were processed and recycled in California 





          Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081