BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2579
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2579 (Low)
As Amended April 13, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Natural |9-0 |Williams, Jones, | |
|Resources | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Gomez, Hadley, | |
| | |Harper, McCarty, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Mark Stone, Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
AB 2579
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| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery (CalRecycle) to conduct a study to establish baseline
data relating to food service packaging. Specifically, this
bill:
1)On or before January 1, 2018, requires CalRecycle to conduct a
study to establish baseline data relating to food service
packaging for their customers for food that is prepared
onsite.
2)Specifies that the study contain the following:
a) The amount of food service packaging, by material type,
used in California and the disposition of the products,
including the percentages recycled, composted, and disposed
and an estimate of the percentage littered;
b) The facilities located in the state that accept food
service packaging for recycling or composting, the cities
they serve, and the infrastructure needed to increase the
recycling rate;
c) The current and potential markets for recycled and
composted food service packaging materials; and,
d) Barriers to increased recycling and composting of food
service packaging and steps that may be taken to remove
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those barriers.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires, under the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989
(IWMA), cities and counties to divert 50% of their solid waste
by 2000. The IWMA provides various programs to reduce litter
and educate consumers about the importance of recycling.
2)Provides, under the California Beverage Container Recycling
and Litter Reduction Act of 1986, funding and education
programs to reduce beverage container litter.
3)Prohibits a person from selling a plastic bag or a plastic
food or beverage container that is labeled as "compostable" or
"marine degradable" unless that plastic bag or container meets
American Society for Testing and Materials standards or a
standard adopted by CalRecycle.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill will result in the following costs:
1)Increased one-time contracting costs of approximately $350,000
for CalRecyle to acquire the data necessary to prepare the
report (general fund (GF) or special fund).
2)Increased one-time costs of approximately $180,000 over a
two-year period for CalRecyle to analyze the data and prepare
the report (GF or special fund).
COMMENTS:
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Plastic seas. Marine debris is a significant problem along
shorelines and in coastal waters, estuaries, and oceans
throughout the world. Marine debris can be life threatening to
marine organisms and can adversely affect coastal communities
and the fishing industry. In general, there are two types of
marine debris that pollute our ocean and coastline in
California. The first is from ocean sources, and includes waste
discharged by ships, recreational boaters and fishermen, and
offshore oil and gas exploration and production facilities. The
second, and by far more environmentally destructive, type of
marine debris is from land. This type of debris includes
stormwater runoff, solid waste, floating structures, and poorly
maintained garbage bins and is transmitted to the marine
environment by waterways. Land-based litter constitutes nearly
80% of the marine debris found on our beaches and in our oceans,
and 90% of it is plastic.
A decade ago, this issue gained prominence when the Algalita
Marine Research Foundation and the Southern California Coastal
Water Research Project found that the average mass of plastics
in the seawater off the coast of Long Beach was two and a half
times greater than the average mass of plankton. After storms
with excessive runoff, the mass of plastics is even greater. A
similar study of seawater 1,000 miles west of San Francisco
found the mass of plastics was six times the mass of plankton in
drifts where marine animals congregate for feeding on plankton.
In 2014, a global study of plastic pollution in the world's
oceans estimated that 5.25 trillion particles weighing 268,940
tons are adrift in the sea. The North Pacific Central Gyre is
the ultimate destination for much of the marine debris
originating from the California coast. A study by the Algalita
Marine Research Foundation found an average of more than 300,000
plastic pieces per square mile of the Gyre and that the mass of
plastic was six times greater than zooplankton floating on the
water's surface. Earlier this year, the Ellen MacArthur
Foundation released a report at the World Economic Forum states
that plastic production is expected to double in the next 20
years, and quadruple by 2050. In spite of this growth in
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production, we only recycle about 5% worldwide and approximately
one-third ends up in the ocean. The report gained headlines due
to its prediction that by 2050, there will be more plastic than
fish in the world's oceans.
Most plastic marine debris exists as small plastic particles.
Even large pieces of plastic break down into small particles due
to photo-degradation. These plastic pieces are confused with
small fish, plankton, or krill and ingested by aquatic
organisms. Over 600 marine animal species have been negatively
affected by ingesting plastic worldwide. Last year, scientists
at the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence
for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University found that
corals are also ingesting small plastic particles, which remain
in their small stomach cavities and impede their ability to
consume and digest normal food.
In addition to the physical impacts of plastic pollution,
hydrophobic chemicals present in the ocean in trace amounts
(e.g., from contaminated runoff and oil and chemical spills)
have an affinity for, and can bind to, plastic particles where
they enter and accumulate in the food chain.
Packaging disposal. In 2011, California established a 75%
recycling goal statewide by 2020. In order to achieve the goal,
CalRecycle identified six areas of focus: 1) Moving organics
out of the landfill; 2) Continuing reform of the Beverage
Container Recycling Program; 3) Expanding recycling and
manufacturing infrastructure; 4) Exploring new models for state
and local funding of materials management; 5) Promoting a state
procurement policy for postconsumer recycled content products;
and, 6) Promoting extended producer responsibility. Based on
projected waste disposal, an additional 22 million tons of
source reduction, recycling, and composting must occur in order
to meet the 75% goal. CalRecycle staff estimates that packaging
(generally, not limited to food service) comprises about 9.5
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million tons, or about 25% of California's disposed waste
stream.
State and local actions to address plastic debris. In 2007, the
Ocean Protection Council (OPC) adopted a resolution on "reducing
and preventing marine debris." A year later, OPC released the
Implementation Strategy for the [OPC] Resolution to Reduce and
Prevent Ocean Litter, which established four broad objectives to
reduce marine debris: 1) Reduce single-use packaging and
promote sustainable alternatives; 2) Prevent and control litter
and plastic debris; 3) Clean up and remove ocean litter; and, 4)
Coordinate with other jurisdictions in the pacific region.
In 2014, CalRecycle began a "manufacturer's challenge" to
increase collection and recovery of packaging generated in
California. The challenge is for packaging manufacturers, on an
industry level, to achieve a goal of 50% reduction in packaging
disposed in California by 2020. The challenge is focused on
"priority packaging products," which include: uncoated
corrugated cardboard; aseptic containers and cartons; other
miscellaneous paper; plastic containers; degradable plastics;
pouches; and, plastic films. CalRecycle held workshops with
industry in 2015 and 2016, which included a discussion about how
to develop a baseline for packaging generated in California by
which to measure a 50% disposal reduction goal.
Many local governments have adopted single-use plastic bag bans
and polystyrene food packaging bans to curb plastic pollution.
In California, there are approximately 65 local ordinances that
ban polystyrene in restaurants, including Alameda, Marin County,
San Mateo County, Monterey County, and Los Angeles County.
California communities have adopted nearly 120 local ordinances
banning single-use plastic bags.
This bill. By requiring baseline data relating to food service
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packaging, this bill is intended to help capture the magnitude
of food service packaging waste and provide baseline data to
better provide the infrastructure for proper end-of-use waste
management.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN: 0003181