BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2812 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 2812 (Gordon) As Amended May 27, 2016 Majority vote ------------------------------------------------------------------ |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 2812 Page 2 | | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: Requires state agencies to provide and maintain recycling receptacles in state buildings and large state facilities based on standards adopted by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). Specifically, this bill: 1)On or before July 1, 2017, requires CalRecycle to develop guidelines for adequate receptacles and staffing for collecting and recycling recyclable materials in state office buildings. 2)Defines "recyclable materials" as including, but not limited to, all paper, plastic, metal, and organic waste. 3)On and after July 1, 2018, requires state agencies and facilities, for each office building of the state agency or large state facility, to provide adequate receptacles, signage, education, and staffing and arrange for recycling services. Exempts community colleges. 4)Requires state agencies and facilities to review the adequacy and condition of receptacles for recyclable materials and associated signage at least annually. 5)Requires state agencies to include a summary of the agency's compliance with the bill's requirements in their annual report to CalRecycle. AB 2812 Page 3 EXISTING LAW, pursuant to the Integrated Waste Management Act: 1)Requires state agencies to develop an integrated waste management plan (plan) by 2000 to describe how the state agency or facility would divert 50% of its waste from landfill disposal by 2004. 2)Requires state agencies and large state facilities (facilities), which include California state universities and community colleges, prisons, Department of Transportation facilities, and other facilities as determined by CalRecycle, to divert at least 50% of their waste from landfill disposal. 3)Requires state agencies to annually report to CalRecycle on the implementation of the plan. 4)Requires a commercial waste generator, including state agencies, to arrange for recycling services and requires local governments to implement commercial solid waste recycling programs designed to divert solid waste from businesses. 5)Requires generators of specified amounts of organic waste (i.e., food waste and yard waste), including state agencies, to arrange for recycling services for that material. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill has the following state costs: 1)Increased administrative costs of approximately $145,000 per year for two years for CalRecyle to gather information, adopt requirements, conduct outreach and update the electronic annual report to reflect new reporting requirements. Ongoing absorbable costs for monitoring. AB 2812 Page 4 2)Unknown, potentially significant state costs to provide receptacles, staff, and establish a collection schedule at each state agency and facility. 3)Unknown, potentially significant reimbursable state costs to reimburse local agencies and school districts if this bill is determined to be a reimbursable state-mandate. COMMENTS: CalRecycle is tasked with diverting at least 75% of solid waste statewide by 2020. Recycling reduces disposal costs, creates jobs, reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and conserves resources. According to CalRecycle, this represents the next phase of waste management in California that makes current landfill diversion programs equal partners with materials management programs to achieve the highest and best use of all materials in California. These goals cannot be met without motivation and actions at multiple levels within the public and private sectors. California's state agencies play an essential role in meeting the state's waste reduction requirements. In 2011, AB 341 (Chesbro), Chapter 476, Statutes of 2011, required businesses, including state agencies, that generate four cubic yards or more of commercial solid waste per week to arrange for recycling services. Recycling provides significant GHG reductions over landfilling. The Air Resources Board's First Update to the Climate Change Scoping Plan identifies waste management as a key sector for GHG emissions reductions and states, "Meeting the [state's] 75% recycling goal is the best path forward to maximizing GHG emission reductions from the Waste Management Sector and putting California on the path for even greater GHG emission reductions AB 2812 Page 5 in the future." 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 more than 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 the Air Resources Board, landfills generated 20% of the state's methane emissions in 2013. Source reduction and recycling reduce GHG emissions associated with the production and transportation of products. This bill is intended to ensure that state employees have adequate opportunity to recycle their solid waste in the workplace, which will enable the state will lead by example and play a major role in contributing to the state's ambitious diversion goals. Analysis Prepared by: Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0003316 AB 2812 Page 6