BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2812
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|Author: |Gordon |
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|Version: |5/27/2016 |Hearing |June 29, 2016 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Joanne Roy |
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SUBJECT: Solid waste: recycling: state agencies and large
state facilities.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law, pursuant to the Integrated Waste Management Act
(Public Resources Code §40000):
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 the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (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
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(i.e., food waste and yard waste), including state agencies,
to arrange for recycling services for that material.
This bill requires state agencies to provide and maintain
recycling receptacles in state buildings and large facilities
based on standards adopted by 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, paper, plastic, metal, and organic waste.
3) On or 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.
Background
1) Statewide waste diversion goals. CalRecycle is tasked with
diverting at least 75% of solid waste statewide by 2020.
Currently, an estimated 31 million tons of waste are disposed
of in California's landfills annually, of which 37% is
compostable organic materials, 20% is inert and other
construction and demolition debris, and 17% is paper and
paperboard, 10% plastics, 3% metal, with the remaining 12%
consisting of various materials such as glass and other
waste.
In addition, CalRecycle is charged with implementing Strategic
Directive 6.1, which calls for reducing organic waste
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disposal by 50% by 2020. According to CalRecycle,
significant gains in organic waste diversion (through
recycling technologies or organic waste, including composting
and anaerobic digestion) are necessary to meet the 75% goal
and to implement Strategic Directive 6.1.
2) Waste reduction and GHGs. According to the California Air
Resources Board (ARB), a total reduction of 80 million metric
tons (MMT), or 16% compared to business as usual, is
necessary to reduce statewide GHG emissions to 1990 levels by
2020. ARB intends to achieve approximately 78% of the
reductions through direct regulations. ARB proposes to
achieve the balance of reductions necessary to meet the 2020
limit (approximately 18 MMT) through its cap-and-trade
program.
Landfill gas is generated by the anaerobic decomposition of
organic materials such as food, paper, wood, and green
material. Fifty percent of landfill gas is methane, a GHG
with a much shorter life (also known as a short-lived climate
pollutant), but much higher global warming potential than
carbon dioxide (methane is approximately 25 times more
efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide over a
100-year time span). Depending on the types of solid waste,
the chemical makeup of landfill biogas can vary greatly from
the biogas produced from dairy farms, municipal solid waste,
and wastewater treatment facilities. While most modern
landfills have systems in place to capture methane,
significant amounts continue to escape into the atmosphere.
According to ARB's GHG inventory, approximately 7 million
tons of carbon dioxide equivalent are released annually by
landfills. That number is expected to increase to 8.5
million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2020.
Comments
Purpose of Bill. According to the author, "The Integrated Waste
Management Act requires that local governments divert at least
50% of solid waste from landfill disposal and establishes a
statewide policy goal that 75% of solid waste generated be
source-reduced, recycled, or composted by the year 2020.
According to CalRecycle, in order to achieve the state's policy
goal, an additional 23 million tons will need to be recycled,
reduced, or composted.
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"AB 2812 would direct CalRecycle to develop requirements to
ensure recycling containers are made available to employees of
the state. By ensuring that state employees have adequate
opportunity to recycle their solid waste in the workplace, the
state will lead by example, and play a major role in
contributing to the state's ambitious diversion goals."
SOURCE: Author
SUPPORT:
Californians Against Waste
Northern California Recycling Association
Rural County Representatives of California
Solid Waste Association of North America
OPPOSITION:
None received
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