BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2901
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Date of Hearing: May 12, 2004
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Judy Chu, Chair
AB 2901 (Pavley) - As Amended: April 20, 2004
Policy Committee: Environmental
Safety & Toxic Materials Vote: 5-2
Natural Resources 7-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a retailer-based system designed to
increase recycling of used cell phones and reduce the level of
heavy metals in these phones.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor one-time costs, perhaps $100,000 primarily in FY
2006-07, to the DTSC to adopt regulations based on
as-yet-to-be implemented European Union (EU) prohibition.
(Hazardous Waste Control Account (HWCA).)
2)Moderate costs, perhaps $180,000 annually starting in FY
2006-07, to the CIWMB to receive and process potentially
thousands of reports from cell phone retailers throughout the
state, use the this information to estimate cell phone
recycling rates, and to develop related goals. (Integrated
Waste Management Account (IWMA) or the Electronic Waste
Recovery and Recycling (E-Waste) Account.)
3)Moderate ongoing costs, perhaps $500,000 annually starting in
FY 2005-06, to the CIWMB or the DTSC to adequately oversee and
enforce implementation and maintenance of the cell phone
retailer requirements. (HWCA, IWMA, or E-Waste Account.)
4)Minor costs, probably less than $25,000 in FY 2005-06, to the
Department of General Services and other state agencies that
procure cell phones using a contract bidding process to
include a space for bidder certification. (GF and various
state funds.)
AB 2901
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SUMMARY CONTINUED
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the Department of Toxics Substances Control (DTSC) to
adopt regulations that prohibit the sale of cell phones that
are prohibited from being sold in the EU due to the presence
of heavy metals.
2)Requires, starting July 1, 2005, every cell phone retailer to
have a system in place to accept, collect, reuse, and recycle
or properly dispose of used cell phones that, among other
things, allows a consumer to return a used cell phone, at no
cost, to the retailer from which it was purchased, and, by
July 1, 2006, the creation of a toll-free number and web site
to provide consumer information on no-cost cell phone
recycling, and the creation of a program to educate the public
that used cell phones should be returned to retailers for
recycling or proper disposal.
3)Requires, starting July 1, 2006, cell phone retailers to
submit an annual report to the California Integrated Waste
Management Board (CIWMB) detailing the number of cell phones
the retailer sold in the previous year and the number accepted
or collected from consumers for recycling or proper disposal
during that time. A retailer can comply with this reporting
requirement by submitting the information together with
several other retailers in an aggregate report.
4)Requires, starting July 1, 2006, the CIWMB to annually
establish statewide recycling goals for used cell phones and
to annually provide to the Legislature an estimate of the
number of cell phones sold and returned in the previous year
statewide.
5)Requires state agencies that purchase or lease cell phones to
require each prospective contract bidder to certify that it
complies with the above retailer provisions and any
regulations adopted governing cell phone sales and reuse, and
establishes a system of punitive measures if bidders violate
these requirements.
COMMENTS
AB 2901
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1)Rationale . This bill's sponsor, Californians Against Waste,
contends that the number of cell phones in use in California
has increased substantially in recent years and that the
potential volume of used cell phones that becomes obsolete,
inoperative or otherwise unwanted, poses a significant risk to
the environment and public health when they are thrown into
the regular garbage and landfilled or incinerated as solid
waste.
The sponsor notes that cell phones (including rechargeable
batteries) contain many of the same heavy metals and other
hazardous materials that are contained in the larger
electronic devices that were the focus of SB 20 (Sher) -
Chapter 526, Statutes of 2003.
2)Background . According to an independent study conducted by
INFORM, Inc., cell phone subscriptions in the U.S. have grown
over the past 18 years from 340,000 to 140 million. Only 5%
of cell phones are being collected, reused or recycled and,
with an average life span of 18 months, an estimated 130
million cell phones will become obsolete and be discarded each
year. The estimates for California are 16.3 million cell
phones becoming obsolete, causing a projected stockpile in
homes and offices of 62.5 million cell phones.
3)Hazardous Materials . Cell phones contain hazardous materials
such as arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead,
mercury, nickel, and zinc. Their rechargeable batteries can
contain heavy metals such as cobalt, zinc, and copper. If
cell phones are disposed of in solid waste landfills, or
incinerated in transformation facilities, many of these
materials can be released into the soil, groundwater, or air.
4)Current Voluntary Efforts . According to the Cellular
Telecommunications and Internet Association, the trade
organization that represents most major cell phone
manufacturers and retailers, a voluntary program designed to
promote the collection and recycling of obsolete cell phones
was launched in November 2003. Cell phone manufacturers,
wireless services and other organizations participating in
this program include AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Motorola,
Nextel, Nokia, Panasonic, ReCellular, Sony Ericcson, Sprint,
Verizon Wireless, and the Wireless Foundation. The voluntary
program includes components for public outreach and awareness
of the potential public health and environmental problems.
AB 2901
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Several cell phone-related companies administer cell phone
donation programs by which phones are collected and
redistributed to organizations free of charge.
5)EU Prohibition . In early 2003, the European Union adopted and
published Directive 2002/95/EC to restrict the use of certain
hazardous substances in the manufacture of electrical and
electronic equipment (including cell phones and their
batteries) offered for sale in any of the EU countries.
Since the details of the directive have not yet been worked
out and the directive has not yet taken effect in the EU, it
is uncertain how the DTSC will adopt regulations that parallel
the directive's prohibitions.
Analysis Prepared by : Steve Archibald / APPR. / (916)
319-2081