BILL ANALYSIS
AB 283
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Nancy Skinner, Chair
AB 283 (Chesbro) - As Amended: April 13, 2009
SUBJECT : Solid waste: extended producer responsibility
SUMMARY : Enacts the California Product Stewardship Act of 2009
(Act). The Act requires the California Integrated Waste
Management Board (CIWMB) to administer a program to provide
environmentally sound product stewardship protocols to foster
"cradle-to-cradle" producer responsibility.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Pursuant to the California Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989, requires local governments to divert 50% of solid waste
generated from landfill disposal through source reduction,
reuse, and recycling.
2)Establishes the California Oil Recycling Enhancement Act,
which requires manufacturers of used oil to pay a fee of 4
cents per quart (16 cents per gallon) to CIWMB. CIWMB then
pays a recycling incentive of 4 cents per quart to industrial
generators, curbside collection program operators, and
certified used oil collection center for used oil collected
from the public and transported for recycling. This Act
includes related grants and loans, development and
implementation of an information and education program, and a
reporting, monitoring, and enforcement program.
3)Establishes the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003, which
requires a retailer selling a covered electronic device (CED)
in California to collect a recycling fee (between $8 and $25)
from the consumer. Fees are deposited into the Electronic
Waste Recovery and Recycling Account, which is continually
appropriated to CIWMB and the Department of Toxic Substances
Control (DTSC) to make electronic waste recovery payments to
cover the net cost of an authorized collector in operating a
"free and convenient" system for collecting, consolidating,
and transporting CEDs, and to make electronic waste recycling
payments to cover an electronic waste recycler's average net
cost of receiving, processing, and recycling CEDs. The Act
defines CED as a product that contains a video display device
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4 inches and larger.
4)Establishes the Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004, which
requires every retailer of cell phones to have in place a
system for the acceptance and collection of used cell phones
for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal.
5)Establishes the Rechargeable Batter Recycling Act of 2006,
which requires every retailer of rechargeable batteries to
have in place a system for the acceptance and collection of
used rechargeable batteries for reuse, recycling, or proper
disposal.
6)Establishes the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act of 2008,
which requires manufacturers to establish and maintain a
program for out-of-service mercury-added thermostats.
Requires the program to include collection, handling, and
arranging for appropriate management of out-of-service
mercury-added thermostats.
THIS BILL establishes the Act, which:
1)Defines terms used in the Act, including:
a) "Cradle-to-cradle design" as an ideal condition where
the product is developed for closed-loop systems in which
every ingredient is safe and beneficial.
b) "Extended producer responsibility" (EPR) as the
extension of the shared responsibility of producers, and
all entities involved in the product chain, to reduce
cradle-to-cradle impacts of a product and its packaging,
with the primary responsibility placed on the producer who
makes design and marketing decisions.
2)Establishes the EPR Framework Program. The program is
intended to provide sound product stewardship protocols that
encourage producers to research alternatives during the
product design and packaging phases to foster cradle-to-cradle
producer responsibility and reduce the end-of-life
environmental impacts. Requires CIWMB to coordinate with
representatives of state and local government, producers,
retailers, consumers, transporters, haulers, recyclers,
nonprofit organizations, and other interested stakeholders
with respect to all regulations adopted. After holding public
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workshops, requires CIWMB to adopt regulations for the program
by July 1, 2011. Requires CIWMB to recommend, in consultation
with stakeholders, immediate incentives for producers to
stimulate waste reduction, pollution prevention, energy
efficiency, and increased use of recycled materials. Requires
CIWMB to recommend long-term incentives to foster
environmental product design to reduce waste and use of
hazardous materials, to reward businesses for superior
environmental performance, and for investments that support
longer term strengthening of recycled materials markets.
3)Requires CIWMB to establish penalties for violations of the
Act.
4)Clarifies that actions taken under the Act do not interfere
with existing efforts of the Department of Toxic Substances
Control (DTSC) relating to green chemistry; the California
Energy Commission relating to energy efficiency; the Air
Resources Board relating to climate change; the State Water
Resources Board relating to water quality; the Ocean
Protection Council relating to marine debris; the Department
of Conservation relating to the Bottle Bill; and, CIWMB
relating to Rigid Plastic Packaging Containers.
5)Beginning January 1, 2012 and in consultation with
stakeholders in public workshops, authorizes CIWMB to select
covered products according to specified requirements,
including:
a) Products that pose a significant threat to public health
and safety when discarded;
b) Products that pose a threat of increased greenhouse gas
emissions; and,
c) Products that impose significant end-of-life management
costs on state or local government.
6)Requires CIWMB to consider numerous factors when selecting
products, including whether or not there is an existing
product stewardship or other regulatory system for the
product.
7)Specifies that all products banned from landfill disposal
(generally pursuant to a determination by DTSC that the
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product is hazardous) shall be managed under a product
stewardship program within one year.
8)In the selection process, requires CIWMB to take specified
actions, including:
a) Select and define a covered product, which may include
historic or orphan products;
b) Determine whether the packaging for a product will be
included; and,
c) Establish implementation dates, performance goals, and
timeframes.
9)Beginning July 1, 2012, prohibits the sale of a covered
product unless the producer is in compliance with the Act.
The producer must:
a) Submit a product stewardship plan or participation in a
stewardship organization;
b) Collect the individual covered product for recycling,
when appropriate;
c) Provide for collection services without charging a fee
at the time of collection; and,
d) Pay administrative and operational costs associated with
the Act.
10)Establishes requirements for the product stewardship plan and
requires the plan to be submitted by the producer to CIWMB
within 180 days of the selection of the product. Requires
plan revision every 4 years.
11)Beginning June 30, 2012, and annually thereafter, requires
producers and stewardship organizations operating under the
Act to submit a report to CIWMB, which includes status of
meeting performance goals, a description of outreach and
education activities, and actions undertaken to manage and
reduce the life-cycle impacts of the covered product.
12)Establishes the Extended Producer Responsibility Account
(Account) and the Extended Producer Responsibility Penalty
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Subaccount (Subaccount) in the Integrated Waste Management
Fund.
a) Requires producers subject to the Act to submit an
administrative fee to CIWMB to cover administrative costs
to be deposited into the Account.
b) Requires all penalties collected under the Act to be
deposited into the Subaccount, which may be expended by
CIWMB to cover costs of implementing the Act.
c) Specifies that the Account and Subaccount may be
expended by CIWMB for incentives to enhance recyclability
and redesign efforts and to reduce environmental and safety
impacts of covered products.
13)Establishes civil liability of up to $50,000 for violations
of the Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Background
Expanded producer responsibility is a strategy to "close the
loop" by placing primary responsibility for life cycle
management on producers. This approach is similar to that being
pursued for "green chemistry" in California. In September
2007, CIWMB adopted an EPR Framework as an overall policy
priority and committed to seek statutory authority. Prior to
adopting the Framework, CIWMB conducted a stakeholder workshop
on EPR. The Framework was adopted by CIWMB in a public board
meeting, which included comments from stakeholders and the
public.
EPR is helpful in addressing recycling and waste reduction; it
also addresses another pressing concerns. DTSC routinely tests
products for toxicity to determine if the product is "hazardous"
and therefore prohibited from landfill disposal. However, there
is no system in place for the management of these products (or
the toxins they include).
2)This bill
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According to the author, AB 283 proposes a comprehensive EPR
framework, which would establish one law to address a wide range
of products that end up in California landfills and have a
significant impact on our environment. The author states "By
having producers share in the costs of managing product
discards, EPR harnesses the power of the free market to drive
environmental improvement." This bill is modeled after the
CIWMB EPR Framework.
3)Arguments in support
Supporters of AB 283 include environmental groups and local
governments. According to the League of California Cities,
cities and counties spend upwards of $500 million annually to
manage products disposed in landfills and those banned from
landfill disposal, which is ultimately passed on to ratepayers.
This bill would alleviate some of those costs by shifting the
responsibility for end-of-life management of products back to
the manufacturer.
This bill would alleviate the need for product-by-product
legislation. Such legislation, while helpful in managing
specific products, has created numerous programs with little
consistency. Many of the existing programs (including
electronic waste and used oil) include the collection of
separate fees by different entities, creating significant
administrative duties for the state. This bill would alleviate
the need for separate programs and would instead create a
framework under which CIWMB can administer one program for a
variety of products.
4)Arguments in opposition
Opponents of the bill (including business organizations and
product manufacturers) argue that this bill grants broad
regulatory authority to CIWMB to select products with public
involvement limited to a minimum of one public workshop. (The
Committee should note that the products are required to be added
at a public board meeting, which would be in addition to the
workshop.) Opponents also state that the product selection
process is so broad that virtually any product could be
included, and that the bill would increase costs for businesses
and consumers. Additionally, according to opponents, this bill
does not specify that products already being recycled in high
percentages at curbside or that are already subject to a product
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management program (such as e-waste) are excluded from the Act,
which may create duplicative requirements.
5)Suggested amendment
This bill does not currently exempt products with an existing
product stewardship or recycling regulatory program. In order
to insure that this bill applies to products that lack such a
program, the committee may wish to adopt amendments specifically
exempting products for which a product stewardship or other
life-cycle management regulatory system exist , such as those
listed under Existing Law.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
Californians Against Waste
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
California Product Stewardship Council
California Resource Recovery Association
California Senior Legislature
California State Association of Counties
City and County of San Francisco
City of Chula Vista
City of Cupertino
City of Fremont
City of Lathrop
City of Napa
City of Santa Cruz
City of Stockton
City of Sunnyvale
City of Union City
City of Torrance
Clean Water Action
County of San Joaquin
Defenders of Wildlife
Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority
Environment California
Green Shanga
Heal the Bay
Humboldt Waste Management
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League of California Cities
Long Beach Organic
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Marin County Hazardous & Solid Waste Management Joint Powers
Authority
Marin Sanitary Service
Napa County
Planning and Conservation League
Regional Council of Rural Counties
San Diego Coastkeeper
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Sierra Club California
Santa Monica Baykeeper
SLV Redemption/Recycling Centers
Solano County Board of Supervisors
Solid Waste Association of North America
Sonoma County Waste Management Agency
Tamalpais Community Services District
TDC Environmental
7th Generation Advisors
Opposition
American Chemistry Council
AstraZeneca
BIOCOM
California Chamber of Commerce
California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance
California Film Extruders and Converters Association
California Grocers Association
California Healthcare Institute
California League of Food Processors
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
California Paint Council
Cal-Tax
Family Winemakers of California
Glass Packaging Institute
Grocery Manufacturers Association
Information Technology Industry Council
Lassen Regional Solid Waste Management Authority
National Paint and Coatings Association
Pactive Corporation
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Soap and Detergent Association
TechAmerica
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Western States Petroleum Association
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092