BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1998
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 12, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 1998 (Brownley) - As Amended: April 5, 2010
SUBJECT : Recycling: plastic and paper carryout bags.
SUMMARY : Prohibits stores, as defined, from providing
single-use carryout bags to customers.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires operators of stores (defined as supermarkets and
stores over 10,000 square feet that include a pharmacy) to
establish an in-store plastic carryout bag recycling program.
The program must include:
a) Plastic bags provided by the store to include a label
encouraging customers to return the bag to the store for
recycling;
b) Easily accessible recycling bins for plastic bags;
c) All plastic bags collected must be recycled in a manner
consistent with the local jurisdiction's recycling plan;
d) The store must maintain records relating to the program
for at least three years and must make the records
available to the local jurisdiction or California
Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) upon request; and
e) The operator of the store must make reusable bags
available to customers.
2)Requires manufacturers of plastic bags to develop educational
materials to encourage reducing, reusing, and recycling
plastic bags.
3)Pre-empts local governments from requiring stores that meet
these provisions to implement separate recycling programs or
from imposing a fee on plastic bags.
4)Sunsets the above provisions on January 1, 2013.
AB 1998
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THIS BILL :
1)States findings and declarations relating to single-use bag
waste.
2)Moves the sunset date for the existing plastic bag recycling
program from January 1, 2013 to July 1, 2011.
3)Defines terms used in the bill, including:
a) "Reusable bag" as a bag that is designed and
manufactured for at least 100 uses and is made of a
washable material that "does not contain lead or any toxic
metal in a toxic amount, as determined by the Department."
b) "Single-use carryout bag" as a bag that is designed for
one or more uses, but fewer than 100 uses; is made of
plastic, paper, or other material; and, is provided by a
store to a customer at the point of sale.
c) "Store" as supermarkets; stores over 10,000 square feet
that include a pharmacy; and, a convenience food store or
foodmart engaged in retailing a limited line of goods that
generally includes milk, bread, soda, and snacks.
4)On and after January 1, 2012, prohibits a store from providing
single-use carryout bags to customers at the point of sale.
Requires stores to make reusable bags available for purchase.
5)On or before January 1, 2015, requires the Department of
Resources Recover and Recycling to report to the Legislature
regarding the effectiveness of this bill. Specifies that the
report include recommendations to further encourage the use of
reusable bags and to reduce the consumption of single-use
bags. Sunsets this reporting requirement on January 1, 2019.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Background
AB 1998
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Plastic bags are a significant contributor to litter and marine
debris. Their light weight and expansive nature makes them
especially prone to blowing into waterways. Even when disposed
of in the waste stream, these bags pose litter problems as they
blow off of trucks and out of solid waste handling operations.
According to the US EPA, marine debris has become a serious
problem along shorelines, coastal waters, estuaries, and oceans
throughout the world. It is estimated that 60-80% of all marine
debris, and 90% of floating debris, is plastic. Marine debris
can be life threatening to marine organisms and can wreak havoc
on coastal communities and the fishing industry. Recent studies
by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation and the Southern
California Coastal Water Research Project have found that the
average mass of plastics in the seawater off the coast of Long
Beach is 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 over 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 February 2007, the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) adopted a
resolution to reduce marine debris, which included specific
actions on single-use plastics. In November 2008, OPC adopted
its final implementation strategy for the resolution. The
strategy includes three "priority actions for measurable
success:" 1) Implement a take-back program for convenience food
packaging; 2) Prohibit single-use products that pose
significant ocean littler impacts where a feasible alternative
is available; and, 3) Assess fees on commonly littered items.
Plastic single-use bags are included in action 2; OPC proposes
that a fee be added for all single use paper and plastic bags to
incentivize people to switch to reusable bags. OPC goes on to
suggest that if a fee does not dramatically reduce the use of
bags, a ban should be considered.
Reusable bags are the most environmentally benign alternative to
plastic bags. Paper, the most likely replacement for plastic,
also has drawbacks, including being more costly for stores and
using more energy to produce and recycle. However, these do
degrade when littered and do not pose the threats to marine life
that plastic bags do. Additionally, compostable or degradable
plastic bags are not recyclable and contaminate recycling
equipment if they are mixed in with conventional plastic bags.
Moreover, most degradable bags do not break down in a marine
AB 1998
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environment.
AB 2449 (Levine), Chapter 845, Statutes of 2006 requires all
stores to establish a plastic bag recycling program. The stated
goal of this legislation was to increase recycling, and to
create the infrastructure necessary to collect and recycle
plastic bags. That bill also pre-empted local governments from
enacting a per-bag fee on plastic bags. Local governments have
indicated concerns with the pre-emption created by AB 2449,
arguing that the fee could be used to discourage bag
distribution and fund anti-litter or recycling programs.
2)This bill
According to the author, Californians use over 19 billion
plastic bags annually (approximately 552 per person), creating
over 147,000 tons of waste. CIWMB staff estimates that only
5-6% of plastic materials are recycled in California. The
author also states that paper bags also have negative
environmental impacts, including deforestation, air pollution,
and excessive energy consumption. The author states that
California currently spends approximately $25 million annually
to clean up plastic bag waste, and municipalities collectively
spend $300 million annually.
Heal the Bay, the bill's sponsor, states that 25 percent of the
world's population lives in countries in which a ban or fee has
been placed on single-use plastic carryout bags. While these
policies are helpful in reducing marine debris from plastic,
they have the unintended consequence of shifting disposable bags
to paper, which have their own significant environmental
impacts. This bill would eliminate the use of both plastic and
paper bags and would require consumers to switch to reusable
bags.
3)Related legislation
a) AB 2138 (Chesbro) establishes recycling and composting
requirements for take-out food packaging, including bags.
This bill is scheduled to be heard in this committee on
April 12th.
b) SB 228 (DeSaulnier) requires bags labeled "compostable"
or "marine degradable" to be readily and easily
identifiable to assist in their collection and sorting.
AB 1998
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This bill has been referred to this committee.
c) SB 531 (DeSaulnier) establishes the "Single-Use Carryout
Bag Responsibility Act" and requires suppliers of
single-use carryout bags (paper and plastic) to remit a fee
of $0.001 per bag to the Single-Use Carryout Bag
Responsibility Fund to award grants to abate and cleanup
bag litter and to encourage the proper disposal and
collection of bags. This bill has been referred to this
committee.
4)Suggested amendments
a) The findings and declarations currently in the bill
contain inaccuracies and would benefit from technical and
clarifying changes. The committee may wish to amend the
bill to make these changes.
b) This bill sunsets the provisions in existing law on July
1, 2011 and commence the new requirements on January 1,
2012, which leaves a six month gap in oversight and
management of single-use carryout bags. The committee may
wish to extend the sunset date for existing law to December
31, 2011 to eliminate this gap.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Heal the Bay (sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Coastal Coalition
California State Lands Commission
ChicoBag Company
ChicoEco Inc.
Clean Water California
Defenders of Wildlife
Environment California
Planning and Conservation League
San Diego Coastkeeper
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Sierra Club California
StopWaste.Org
7th Generation Advisors
AB 1998
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Opposition
American Forest and Paper Association
Biodegradable Products Institute
California Film Extruders and Converters Association
California Taxpayers' Association
Metabolix
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092