BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2256
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 2256 (Huffman) - As Amended: April 12, 2010
SUBJECT : Product labeling: flushable products.
SUMMARY : Prohibits a person from packaging or labeling a
consumer product for distribution or sale in California as
flushable, sewer and septic safe, or other like term or phrase
unless the product meets certain criteria, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits a person from packaging or labeling a consumer
product for distribution or sale in California if that product
is contained in a package, or has an affixed label, that
states that the product is flushable, sewer and septic safe,
or other like term or phrase unless the product has been
tested and certified by a third party to meet the acceptance
criteria for toilet, drainline, sewage pump, septic tank,
aerobic system, and municipal wastewater collection and
treatment systems clearance as published in the Guidance
Document for Assessing the Flushability of Nonwoven Consumer
Products (Guidance Document), published by the Association of
the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), as that document exists
on January 1, 2012.
2)Requires a person who has packaged or labeled a product for
distribution or sale in California that is labeled as
flushable, sewer and septic safe, or other like term or phrase
to maintain, in written form, documentation of the testing
substantiating the validity of the claim.
3)Makes the violation of the requirements of this bill
punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,500.
4)Exempts a wholesaler or retailer who does not initiate a
representation by advertising or by placing the representation
on a package from the bill's provisions.
5)Makes legislative findings and declarations.
EXISTING STATE LAW :
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1)Regulates the labeling requirements on various consumer
products.
2)Criminalizes making any untruthful, deceptive, or misleading
environmental marketing claim, whether explicit or implicit.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW defines biodegradability and requires
environmental marketing claims and claims of degradability,
biodegradability, and photodegradability be qualified to the
extent necessary to avoid consumer deception about the product
or package's ability to degrade in the environment where it is
customarily disposed and the rate and extent of degradation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "Over
recent years an increasingly diverse range of disposable
products has become available for consumer use. The growth of
the market for such products is evidence of their popularity
with the public, but their increased use brings with it
discussion about their disposal, especially the topic of
flushability.
"For disposable products which address public health and hygiene
considerations, the wastewater system can be a preferred means
of disposal. Products can include wipes and baby wipes,
feminine hygiene products, diapers, diaper liners, dog poop
bags, wash cloths, condoms, and more. It is important to ensure
that such products can be disposed of in this way without
causing problems.
"However, there currently is no consistent or widely accepted
definition of what constitutes a 'flushable' consumer product.
As a result, companies have used their own definitions and
methods to determine the flushability of their products. For
consumers and sewage utilities, this means there has been no
single reference from which to assess the flushability of
products. Many sanitation agencies around the state are
experiencing problems at their treatment plants with "flushable"
products. In some cities, such as Petaluma, costly screening
facilities have failed to stop these indispersible products from
finding their way through the system.
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"It is in the interests of manufacturers, retailers, consumers,
regulators and wastewater treatment agencies and operators for
there to be a standard for flushability to avoid products that
harm septic systems, clog piping and pumps, and load up screens
in municipal wastewater plants from being labeled flushable and
subsequently flushed."
Background . Minimum standards exist for the construction of
building drainage pipe systems; these include allowable pipe
diameters and slopes, venting requirements, and piping
materials. Increasingly, smaller diameter pipes are being
installed in new buildings. The passage of solid materials
through these systems is dependent on the water being able to
move the product. In 1995, the National Energy Policy Act (H.R.
776) mandated that all new toilets must flush with no more than
1.6 gallons of water. If a flushable product can pass through a
low-consumption toilet after one flush, there is a strong
likelihood that product could pass through a stronger toilet
system.
In the 1980s, wipes advertised as "flushable" first appeared on
the market. Since then, two types of flushable wipes have been
designed and introduced: dispersible and low-strength wipes.
Low-strength has been one approach to making nonwovens with
permanent bonds flushable. These wipes collapse in a toilet,
presenting a very small profile and the flexibility to travel
through pipes unencumbered. However, their low wet strength
makes them poor performers in most cleaning jobs. The second
type of flushable wipe is dispersible. These products perform
like a standard wipe as far as strength and softness, but in a
toilet disperse into individual fibers or small groups of
fibers.
INDA's Guidance Document . After four years of work, involving
some 40 companies, in 2008 INDA published the first edition of
its Guidance Document, which contains guidelines representing
the first-ever initiative to provide companies with a
comprehensive framework for testing products to determine their
flushability.
For a product to be flushable, it must clear toilets and
properly maintained drainage pipe systems under expected product
usage conditions, be compatible with existing wastewater
conveyance, treatment, reuse, and disposal systems, and become
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unrecognizable in a reasonable period of time and be sage in the
natural receiving environments.
The Guidance Document contains flow charts of key questions that
need to be answered for each route a product could follow
post-flushing. The questions are answered through a series of
tests. Acceptance criteria for each test and for each question
either demonstrate compatibility with the disposal system or
determine whether further testing would be required before
flushability could be clearly established.
The Guidance Document standards have already been adopted by 90%
of the flushable moist wipe industry.
Support . The California Association of Sanitation Agencies
(CASA) writes, "CASA member agencies have increasingly witnessed
the improper and potentially hazardous disposal of inappropriate
items in the waste stream. The lack of clarity for
'flushability' standards, along with the increase in popularity
of 'fluashable' products, has created a major disruption in many
wastewater treatment facilities. Notably, because they do not
disperse like tissue or toilet paper, the 'flushable wipes' have
a tendency to rope or 'rag' together, forming giant blankets
which clog debris screens, tangle around grinders, and obstruct
pumps, even in the most modern and efficient treatment
facilities.
"Many CASA agencies have attempted to address the issue through
community awareness campaigns, with limited success. [D]efining
the threshold for what products meet, and do not meet,
guidelines for proper disposal in the waste stream will be
beneficial for consumers and wastewater treatment agencies
alike."
Opposition . INDA writes, "AB 2256 is unlikely to solve the
primary source of clogging issues at wastewater treatment
facilities. Data and anecdotal information indicates that many
consumers are flushing products not intended to be flushed and
known to contribute to clogging and blockage of pumps and
screens. The bill is likely to cause manufacturers to remove
all labeling regarding flushability from bath tissue and
flushable wipes in California, rather than try and interpret
state-specific requirements. As a consequence, the consumer may
suffer for the resulting lack of flushability information and
continue to flush products not designed to be disposed in that
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fashion.
"[A]ction on AB 2256 [should] be deferred until INDA has an
opportunity to meet with municipal wastewater treatment facility
officials to understand causes and explore non-legislative
solutions to problems at their treatment facilities."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
City of Corona
City of Healdsburg
City of Petaluma
City of Thousand Oaks
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Eastern Municipal Water District
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Las Virgenes Municipal Water District
League of California Cities
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Moulton Niguel Water District
Padre Dam Municipal Water District
Southern California Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works
(SCAP)
Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority
Opposition
Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA)
California Chamber of Commerce
California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA)
Grocery Manufacturers Association
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G)
Analysis Prepared by : Marina Wiant / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301