BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2256
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2256 (Huffman) - As Amended: April 12, 2010
Policy Committee: Business,
Professions and Consumer Protection Vote: 6-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits a consumer product from being labeled as
"flushable" if it fails to meet certain standards.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Effective January 1, 2012, prohibits a person from packaging
or labeling a product as "flushable," "sewer and septic safe"
or a similar such 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,
published by the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry
(INDA).
2)Makes violation punishable by a fine of up to $2,500.
FISCAL EFFECT
Negligible state costs, if any.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author reports that sanitary districts and
agencies around the state have major problems at their
treatment plants with "flushable" products. Many product
packaging claims the products "break up like toilet paper" or
are "sewer and septic safe," the author says. The author
notes that many of these products, despite their labels, do
not disperse or decompose well in the sewer systems. As a
AB 2256
Page 2
result, they clog apparatus at sewage treatment plants. The
author contends it in the interests of manufacturers,
retailers, consumers, regulators and wastewater treatment
authorities and operators that there be clear direction from
the state on what defines flushability to avoid harm to septic
systems and clogging of pipes, pumps and municipal facilities.
2)Background . According to the policy committee analysis, in
the 1980s, wipes advertised as "flushable" first appeared on
the market. Since then, claims of "flushable" products have
proliferated. There are no state or federal definitions of
"flushable."
In 2008 INDA published the first edition of its Guidance
Document. The document presents criteria to determine a
product's flushability: 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
unrecognizable in a reasonable period of time and be safe in
the natural environment. INDA reports that Guidance Document
standards have been widely adopted by the flushable moist wipe
industry.
3)Support . The bill is supported by numerous local governments
and sanitation, sewage and water districts, who are concerned
by costs resulting from clogging of and damage to sewage
systems caused by products place in the system by consumers
who believe them to be "flushable."
4)Opposition. The bill is opposed by some industry groups,
including the California Chamber of Commerce, who argue most
clogging comes from consumers flushing products not labeled as
"flushable" and that the producer never intended to be
flushed. These opponents prefer delaying legislative action
until INDA meets with municipal wastewater treatment facility
officials to understand causes and explore non-legislative
solutions to problems at treatment facilities.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081