BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2256
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2256 (Huffman)
As Amended April 12, 2010
Majority vote
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 6-3APPROPRIATIONS 11-5
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|Ayes:|Hayashi, Eng, Hill, Ma, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Ammiano, |
| |Nava, Ruskin | |Bradford, Coto, Davis, |
| | | |Hill, Hall, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson, |
| | | |Torrico |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Conway, Niello, Smyth |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby |
| | | | |
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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
AB 2256
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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 LAW :
1)Regulates the labeling requirements on various consumer
products.
2)Criminalizes making any untruthful, deceptive, or misleading
environmental marketing claim, whether explicit or implicit.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, negligible state costs, if any.
COMMENTS : According to the author's office, "?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.
"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."
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
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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.
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 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301 FN: 0004332