BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1100
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1100
AUTHOR: Corbett
AMENDED: March 25, 2010
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 5, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Caroll
Mortensen
SUBJECT : EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY:
HOUSEHOLD BATTERIES
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1)Prohibits, pursuant to California Code of Regulations, Title
22, Division 4.5, Chapter 23, the disposal of some common or
"universal" wastes in solid waste landfills. Universal
wastes are hazardous wastes that are generated by a wide
variety of sources that contain mercury, lead, cadmium,
copper and other substances hazardous to human and
environmental health. Examples of these wastes are
household batteries, fluorescent tubes, and some electronic
devices.
2)Pursuant to the Dry Cell Battery Management Act (Public
Resources Code 15000 et seq.) establishes requirements for
the production and labeling of consumer products with dry
cell batteries and sets limits for the amount of mercury in
those batteries.
3)Pursuant to the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act (PRC
42451 et seq.) establishes a mandatory take-back program
for rechargeable batteries at retail locations.
4)Pursuant to the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act of 2008
(Health and Safety Code 25214.8.10 et seq.) requires
manufacturers of mercury-added thermostats sold in this
state before January 1, 2006, to establish and maintain a
collection, transportation, recycling, and disposal program
for out-of-service mercury-added thermostats.
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This bill :
1)Requires, by September 30, 2011, a producer or the product
stewardship organization created by one or more producers of
household batteries to develop and submit, in consultation
with stakeholders, a product stewardship plan (plan) to the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (DRRR).
2)Establishes requirements for the elements of the plan that
describe how it will institute, implement, finance, and
oversee a program to manage household batteries to achieve
the collection rates below.
3)Establishes collection rates for household batteries of 50%
by January 1, 2014 and 70% by January 1, 2017 with a program
target of 95%.
4)Requires DRRR to review the plans and deem them complete or
incomplete within 45 days and establishes a procedure for
addressing deficiencies.
5)Requires producers, on or before April 1, 2013, to submit an
annual report describing implementation of the plan
including sales data from the previous calendar year.
6)Requires DRRR, on or before July 1, 2012, and annually
thereafter to list on its website a list of the brands of
household batteries that are in compliance.
7)Prohibits the sale of household batteries in California
unless the producer has submitted a plan that has been
deemed complete.
8)Requires producers to pay to DRRR yet undetermined
administrative fees to cover expenses for review of the
initial plan and review of the subsequent annual reports but
specifies that the fees can not exceed costs to recover
costs incurred to administer and enforce the article.
9)Establishes the Household Battery Stewardship Account and
the Household Battery Stewardship Penalty Subaccount to
receive the administrative fees and penalties and specifies
that these funds are available for program implementation
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upon appropriation by the Legislature.
10)Establishes a process to determine compliance with the
article and issuance of related penalties.
11)Makes extensive findings and declarations related to the
management of household batteries.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of Bill . According to the author, SB 1100 will help
local governments' bottom lines by saving taxpayer money
used to manage toxic battery waste. It will also create
green jobs recycling and collecting batteries. In addition,
battery stewardship will help California's environment by
ensuring that battery waste is properly managed. According
to a California report, more than 500 million batteries are
sold each year in California and that number is expected to
rise. Today, it is estimated that only one-half of one
percent of used batteries are recycled through local
government household hazardous waste programs.
2)Background .
a) Universal Waste: Universal wastes are hazardous
wastes that are ubiquitous and contain mercury, lead,
cadmium, copper and other substances hazardous to human
and environmental health. In general, universal waste
may not be discarded in solid waste landfills. Examples
of these wastes are batteries, fluorescent tubes, and
most electronic devices. Under California's Universal
Waste Rule households were allowed to dispose fluorescent
lamps, batteries, mercury thermostats, and electronic
devices in the trash through February 8, 2006. This is
no longer the case and they are banned from landfill
disposal. Hazardous waste law describes hazardous waste
characteristics and generally states that wastes that
demonstrate hazardous characteristics can not be disposed
in a solid waste landfill. These rules are based upon
the hazard traits of waste, not necessarily their
behavior in the landfill.
b) Impact on Local Goverments: Currently, local
household hazaardous waste collection programs are the
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outlet for proper management of household batteries.
According to the author, to manage this toxic waste,
local governments and taxpayers pay an average of $800
per ton, which amounts to tens of millions of dollars
each year. Local governments are also the default to
manage the other universal wastes such as electronics and
fluorescent light tubes. This is in addition to the
other hazardous wastes such as pesticides, paint, and
chemicals that can't be disposed in a solid waste
landfill. With revenues decreasing and responsibilities
increasing another solution is necessary to manage these
products that are problematic at the end-of-life.
c) Product Stewardship: This is a rapidly expanding
concept that addresses the challenges of managing
consumer products, like household batteries, that pose
costly and problematic issues at end-of-life. According
to the California Product Stewardship Council, "Product
stewardship involves consumers, government agencies and
product manufacturers sharing the responsibility of
reducing the impact of product waste on public health,
the environment, and the economy. Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR) is a strategy to place a shared
responsibility for end-of-life product management on the
producers, and all entities involved in the product
chain, instead of the general public; while encouraging
product design changes that minimize a negative impact on
human health and the environment at every stage of the
product's lifecycle. This allows the costs of treatment
and disposal to be incorporated into the total cost of a
product. It places primary responsibility on the
producer, or brand owner, who makes design and marketing
decisions. It also creates a setting for markets to
emerge that truly reflect the environmental impacts of a
product, and to which producers and consumers respond."
According to the California Product Stewardship Council,
87 local goverments have passed ordinances supporting
product stewardship efforts. The National League of
Cities also adopted a resolution supporting product
stewardship. Dozens of other states as well as other
countries are implementing product stewardship concepts
and principles to manage a wide range of consumer
products.
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SB 1100 takes a product stewardship approach to dealing
with an ubiquitous waste that is banned from landfill
disposal and costing local goverments millions of dollars
to manage. Other than mandating basic program
requirements, it allows maximum flexibility to producers
of household batteries to develop a program they deem
appropriate.
The Rechargable Battery Act requires retailers who sell
rechargable batteries to take them back for proper
management. This bill would also address those
batteries, but in a way that puts the requirement not on
the retailer as currently in law, but on the producer of
the household battery.
3)Support and Oppostion Arguments : In general, opponents to
the measure state that there is no need for a program to
manage household batteries because of their relatively small
volume compared to the total amount of solid waste disposed
as well as the lack of enviromental justification that they
cause problems when disposed. They also cite the high costs
for end-of-life management that would be paid by consumers.
Supporters generally contend that a product stewardship
approach to managing household batteries provides the best
option as costs would be shifted from local governments and
taxpayers and be internalized in the price of the product
and, in turn drive improvements in product design.
4)Related Legislation . There are several bills that propose
to use a product stewardship approach for various consumer
products including:
a) AB 283 (Chesbro) - Creates the California Product
Stewardship Act of 2009, and requires regulations to be
developed by July 1, 2011, to implement the program to
create a framework for environmentally 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 of the product. (Held in the Assembly
Appropriation Committee.)
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b) AB 1343 (Huffman) - Creates an architectural paint
recovery program to require manufacturers or designated
stewardship organizations to develop and submit an
architectural paint stewardship plan to reduce the
generation of postconsumer paint, promote the reuse of
postconsumer architectural paint, and manage the
end-of-life of postconsumer architectural paint, in an
environmentally sound fashion, including collection,
transportation, processing, and disposal. (Held in
Senate Appropriations Committee.)
c) AB 2139 (Chesbro) - California Product Stewardship
Act. Develops a product stewardship program to address
medical sharps, containers used to contain pesticides
intended for residential use, small personal use propane
tanks, personal butane lighters, and single-use food
packaging. (This bill is in Assembly Natural Resources
Committee awaiting hearing.)
d) AB 2176 (Blumenfield) - Establishes legislative intent
to to enact legislation for the California Lighting
Toxics Reduction and Recycling Act.
e) AB 2398 (J.Perez) - Requires, by September 30, 2011, a
producer or the product stewardship organization created
by one or more producers of carpet to submit a carpet
stewardship plan which would be required to include
specified elements, including performance goals. (Set
for hearing in Assembly Natural Resources Committee on
April 12, 2010.)
SOURCE : Stop Waste. Org (Alameda County)
SUPPORT : California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators, California Product Stewardship
Association, California State Association of
Counties, Californians Against Waste, Central
Costa County Sanitary District, Central Contra
Costa Solid Waste Authority, Humboldt Waste
Management Authority, League of California
Cities, Marin County Board of Supervisors,
Napa County, Napa Recycling and Waste Services,
City of Needles, Raw Materials Company, City of
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Riverside, Regional Council of Rural Counties,
City and County of San Francisco, City of San
Joaquin, Santa Clara Board of Supervisors,
Sierra Club California, City of Ventura
OPPOSITION : CalTax, California Chamber of Commerce,
California
Manufacturers and Technology Association,
Consumer
Specialty Products Association, Grocery Manufacturers of
America, National Electrical Manufacturers Association,
Advanced Medical Technology Association, PhRMA,
TechAmerica.