BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1454
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1454
AUTHOR: DeSaulnier
AMENDED: March 25, 2010
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 19, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : PLASTIC CONTAINERS
SUMMARY :
Existing law , under the California Integrated Waste Management
Act of 1989:
1) Prohibits a plastic bag from being sold that is labeled
"compostable" or "marine biodegradable" unless the plastic
bag meets certain American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) standards, and prohibits a plastic bag
from being sold that is labeled with the term
"biodegradable," "degradable," or "decomposable," or any
form of those terms. Certain related provisions, including
definitions and penalties, are specified. (Public
Resources Code 42355 et seq.).
2) Prohibits a food or beverage container from being sold that
is labeled "compostable" or "marine biodegradable" unless
the food or beverage container meets certain ASTM
standards, and prohibits a food or beverage container from
being sold that is labeled with the term "biodegradable,"
"degradable," or "decomposable," or any form of those
terms. Certain related provisions, including definitions
and penalties, are specified. (Public Resources Code
42359 et seq.).
This bill :
1) Repeals the above plastic bag provisions.
2) Repeals the above food or beverage container provisions.
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3) Prohibits a plastic product from being sold that is labeled
"compostable" or "marine biodegradable" unless the plastic
bag meets certain ASTM standards, and prohibits a plastic
product from being sold that is labeled with the term
"biodegradable," "degradable," or "decomposable," or any
form of those terms. Certain related provisions, including
definitions and penalties, are specified.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, under current
law "manufacturers of plastic bags and food packaging
cannot claim that their products are 'biodegradable' and
can only claim their products are 'compostable' if they
meet the [ASTM] scientific technical standard for
'compostability,' ASTM D6400. Currently there are no
restrictions on end-of-life claims for plastic products,
excluding plastic bags and food packaging. Many plastic
products that are currently sold in California claim to be
'biodegradable,' even though there is no technical standard
to test against that term and numerous studies have shown
that even 'compostable' plastic does quickly break down in
the environment as one would expect a 'biodegradable'
product to. Additionally, some plastic products are
claiming to be 'compostable' even though they do not meet
the technical standard for compostability, making the
material unacceptable in composting facilities."
The author also notes that "SB 1454 will expand the scope of
the current labeling restrictions for plastic bags and food
packaging in Public Resources Code Sections 42357-42359 to
all plastic products: specifically manufacturers would be
prohibited from claiming their plastic products are
'biodegradable' and could only claim they are 'compostable'
if it meets the relevant technical standard."
SB 1454 repeals the existing plastic bag provisions, repeals
the existing food and beverage provisions, and adds new
provisions for plastic products, along with definitions,
penalties, and ASTM review procedures.
2) Related requirements and legislation . SB 951 (Hart)
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Chapter 1076, Statutes of 1993, enacted the Plastic Trash
Bag Law to require recycled plastic postconsumer material
in certain types of plastic trash bags. SB 698 (Rainey)
Chapter 44, Statutes of 1998, revised various procedures
relating to these provisions to enable postconsumer
materials to be in other plastic products of the
manufacturer. In response to concerns about manufacturers
that violate the law, SB 698 added a debarment provision
that made these violators ineligible for state contract
awards until they comply with the requirements and
prohibits the state from soliciting offers from, or
awarding contracts to, those firms. SB 698 also required
the California Integrated Waste Management Board to publish
a list of violators.
SB 1749 (Karnette) Chapter 619, Statutes of 2004, prohibited
persons from selling a plastic bag labeled as
"compostable," "biodegradable," "degradable," or any form
of those terms, unless the plastic bag meets certain
requirements. AB 1023 (DeSaulnier) Chapter 143, Statutes
of 2007, exempts these bags from the Plastic Trash Bag Law.
AB 2147 (Harman) Chapter 349, Statutes of 2006, prohibited
persons from selling plastic food and beverage containers
labeled as "compostable," "biodegradable," "degradable," or
any form of those terms, unless the containers meet certain
requirements.
AB 2071 (Karnette) Chapter 570, Statutes of 2008 set penalties
for violations of the SB 1749 plastic bag requirements and
the AB 2147 food and beverage container requirements.
AB 1972 (DeSaulnier) Chapter 436, Statutes of 2008, revised
prohibited actions under the plastic bag, as well as the
food and beverage container, requirements, while revising
definitions and providing for review of changing ASTM
standards.
3) Technical issue . A technical amendment is needed to strike
"all" and insert "any" on page 3, line 16.
SOURCE : Californians Against Waste
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SUPPORT : None on file
OPPOSITION : None on file