BILL NUMBER: AB 298	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Brownley

                        FEBRUARY 9, 2011

   An act to add Section 42253.5 to the Public Resources Code,
relating to recycling.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 298, as introduced, Brownley. Recycling: reusable bags.
   Existing law, part of the California Integrated Waste Management
Act of 1989, as administered by the Department of Resources Recycling
and Recovery, requires an operator of a store, as defined, to
establish an at-store recycling program that provides customers the
opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store and
to make reusable bags available to customers. A violation of these
requirements is subject to civil liability penalties imposed by a
local agency or the state. These requirements are repealed on January
1, 2013.
   This bill would, until January 1, 2013, prohibit a manufacturer,
as defined, from selling or distributing a reusable bag in this
state, if the bag is designed or intended to be sold or distributed
to a store's customers, unless the reusable bag meets certain
conditions regarding the cleaning and disinfection of the bag and the
material of which the bag is composed.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Despite local and state efforts to minimize land-based sources
of pollution, and increasing efforts worldwide to protect water
quality, the quantity of plastic pollution in the world's aquatic
environments is increasing.
   (b) Recycled content paper carryout bags, while not without their
environmental impacts, when made with 40 percent or more postconsumer
content, are a high-value recyclable collected in every curbside and
community recycling program in California.
   (c) Plastics made from biobased sources that are marketed as
"compostable" or "biodegradable" are not environmentally sound
alternatives to plastic carryout bags because they have not been
shown to degrade in aquatic environments and require conditions only
available in composting facilities to rapidly break down into
constituents that assimilate back into the environment. Most
Californians lack access to composting facilities capable of
accepting compostable plastic bags.
    (d) On February 8, 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council
approved a resolution to call for statewide action to reduce the
amount of land-based sources of marine debris. The resulting
implementation strategy, adopted by the California Ocean Protection
Council in November 2008, called for aggressive actions to reduce the
use of single-use plastic products, including plastic bags.
   (e) In California and other states, many cities have already
introduced or enacted bans on single-use carryout bags, creating a
patchwork of rules and regulations governing the use and disposal of
these bags.
  SEC. 2.  Section 42253.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
   42253.5.  (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 42250,
for purposes of this section, "manufacturer" means a producer of a
reusable bag or a person that purchases a reusable bag from a
producer for resale or redistribution in this state.
   (b) A manufacturer shall not sell or distribute a reusable bag in
this state, if the reusable bag is designed or intended to be sold or
distributed to a store's customers, unless the reusable bag meets
all of the following conditions:
   (1) The reusable bag is made from a material that can be cleaned
and disinfected.
   (2) There is printed on the bag, or on a tag attached to the bag,
and in a manner visible to the consumer, guidelines for cleaning and
disinfecting the reusable bag.
   (3) (A) The reusable bag does not contain lead, cadmium, or any
other heavy metal in toxic amounts.
   (B) Subparagraph (A) shall not affect any authority of the
Department of Toxic Substances Control pursuant to Article 14
(commencing with Section 25251) of Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code and, notwithstanding subdivision (c) of
Section 25257.1 of the Health and Safety Code, the reusable grocery
bag shall not be considered as a product category already regulated
or subject to regulation.