BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 525
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 525
AUTHOR: Gordon
AMENDED: September 1, 2011
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: September 7, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Caroll Mortensen
SUBJECT : WASTE TIRE AND PAINT RECYCLING
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
(DRRR) to adopt a "5-Year Plan" to establish goals and
priorities for the management of waste tires in California
funded with a fee on new tires sold in California. (Public
Resources Code �42885.5).
2) Authorizes DRRR to offer a variety of grant, loan, and
education programs to clean up illegally dumped tires and
increase collection and reduce landfilling of waste tires.
(�42873).
3) The above programs are funded by the Tire Recycling
Management Fund (TRMF). The TRMF is supported by the
California tire fee, which is a $1.75 per tire charge
imposed on a person who purchases a new tire (�42885).
4) Establishes the architectural paint recovery program,
implemented by DRRR, to require paint manufacturers to
develop and implement a program to collect, transport, and
process postconsumer paint to reduce the costs and
environmental impacts of the disposal of postconsumer paint
in this state (�48700 et seq.).
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This bill :
1) Establishes, until June 15, 2015, a program to provide
funding to local jurisdictions for the use of rubberized
asphalt concrete (RAC) and tire-derived aggregate (TDA) for
road projects.
2) Establishes the Architectural Paint Stewardship Account and
the Architectural Paint Stewardship Penalty Subaccount in
the Integrated Waste Management Fund.
COMMENTS :
1) AB 525 referred to Committee pursuant to Rule 29.10 .
September 1, 2011 Senate Floor amendments added a provision
related to the Architectural Paint Recovery Program
(Program) that was not heard by the Committee. The
September 1, 2011 amendment establishes accounts to receive
funds and potential penalties necessary to implement the
program.
2) Purpose of Bill . Waste tires represent one of the largest
and most problematic in California's waste stream. Whole
used tires, due to their shape and buoyancy, have a
tendency to migrate upwards when landfilled, puncturing
holes in lining and cells and otherwise undermining the
integrity of the landfill structure. As a result, their
disposal in landfills throughout California has been
banned.
According to the author, the grants for local public works
projects that use waste tires, which had been authorized by
statute that has since expired, and they need to be
continued. Public works projects, specifically roadway
projects divert waste tires from landfill. Roads that use
materials from waste tire products such as rubberized
asphalt concrete are superior to other road surface
materials in several ways and are the more cost-effective
option for local governments. However, local governments,
most of who are financially strapped, frequently base their
capital decisions on up-front expense, not long-term cost
effectiveness. The author states that for continuing
guaranteed funding for such local public works projects so
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their superiority may be demonstrated to local governments
and others who will be making decisions about capital
projects in what, hopefully, will be times of greater
fiscal health.
With the September 1, 2011 amendment, AB 525 also
establishes the necessary financial accounts for funds
associated with the architectural paint recovery program.
This bill does not make any substantive changes to the
architectural paint recovery program.
3) Waste Tire Background . For 2008, California generated
approximately 44 million used tires. Of those approximately
22 million were recycled; 7.5 million were used for
tire-derived fuel, 2.2 million were used as landfill cover,
and 12.3 million were disposed of in landfills.
Rubberized Asphalt Concrete (RAC) made from waste tires
represents one of the most promising and beneficial end
uses for tires. In addition to creating markets for used
tires, roadways paved with RAC have been found to be safer,
last longer and be more cost effective than ordinary
asphalt. The Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Technology Center
reports that a two-inch RAC resurfacing project uses over
2,000 waste tires and can save as much as $22,000 per lane
mile over conventional asphalt.
Tire-Derived Aggregate (TDA) is made from shredded scrap
tires and is used in a wide range of construction projects.
These uses include retaining wall backfill, lightweight
embankment fill, landslide stabilization, vibration
mitigation, and various landfill applications.
Focusing a portion of tire recycling funds on grants for
local agency RAC and TDA projects represents useful and
cost effective means of both addressing California's waste
tire problem as well as reducing the long-term cost of
resurfacing, road building, and construction projects.
4) Architectural Paint Recovery Program Background . According
to DRRR, Californians generate millions of gallons of
leftover paint each year. Prior to the passage of AB 1343
(Huffman), Chapter 420, Statutes of 2011, which established
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the Architectural Paint Recovery Program, the only way for
residents to properly manage their leftover paint was
through local, taxpayer-funded household hazardous waste
(HHW) programs. However, due to the immense cost to manage
household hazardous waste, local programs typically can
only afford to serve between 5-10 percent of the residents
in their jurisdictions. Despite these low levels of
participation, in 2009 paint represented almost one-third
of the material collected through local HHW programs and
cost local government millions of dollars to manage.
Due to a drafting error in AB 1343, the Paint Recovery
Account and Paint Recovery Penalty Subaccount established
in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, as cited in the
bill's digest, was not included in the bill. This bill
establishes the Architectural Paint Stewardship Account for
fees collected by DRRR for implementation of the program.
AB 525 now also establishes the Architectural Paint
Stewardship Penalty Subaccount for penalties collected by
DRRR associated with the program. It also provides
necessary collection and expenditure authority to DRRR for
administration of these accounts. This bill does not make
any substantive changes to the architectural paint recovery
program enacted by AB 1343.
SOURCE : Californians Against Waste
SUPPORT : California Resource Recovery Association
California State Association of Counties
City of Lakewood
City of San Francisco
County of San Francisco
CRM Company
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Republic Services, Inc.
OPPOSITION : None on file