BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 712
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 712
AUTHOR: Williams
AMENDED: March 31, 2011
FISCAL: No HEARING DATE: June 20, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Caroll
Mortensen
SUBJECT : BEVERAGE CONTAINER RECYCLING
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Requires a distributor to pay a redemption payment for
every beverage container sold or offered for sale in the
state to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
(DRRR) which is required to deposit those amounts in the
California Beverage Container Recycling Fund (Fund). The
money in the Fund is continuously appropriated for the
payment of refund values and processing fees. (Public
Resources Code �14560).
2) Specifies that every convenience zone must be served by at
least one certified recycling center, with specified
operating hours. If a zone is "unserved" by a certified
recycling center, the dealer (store) redeems beverage
containers from consumers. (�14570 et seq.).
3) Authorizes funding for specified purposes to increase
beverage container recycling, including payments to cities
and counties. (�14581).
This bill prohibits DRRR from making any Bottle Bill payments,
grants, or loans to a city, county, or city and county that
has adopted or is enforcing a land-use restriction that
prevents the siting or operation of a certified recycling
center at a supermarket site.
COMMENTS :
AB 712
Page 2
1)Purpose of Bill . According to the author, there are eight
cities that prohibit manned recycling facilities: Newport
Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Ladera Ranch, Manhattan
Beach, Hermosa Beach, Tustin, and Vista. The California
Grocers Association provided two specific examples. Tustin
only allows bulk reverse vending or reverse vending machines
on retail/commercial lots. Tustin does not allow a manned
facility on a grocers' parking lot. Hermosa Beach only
allows recycling facilities in its heavy commercial zones.
Hermosa Beach does not allow recycling centers in
retail/commercial zones, where all of its grocery stores are
located.
2)Background . The Bottle Bill is designed to provide
consumers with a financial incentive for recycling and to
make recycling convenient to consumers so that the beverage
container component of the solid waste stream will decrease.
The centerpiece of the Bottle Bill is the California
Redemption Value (CRV). Consumers pay a deposit, the CRV,
on each beverage container they purchase. Retailers collect
the CRV from consumers when they buy beverages. The dealer
retains a small percentage of the deposit for administration
and remits the remainder to the distributor, who also
retains a small portion for administration before remitting
the balance to DRRR. When consumers return their empty
beverage containers to a recycler (or donate them to a
curbside or other program), the deposit is paid back as a
refund.
To provide convenient recycling opportunities to consumers,
certified recycling centers are located on the site of a
supermarket (dealer) and accept beverage containers for
recycling and remit the CRV refund to consumers. There must
be one certified recycling center in each convenience zone,
which is typically a half-mile radius circle around a
dealer. In order to assist these centers cover their
operating costs, the Bottle Bill allocates handling fees.
If there is no certified recycler in a convenience zone, the
dealer is responsible for taking back containers.
SOURCE : California Grocers Association
AB 712
Page 3
SUPPORT : California Retailers Association
OPPOSITION : None on file