BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1933
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 26, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 1933 (Gordon) - As Introduced: February 22, 2012
SUBJECT : Beverage containers: enforcement
SUMMARY : Strengthens tracking provisions for beverage
containers transported into California.
EXISTING LAW , the Beverage Container Recycling and Litter
Reduction Act (Bottle Bill):
1)Establishes refund value and redemption payments for beverage
containers.
2)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
(CalRecycle), 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.
3)Authorizes funding for specified purposes to increase beverage
container recycling, including payments to cities and
counties.
4)Requires any person importing more than 100 pounds of
aluminum, bimetal, or plastic beverage container material, or
1000 pounds of glass beverage container material, into
California to report the material to CalRecycle and to provide
an opportunity for inspection.
THIS BILL :
1)Reduces the threshold for reporting the importation of
beverage container material to CalRecycle from 100 pounds to
25 pounds for aluminum, bimetal or plastic beverage container
material, and from 1000 pounds to 250 pounds for glass
beverage container material.
2)Requires that any person required to report to CalRecycle on
the importation of beverage container material additionally
AB 1933
Page 2
provide documentation of the source material and documentation
on the destination of the material.
3)Specifies that no reimbursement is required by the bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
The Bottle Bill is designed to provide consumers with a
financial incentive for recycling and to make recycling
convenient to consumers. 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 CalRecycle. 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.
According to the author, "?the very incentives that have spurred
high rates of recycling �in California] have also inspired
entrepreneurial criminals. No doubt inspired by a 1996 episode
of Seinfeld, some view California's redemption value as a quick
money-making opportunity." It is not known how prevalent
illegal redemption of out-of-state containers is, but in 2010,
31 people were arrested in an enforcement action involving the
Department of Justice and CalRecycle. Three separate fraud
rings coordinated the importation of millions of cans and
bottles from Arizona and Nevada for redemption of the CRV.
According to the Attorney General, the rings stole more than
$3.5 million. California is at a significant risk for this
activity, because Arizona and Nevada do not have beverage
container redemption programs.
In the summer of 2011, CalRecycle, in coordination with the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), initiated
a "no-cost" pilot program to survey and document vehicles
importing out-of-state beverage container material into
California through all 16 CDFA Border Protection Stations.
During the first 60 calendar days of the pilot program, the
information gathered indicated that over 2,500 vehicles
(including 378 rental trucks filled to capacity) imported
AB 1933
Page 3
out-of-state beverage container material through these stations.
Based on the survey data referenced above, CalRecycle states
that a conservative estimate of fraud exposure to the Fund is $7
million annually.
This bill is intended to improve deterrents for the illegal
importation of out-of-state beverage containers for deposit
redemption by improving the documentation of the source
destination of the material.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Californians Against Waste
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092