BILL ANALYSIS �
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB 568 (Alan Lowenthal)
As Amended July 12, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :21-15
NATURAL RESOURCES 6-3 APPROPRIATIONS 9-5
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Brownley, | |Ayes: Fuentes, |
| |Dickinson, Hill, Monning, | |Blumenfield, |
| |Skinner | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Gatto, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Knight, Grove, Halderman | |Nays: Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Prohibits a food vendor from dispensing prepared food
to a customer in a polystyrene foam food container after January
1, 2016, (July 1, 2017, for school districts) unless the local
government or school district adopts a recycling program that
can recycle at least 60% of its polystyrene foam food
containers. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits a food vendor from dispensing prepared food to a
customer in a polystyrene foam food container after January 1,
2016.
2)Defines "food vendor" as an operation that stores, prepares,
packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human
consumption at the retail level, including, but not limited
to, a restaurant, cafeteria, pushcart, vehicular food vendor,
caterer, store, shop, sales outlet, or other establishment,
including a grocery store or a delicatessen.
3)Defines "polystyrene foam food container" as a container made
of blown polystyrene and expanded and extruded foam that are
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thermoplastic petrochemical materials utilizing the styrene
monomer and that meets all of the following conditions:
a) Polystyrene is the sole resin used to produce the rigid
plastic packaging container;
b) The container is required by law to be labeled with a
"6," which indicates that the resin used to produce the
container was polystyrene; and,
c) The container is used, or is intended to be used, to
hold prepared food.
4)Defines "prepared food" as food, including a beverage, that is
served, packaged, cooked, chopped, sliced, mixed, brewed,
frozen, squeezed, or otherwise prepared for consumption.
Prepared food does not include raw, butchered meats, fish, or
poultry that is sold from a butcher case or a similar retail
appliance.
5)Applies the prohibition on polystyrene foam food containers to
school districts beginning on July 1, 2017.
6)Allows a food vendor that is a school district to dispense
prepared food to a customer in a polystyrene foam food
container after July 1, 2017, if the school district elects to
adopt a policy to implement a verifiable recycling program for
polystyrene foam food containers under which at least 60% of
the polystyrene foam food containers purchased annually by
that school district will be recycled.
7)Allows a city or county to dispense prepared food to a
customer in a polystyrene foam food container after January 1,
2016, if the city or county elects to adopt an ordinance
establishing a recycling program for polystyrene foam food
container under which at least 60% of the polystyrene foam
food containers generated annually in the city will be
recycled by that program.
8)Limits the term of a school district, city, or county's
recycling program to not more than five years unless the
policy or ordinance implementing the program is renewed or
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readopted.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires, under the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989
(IWMA), cities and counties to divert 50% of their solid waste
by 2000. The IWMA provides various programs to reduce litter
and educate consumers about the importance of recycling.
2)Provides, under the California Beverage Container Recycling
and Litter Reduction Act of 1986, funding and education
programs to reduce beverage container litter.
3)Prohibits a person from selling a plastic bag or a plastic
food or beverage container that is labeled as "compostable" or
"marine degradable" unless that plastic bag or container meets
American Society for Testing and Materials standards or a
standard adopted by the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery.
4)Requires operators of stores, such as supermarkets, to
establish an in-store plastic carryout bag recycling program.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Beginning in 2015-16, potential annual costs of an unknown
amount, potentially in the tens of thousands of dollars, to
state agencies that are food vendors that will purchase food
containers made with relatively expensive alternative
materials. Actual costs will depend upon the volume of food
containers purchased by food vendors that are state agencies,
the price of alternatives at the time of their procurement in
excess of the cost of polystyrene food containers, and the
ability of state agencies to recover costs from customers who
purchase food served in the containers. (Various funds.)
2)Beginning in 2016-17, potential state mandate costs of an
unknown amount resulting from claims filed by school districts
that elect to use relatively expensive food containers made
from polystyrene alternatives or that choose to adopt a
polystyrene recycling program. (General Fund.)
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COMMENTS : According to a 2004 report prepared by the California
Integrated Waste Management Board, in 1999, California disposed
of over 3.3 million tons of plastic in landfills. That is
roughly equivalent to the weight of the nearly 36 million
Californians (averaging 185 pounds). Plastics represent 8.9%
(by weight) and perhaps twice as much (by volume) of the
material disposed of in California landfills. In general,
plastics rank behind paper as the second-largest category (by
volume) of material being landfilled in California. Polystyrene
is one of the most widely used plastics and is estimated at 0.8%
(by weight) of the materials landfilled. However, due to its
lightweight nature, its volume is much greater.
Commercial and institutional polystyrene products, including
polystyrene foam food container (i.e., Styrofoam), represent 42%
of polystyrene production. Polystyrene foam food containers
present unique challenges in its management due in part to
contamination from food residue. Additionally, a polystyrene
foam food container by its nature has a useful life that can be
measured in minutes or hours. Yet, it takes several decades to
hundreds of years to deteriorate in the environment or landfill.
These containers also represent a significant challenge as
litter. A California Department of Transportation study
conducted from 1998-2000 found that polystyrene products
comprised 15% of the total volume of litter collected from storm
drains. This type of litter reaches the sea by rivers and
municipal drainage systems, and then tends to break apart, where
it can be eaten by animals.
Styrene is an industrial chemical used to make polystyrene
products. This year, the National Toxicology Program, an
interagency group coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services released the Twelfth Edition of its Report on
Carcinogens. The report said that styrene is reasonably
anticipated to be a carcinogen. While the low levels of the
chemical in consumer products make the risk to the average
consumer low, workers in certain occupations are potentially
exposed to much higher levels of styrene than the general
population. Workers may breathe in high levels of styrene in
the workplace and absorb styrene through the skin.
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Numerous cities and counties in California have already adopted
some form of a polystyrene ban. At least forty jurisdictions
have banned polystyrene or expanded polystyrene altogether,
including San Francisco and Oakland. An additional fifteen
jurisdictions, including Los Angeles City, Los Angeles County,
Orange County, and San Jose, have banned the products in
government facilities or at government events. Local
jurisdictions have cited various reasons for implementing the
ban including the fact that polystyrene is a common
environmental pollutant and a non-biodegradable substance, there
is no meaningful way to recycle the product, and biodegradable,
compostable, or recyclable disposable food service ware are
relatively affordable, safe, and more ecologically sound
alternatives.
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0002213