BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1219|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1219
Author: Wolk (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-1, 4/16/12
AYES: Simitian, Hancock, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley
NOES: Blakeslee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Recycling: at-store plastic bag recycling
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill extends those At-Store Recycling
Program requirements until January 1, 2020, and repeals the
provisions preempting local regulatory action.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires an operator of a store,
as defined, to establish an At-Store Recycling Program that
provides to customers the opportunity to return clean
plastic carryout bags to that store. This requirement is
repealed on January 1, 2013. Existing law prohibits a
city, county, or other local public agency from taking
specified regulatory actions with regard to the recycling
of plastic carryout bags. Existing law provides for the
enforcement of those provisions by local agencies and by
the state and requires the civil penalties collected by the
CONTINUED
SB 1219
Page
2
state to be expended by the Attorney General, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to implement these
requirements.
This bill strikes the preemption provision prohibiting
local governments from implementing separate plastic
carryout recycling programs, additional auditing or
reporting requirements or from imposing a fee on plastic
carryout bags for stores that meet these provisions, and
extends the sunset of the At-Store Recycling Program for
plastic carryout bags from January 1, 2013, to January 1,
2020.
Background
Plastic bags and plastic film together represent 2.2
percent of the waste stream and every year, California
taxpayers spend $25 million disposing of the 19 billion
plastic bags used annually. Although plastic represents a
relatively small fraction of the overall waste stream in
California, plastic waste is the predominate form of marine
debris. Plastics are estimated to compose 60-80 percent of
all marine debris and 90 percent of all floating debris.
According to the California Coastal Commission, the primary
source of marine debris is urban runoff, of which
lightweight plastic bags and plastic film are particularly
susceptible. Due to the interplay of ocean currents,
marine debris preferentially accumulates in certain areas
throughout the ocean. The North Pacific Central Gyre is
the ultimate destination for much of the marine debris
originating from the California coast. A study by the
Algalita Marine Research Foundation found an average of
more than 300,000 plastic pieces per square mile of the
Gyre and that the mass of plastic was six times greater
than zooplankton floating on the water's surface.
Most plastic marine debris exists as small plastic
particles due to excessive UV radiation exposure and
subsequent photo-degradation. These plastic pieces are
ingested by aquatic organisms and have already negatively
affected over 250 animal species worldwide. In addition,
hydrophobic chemicals present in the ocean in trace amounts
(e.g., from contaminated runoff and oil and chemical
spills) have an affinity for and can bind to plastic
CONTINUED
SB 1219
Page
3
particles and may also enter and accumulate in the food
chain through the same mechanism.
Two years after the regulations were adopted for the
At-Store Recycling Program, The California Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) reports the
recycling rate in 2009 for labeled plastic carryout bags to
be approximately three percent. This recycling rate does
not reflect unregulated bags (bags which do not have the
label which encourages plastic bag recycling) and other
plastic film returned for recycling through this program.
According to the California State University Sacramento
characterization study commissioned by CalRecycle, of the
plastic products returned to stores with bins that allowed
"comingled" plastics, over 60 percent by weight was plastic
shrink wrap and film.
At the local level, many cities and counties throughout
California have adopted ordinances banning plastic bags
including San Francisco, San Jose, Long Beach, Los Angeles
County, Santa Clara County, Alameda County and others.
Most of these localities also require that stores charge a
fee ranging from 10 to 25 cents per paper carryout bag and
a few, including Los Angeles County, have banned both
single-use plastic and paper carryout bags. Recently, the
Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that a fee on paper bags
is not a tax under the California Constitution.
Since the passage of AB 2449 in 2006, local governments
have been prohibited from requiring additional recycling
requirements or imposing a plastic bag fee upon a store for
plastic carryout bags. This bill deletes that preemption,
and would give local governments the freedom to impose
regulations and fees on plastic carryout bags in addition
to the At-Store Recycling Program that currently exists.
Local flexibility may be desirable since there is
significant diversity geographically (e.g., coastal versus
inland communities) and in terms of regional attitudes
toward the perceived environmental impacts of plastic bags.
However, with various localities banning plastic carryout
bags, and others charging differing fees on paper carryout
bags, there currently exists a growing patchwork of
requirements throughout the state. With the removal of the
CONTINUED
SB 1219
Page
4
preemption for additional plastic carryout recycling
requirements and fees, the disparity of local plastic
carryout bag requirements throughout the state may grow,
making it more difficult for stores to comply with the laws
of each jurisdiction.
Comments
Purpose of Bill. AB 2449 (Levine), Chapter 845, Statutes
of 2006, enacts the At-Store Recycling Program. According
to the author, "At the end of this year, the plastic bag
recycling program will sunset. This program has enjoyed
moderate success in taking back single-use plastic bags.
However, because of this program, recycling of plastic film
(such as bread, dry cleaning and newspaper bags, the wrap
around toilet paper, and the plastic used at grocery stores
for packaging) has increased far more dramatically. This
is particularly important since in California plastic film
makes up almost half of the plastic waste stream.
Recycling rates for film will undoubtedly drop drastically
if the opportunity provided by in-store recycling programs
is lost." The author also notes that, "Other states (and
notably Washington DC) have seen a substantial reduction in
bag use by placing small fees or taxes on these bags.
Programs in DC and Maryland use the revenue generated for
environmental programs. As SB 1219 extends the recycling
program, it does so without extending the prohibition on
local jurisdictions placing a fee or tax on plastic bags."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/30/12)
1 Bag at a Time
Command Packaging
Western Plastics Association
DLW:do 5/1/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED
SB 1219
Page
5
CONTINUED