AB 2633, as introduced, Allen. Recycling: plastic material.
Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to administer state programs to recycle solid waste, plastic trash bags, plastic packaging containers, waste tires, newsprint, and other specified materials.
The existing California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires each city, county, city and county, and regional agency, if any, to develop a source reduction and recycling element of an integrated waste management plan containing specified components. On and after January 1, 2000, the element is required to divert 50% of the solid waste subject to the element, except as specified, through source reduction, recycling, and composting activities.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would utilize the technology available to cost-effectively address management of solid waste and maximize the value recovered from reusable plastic material by, among other things, investigating emerging technologies that convert used plastic products into new plastic feedstock, such as propylene monomer.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) California’s goal of diverting not less than 75 percent of
4solid waste, including plastic products, from landfills does not take
5into account that landfills will continue to be the only disposal
6alternative for many plastic products.
7(b) Existing law and current policies do not recognize new
8technologies that are available to maximize the reusable lifespan
9of plastic products and that are integral to meeting the state’s
10diversion goals. The new technologies and policies could address
11several obstacles the state currently faces with regard to plastic
12products, including the multicomponent construction in plastic
13
products, as in plastic containers with integral caps and valves,
14usage history of plastic products, such as nonhazardous used
15hospital coverings, contamination levels of the plastic products,
16such as food service wastes and plastic products used for floor
17cleaning, and the diversity of plastic grades, or types of plastic,
18within each plastic material class.
19(c) According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency,
20in 2011, 13.1 million tons of textiles ended up in landfills, an
21increase of 44 percent from 1999, while only 2 million tons were
22diverted from landfills. The low diversion percentage is largely
23due to the multicomponent nature of many textiles that are in the
24landfills. Further, 60 percent of textiles that end up in landfills are
25PET polyester, the same material of which plastic beverage
26containers are made.
It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
28that would utilize technology available to cost-effectively address
29the management of solid waste and maximize the value recovered
30from reusable plastic products by doing the following:
31(a) Provide incentives to businesses and organizations that
32practice state-of-the-art, cost-effective material separation and
33recovery techniques to locate recycling centers in California.
34(b) Investigate emerging technologies that convert used plastic
35products into new plastic feedstock, such as propylene monomer.
36(c) Encourage waste-to-energy and waste-to-fuel pyrolysis
37
projects that address the various grades of plastic products that are
38in landfills.
P3 1(d) Complement the state and international trend towards
2biodegradation by encouraging the use of anaerobic digesters and
3landfills as available venues for anaerobic biodegradation of plastic
4products that are embedded with new biodegradable technology.
5This usage of anaerobic digesters and landfills will result in the
6release of additional biogas that can be captured and used as
7renewable energy.
O
99