BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2658
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2658
AUTHOR: Bocanegra
AMENDED: April 21, 2014
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: June 18, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Joanne Roy
SUBJECT : RECYCLING: WASTE TIRES: PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS
SUMMARY :
Existing law establishes the California Tire Recycling Act
(Act), which:
1) Requires a person who purchases a new tire to pay a
California tire fee of $1.75 for each new tire purchased in
the state. One dollar of which is deposited into the Tire
Recycling Fund for oversight, enforcement, and market
development grants relating to waste tire management and
recycling. The remaining $0.75 is deposited into the Air
Pollution Control Fund for programs and projects that
mitigate or remediate air pollution caused by tires.
2) Reduces the fee on January 1, 2015 to $0.75 per tire, to be
deposited into the Tire Recycling Fund.
3) Requires CalRecycle to adopt a Five-Year Plan, which must
be updated every two years, that establishes goals and
priorities for the waste tire program, including grant
programs.
4) Authorizes CalRecycle to award grants, subsidies, rebates,
and loans to businesses and public entities that result in
reduced landfill disposal of used tires.
5) Specifies that the grants awarded by CalRecycle pursuant to
their authority under the Act be awarded to local
government agencies for the funding of public works
projects that use waste tires, including rubberized asphalt
concrete (RAC), tire derived products (TDPs), and tire
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derived aggregate (TDA), as prescribed. While CalRecycle
is granted broad authority to continue grant programs under
their existing authority within the Act and the Five-Year
Plan, this statutory guidance for the program sunsets on
June 30, 2015.
6) Pursuant to AB 513 (Frazier), Chapter 499, Statutes of
2013, establishes the Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Market
Development Act, which creates a grant program for local
government agencies for public works projects that use RAC
and for state and local agencies, including regional park
districts, for funding disability access projects at parks
and Class I bikeways. Sunsets this program on June 30,
2019.
7) Requires the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) on an annual average to use not less than 11.58
pounds of recycled crumb rubber (from tires) per metric ton
of the total amount of asphalt paving materials used.
Requires that until January 1, 2015, at least 50% of the
crumb rubber used be RAC. After that date, specifies that
the material used be any type of asphalt containing crumb
rubber.
8) Defines RAC as paving material that uses an asphalt rubber
binder containing an amount of reclaimed tire rubber that
is 15% or more by weight of the total blend, and that meets
required specifications. [This definition is based on the
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard
specification D6114.]
9) Defines asphalt containing crumb rubber as any asphalt
pavement construction, rehabilitation, or maintenance
material that contains reclaimed tire rubber and that meets
required specifications.
This bill :
1) Extends the requirement that 50% of asphalt paving
materials used by Caltrans be RAC from January 1, 2015 to
January 1, 2020.
2) Clarifies that parklets and greenways are eligible for
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grants awarded by CalRecycle for public works projects that
use TDP.
3) Requires CalRecycle, when awarding grants for parklets and
greenways that use TDP, to give priority to projects
located in disadvantaged communities.
4) Defines "disadvantaged community" as a community with an
annual median household income that is less than 80% of the
statewide median household income.
5) Defines "greenway" as a travel corridor for pedestrians,
bicycles, nonmotorized vehicle transportation, recreation,
or a combination thereof, located along natural landscape
features, such as an urban watercourse.
6) Defines "parklet" as a small urban park that provides
amenities including, but not limited to, seating, tables,
bike racks, and landscaping.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "AB 2658 will
ensure that parklets and greenways receive due
consideration for TDP grants, and will ensure that
preference is given to projects in disadvantaged
communities, which are often 'park poor,' offering little
relief from the urban environment. Additionally, by
continuing to require [Caltrans] to use RAC for state
highway construction and repair, AB 2658 will help
California continue to lead the way in resource recovery
and recycling?"
2) Tire management in California . According to CalRecycle,
approximately 40 million waste tires are generated in
California every year. CalRecycle's diversion goal is 90%;
the most recent Five-Year Plan (2011) states that the
current diversion rate is around 74%.
According to the California Waste Tire Market Report: 2011,
of the 40.8 million tires generated:
8.8 million were recycled as ground rubber, of
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which 4.9 million were used as RAC;
2 million were used in civil engineering
projects;
6.9 million were reused (either sold as used
tires or retreaded);
6.2 million were used as "tire derived fuel" in
cement kilns or at co-generation facilities; and, 5
million were disposed in landfills; and,
2.1 million were otherwise recycled (generally
other forms of reuse, such as dock bumpers) or used as
landfill cover.
California's recent economic downturn and relatively high
unemployment rate has contributed to a decline in waste
tires generated. The same factors, along with local
government budget constraints and a decline in use by
Caltrans, has resulted in diminishing numbers of tires being
recycled. Export, generally for energy generation in Asia,
has nearly tripled since 2009. Appropriate tire recycling
in California provides significant environmental benefits
and creates green jobs.
1) Waste Tire Recycling and Grant Programs . There are a
number of alternatives for recycling waste tires.
CalRecycle currently has three grant programs available to
local government agencies for public works projects that
use recycled tires.
a) TDP Grant Program . The TDP grant program provides
funding for recycled-content products that contain waste
tires generated in California. Grant applications for
this program must use a minimum of 2,500 tires, but one
application may be submitted for multiple projects
within a jurisdiction. Eligible projects include
agricultural and landscaping, recreational, and
transportation projects. The types of projects that
have received funding under this program include
tire-derived mulch, playground surfacing, weed abatement
coverings, horse stalls and arenas, sport field
surfacing, sidewalks and pathways, railroad ties, and
sound barriers.
b) TDA Grant Program . The TDA grant program provides
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funding for projects that use a minimum of 500 tons of
California-generated TDA, which is construction
aggregate made from shredded waste tires. It is used
for a wide range of public works projects and other
civil engineering applications, including slope
stabilization, retaining wall backfill, lightweight
embankment fill, vibration mitigation, and some landfill
applications.
c) RAC Grant Program . The RAC grant program provides
grants for recycled-content road surfacing products
derived from waste tires generated in California. The
grant amount is based on the difference in cost between
conventional asphalt concrete and RAC. Eligible
projects must use a minimum of 3,500 tons of RAC or
35,000 square yards of RAC chip seal material.
2) RAC Use by Caltrans . AB 338 (Levine), Chapter 709,
Statutes of 2005, established the requirement that Caltrans
use a minimum amount of recycled tires in paving projects,
including the requirement that 50% of asphalt containing
crumb rubber be RAC. This bill extends this requirement
for an additional five years, until 2020. When AB 338 was
enacted, it was expected that there would be an American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard
specification for other types of asphalt containing crumb
rubber before the sunset date of 2015; however, ASTM has
not yet developed additional standards.
According to CalRecycle, RAC reduces overall project costs due
to less maintenance, increases safety due to its
skid-resistant surface and prolonged color contrast, and
reduces noise pollution with noticeably lower tire noise.
It has an additional benefit of being manufactured in
California using California-generated tires. Alternative
types of asphalt containing crumb rubber are primarily
manufactured out of state (out of non-California tires) and
transported by rail into California.
3) Double Referral to Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee . If this measure is approved by the Senate
Environmental Quality Committee, the do pass motion must
include the action to re-refer the bill to the Senate
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Transportation and Housing Committee.
SOURCE : Author
SUPPORT : California League of Conservation Voters
City of Los Angeles
Crumb Rubber Manufacturers of Rancho Dominguez
Rubber Pavements Association
OPPOSITION : None on file