BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1383
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1383
AUTHOR: Hueso
AMENDED: March 25, 2014
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 2, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Joanne Roy
SUBJECT : PLASTIC PRODUCTS: LABELING
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Finds and declares that it is the public policy of the
state that environmental marketing claims should be
substantiated by competent and reliable evidence to prevent
deceiving or misleading consumers about the environmental
impact of plastic products. (Public Resources Code (PRC)
�42355.5).
2) Prohibits the sale of a plastic product that is labeled
"compostable," "home compostable," or "marine
biodegradable" unless it meets certain American Society for
Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard specifications, the
OK Compost HOME certification, as specified, or a standard
adopted by the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery (CalRecycle), or unless the plastic product is
labeled with a qualified claim for which CalRecycle has
adopted a relevant standard, and the plastic product meets
that standard. (PRC �42357(a)).
3) Prohibits the sale of a plastic product that is labeled as
"biodegradable," "degradable," "decomposable," or implies
that the plastic product will break down, fragment,
biodegrade, or decompose in a landfill or other
environment, except as provided in PRC �42357(a). (PRC
�42357(b)).
4) Authorizes CalRecycle to review a new standard developed by
ASTM or any other organization for the labels "compostable"
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or "marine degradable" and to make recommendations to the
Legislature if CalRecycle determines the new standard is
more protective of public health, public safety and the
environment, and consistent with state policies. (PRC
�42356.1).
5) Requires a manufacturer or supplier to provide a person,
upon request and within 90 days of the request, easily
understandable and scientifically accurate documentation of
compliance with the requirements above. (PRC �42357).
6) Defines "plastic product" as a product made of plastic,
alone or in combination with other material. (PRC �42356).
7) Imposes a civil liability of $500 for the first violation
of the statutes related to marketing of plastic products,
$1,000 for the second violation, and $2,000 for the third
and any subsequent violation. (PRC �42358).
This bill :
1) Requires CalRecycle, upon ASTM's adoption of a standard for
aerobically biodegradable plastics in the soil environment
in the temperate zone, to adopt that standard.
2) Authorizes a person to sell agricultural mulch film labeled
as "biodegradable" if the agricultural mulch film meets the
above standard adopted by CalRecycle.
3) Defines "agricultural mulch film" as film plastic that is
used as a technical tool in commercial farming applications
for purposes of this subdivision.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author:
Biodegradable agricultural mulches will provide
California growers a valuable tool in increasing
yields, saving water while reducing impacts on the
soils, and possible cost savings. These new
materials are designed to fully biodegrade after
being plowed into the soil at the end of their
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useful life?.Current practice in large agricultural
operations is to use a traditional polyethylene or
similar plastic film to control weeds. This weed
control product must be removed at the end of the
growing season and historically has an end of life
being place being placed in a landfill?There have
been some recent developments that see some of the
weed control film being recycled, but it requires
the recycler to have a wash line to clean the
material, so opportunities are limited and require
the use of high volumes of water. Manufacturers of
compostable plastic products have developed a
material that is soil biodegradable and can be
tilled in place at the end of the growing season and
the material will degrade into the soil.
Current law in California does not allow for the use
of the terms soil degradable or biodegradable in
marketing products as previously there were no
proven standards of performance for those terms?This
bill would recognize the prospective ASTM standard
and allow for the narrow use of the restricted terms
for the purpose of marketing "agricultural mulch
film" in an industrial agricultural
setting?[E]nvironmental benefits include reduced
water use, reduced herbicide use, reduced pesticide
use, and diversion of waste from a landfill.
Without this bill, it would be illegal to label the
material appropriately. Setting a statutory
standard will be the most protective of the public
and the environment.
2) Agricultural Mulch Film and End-Of-Life Options . Plastic
(polyethylene) mulch film is widely used for crop
production because it controls weeds, conserves soil
moisture, increases soil temperature, increases crop yield
and quality, has a relatively low cost, and is readily
available. Polyethylene mulch film is made of
non-renewable, petroleum-based feedstock, and the
operational lifetime usually spans one growing season prior
to disposal.
Once the plastic mulch film has fulfilled its purpose in the
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field, there are a few end-of-life options such as
recycling, disposal, or on-site burning - none of which are
optimally environmentally-friendly. For example, recycling
of agricultural plastics can be limited by the
contamination of the plastic after field use, the lack of
specialized baling equipment, and distance to a recycling
facility. Used agricultural mulch film could be sullied
with pesticides/herbicides or fertilizers, and would have
to be properly cleaned in order to prevent contamination of
the recycling stream into which it enters. However, proper
cleaning of mulch film used in expansive fields for
commercial farming necessitates large quantities of water.
Disposal of plastic mulch also raises concerns - in 2004,
143,000 tons of plastic mulch were disposed of in the U.S.,
either in a landfill or burned on site. (Shogren, R.L. and
Hochmuth, R.C., 2004. Field evaluation of watermelon grown
on paper-polymerized vegetable oil mulches, HortScience
39:1588-1591). Degradation of polyethylene mulch in the
landfill is slight and may cause possible formations of
environmentally harmful chemical products such as aldehydes
and ketones. On-site burning of polyethylene mulch can
have undesirable air impacts, such as the release of the
airborne pollutant, dioxane.
"Biodegradable" agricultural mulch film is meant to be
incorporated into the soil after a cropping season is
complete, which means the location of the application and
use of the product is the same as its final resting place.
"Biodegradable" agricultural mulch film has the potential
to conserve resources such as water because it does not
need to be cleaned for recycling. Also, it could decrease
air pollution because it does not need to be transported
for recycling/disposal, and tilling it straight into the
ground may be more convenient and less enticing than
burning.
Ideally, plastic products in general should be recycled.
However, considering end-of-life options for the vast
sheets of dirty, contaminated plastic and the burdensome,
resource-intensive nature of agricultural mulch film used
in commercial farming, it seems more prudent to allow a
narrow exception to the "biodegradable" labeling
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prohibition in this case if it can safely decompose into
the soil in a relatively short time period.
3) ASTM Standard in Development for Biodegradable Plastics in
the Soil Environment in the Temperate Zone .
a) What is ASTM ? ASTM International is a nonprofit
organization that develops voluntary test methods
(protocols for testing physical and chemical properties)
and standard specifications (specific thresholds or
conditions that must be met) for products in hundreds of
industries through a consensus process. The methods and
standards may become mandatory if adopted in statute or
regulation. For example, most states require certain
plastic products and packaging to be labeled with Resin
Identification Codes that are administered by ASTM and
approximately 2,215 ASTM standards have been
incorporated by reference in the U.S. Code of Federal
Regulations.
ASTM membership is open to anyone with an interest in its
activities, including users, producers, academics, and
people in governmental organizations such as CalRecycle
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Standards
are developed within committees, but non-committee
members can participate without a formal vote and their
input will be fully considered. Also, in order to meet
the requirements of antitrust laws, producers must
constitute less than 50% of every committee, and votes
are limited to one per producer company. As of 2007,
ASTM consisted of more than 30,000 members from more
than 120 countries.
b) ASTM Standard in Development for Aerobically
Biodegradable Plastics in the Soil Environment in the
Temperate Zone . In 2011, ASTM initiated a specification
(Work Item 29802) to develop a standard entitled,
"Aerobically Biodegradable Plastics in the Soil
Environment in the Temperate Zone." The specification
defines criteria for showing sufficient inherent
biodegradability and absence of negative effects in soil
of plastic materials designed to biodegrade when in
contact with soil without diminishing the value or
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utility of the soil or creating any adverse impact on
the environment by the degradation products. Examples
of issues considered are effects on plant growth,
earthworm acute toxicity, and time duration for
biodegradation. As noted by ASTM, "There is an
increasing demand from the marketplace to differentiate
such soil-biodegradable plastics and ensure that
plastics used for such applications are safe for the
environment." The standard is expected to be adopted by
ASTM in the next six to 18 months.
This bill allows agricultural mulch film to be labeled
"biodegradable" upon CalRecycle adopting the ASTM standard
for the above specification.
4) Previous Legislation . SB 567 (DeSaulnier), Chapter 594,
Statutes of 2011, created the Plastic Products Law under
the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, to
prohibit a plastic product from being sold that is labeled
"compostable," "home compostable," or "marine
biodegradable" unless the plastic meets certain ASTM
standards or another standard that is subject to CalRecycle
requirements.
SB 228 (DeSaulnier), Chapter 406, Statutes of 2010, required a
compostable plastic bag manufacturer meeting certain
standards to ensure that the compostable plastic bag is
"readily and easily identifiable" (as defined in this bill)
from other plastic bags, in a manner that is consistent
with the Federal Trade Commission Guides for the Use of
Environmental Marketing Claims.
SB 1454 (DeSaulnier) of 2010 was similar to SB 567, but was
vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.
AB 2071 (Karnette) Chapter 570, Statutes of 2008 set penalties
for violations of the SB 1749 plastic bag requirements and
the AB 2147 food and beverage container requirements.
AB 1972 (DeSaulnier) Chapter 436, Statutes of 2008, revised
prohibited actions under the plastic bag, as well as the
food and beverage container, requirements, while revising
definitions and providing for review of changing ASTM
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standards.
AB 2147 (Harman) Chapter 349, Statutes of 2006, prohibited
persons from selling plastic food and beverage containers
labeled as "compostable," "biodegradable," "degradable," or
any form of those terms, unless the containers meet certain
requirements.
SB 1749 (Karnette) Chapter 619, Statutes of 2004, prohibited
persons from selling a plastic bag labeled as
"compostable," "biodegradable," "degradable," or any form
of those terms, unless the plastic bag meets certain
requirements. AB 1023 (DeSaulnier) Chapter 143, Statutes
of 2007, exempted these bags from the Plastic Trash Bag
Law.
SOURCE : Biodegradable Products Institute
SUPPORT : None on file
OPPOSITION : None on file