AB 1972 (Desaulnier, 2007-08) Truthful Environmental Advertising for Plastics
Summary.
Ensures accurate environmental advertising of plastics by allowing only the use of terms that can be verified by an American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) standard specification.
Position and Status.
CAW Supports. AB 1972 was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger Sep. 27. Previously, AB 1972 passed its assembly concurrence vote Aug 13 60-15, passed off the Senate floor Aug 11 with a 23-9 vote, out of Sen. E.Q. committee June 23 with a 6-1 vote, passed off the Assembly Floor unanimously April 14 and out of Asm. Natural Resources April 7 with a unanimous vote.
Description.
Many plastic bags and containers currently exist in the marketplace that falsely claim to be "biodegradable" or "degradable" even though no ASTM standard specification exists for these terms and these bags do not even degrade in a composting environment. These false claims harm consumers and retailers and hamper efforts to encourage recycling and composting of packaging. AB 1972 would prohibit the use of nebulous, false claims like "biodegradable" in plastic packaging by requiring that environmental claims can only be made if the terms used are verified by an exisiting ASTM standard specification.
CAW Staff Contacts.
Sue Vang (916) 443-5422
Current Actions.
No current actions for this bill.
Assembly Member Mark Desaulnier
State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Supporters.
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO
California Film Extruders & Converters
Californians Against Waste
Association Cereplast Inc.
Heritage Bag Company
Huhtamaki Foodservice
Oposition.
Oxo-Biodegradable Plastic Alliance