AB 323 (Chesbro) - Organics Recycling - Support
Summary: AB 323 presents a package of policies that will drive the recycling of yard trimming and food scraps, not only resulting in a reduction of pollution and greenhouse gases, but also creating jobs and supporting a burgeoning industry. Status: AB 323 was held in Assembly Appropriations.

AB 513 (Frazier) - Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Market Development - Support
Summary: AB 513 provides a market development incentive program for Rubberized Asphalt Concrete. Status: The bill was amended in Senate Appropriations and passed off the Senate Floor. The bill signed by the Governor sets up a program that will need to be funded through the budget process. If it is successfully funded in the budget, the program will still go into effect on July 1. The bill was signed by the Governor on Oct. 3.  

AB 1001 (Gordon) - Bottle Bill Modernization - Support
Summary: Modernize California's Bottle Bill Program. Status: This bill is no longer active.

AB 1021 (Eggman) - Sales Tax Exemption - Support
Summary: AB 1021 provides financial assistance in the form of sales tax exemption on equipment purchases to businesses that process or utilized recycled feedstock. Status: AB 1021 was held in Senate Appropriations and is no longer active.

AB 1022 (Eggman) CRT Glass Market Development - Support
Summary: Provide market-based incentive to in-state recyclers and manufacturers to utilize CRT glass in products. Status: AB 1022 was held on Suspense in Senate Appropriations and is no longer active.

AB 1023 (Eggman) - Investment in Recycling Market Development - Support
Summary: AB 1023 directs funding from the AB 32 Cap-and-Trade proceeds to provide incentives for waste reduction, recycling, composting and recycled content manufacturing projects. Status: AB 1023 was held in Assembly Appropriations. The bill is considered dead.

AB 1594 (Williams) Compostable Organics Management - Support
Summary: AB 1594 (Williams) will eliminate a loophole in state law that allows some yard trimmings and prunings that are used as landfill cover to count as being “diverted” from landfills. This state law virtually subsidizes the landfilling of this valuable material and is a major disincentive for recycling organics. Status: AB 1594 is sponsored by CAW. It has passed the legislature and been signed by Governor Jerry Brown.

AB 1699 (Bloom) Micro-beads - Support
Summary: Bans plastic microbeads from personal care products after 2019. Status: The bill passed through the Senate Committee for Environmental Quality on June 18th and the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 24. This bill is no longer active.

AB 1826 (Chesbro) - Organics Recycling - Support
Summary: AB 1826 will drive the recycling of yard trimming and food scraps by requiring commercial generators to subscribe to composting or anaerobic digestion service for their organic waste. Status: AB 1826 is sponsored by CAW. It has passed the legislature and been signed by Governor Jerry Brown.

AB 2284 (Williams-Correa) Household Batteries - Support
Summary: Product stewardship for household batteries

SB 405 (Padilla) Single Use Carryout Bags - Support
Summary: Prohibits stores from distributing single use plastic bags and allows the sale of reusable, paper, and (in certain jurisdictions) compostable plastic bags. Status: On 5/30/13, the bill fell short of the 21 votes it needed to make it off of the Senate Floor, 18-17. Reconsideration granted. Please read a statement from Executive Director Mark Murray.

SB 529 (Leno) Fast Food Packaging - Sponsor
Summary: Requires fast food chains to use food packaging that is compatible with local recycling and composting infrastructure. Status: This bill is no longer active.

SB 254 (Hancock and Correa) Mattress Recycling - Support
Summary: SB 254 will serve the dual purpose of increasing recycling and reducing illegal dumping of mattresses by requiring mattress manufacturers to establish and implement market based collection and recycling programs for used mattress. Status: SB 254 passed off the Assembly Floor in the final days of the session. It also passed the concurrence vote in the Senate. The Governor signed the bill on September 27, 2013.

SB 270 (Padilla, de León, and Lara) Single Use Grocery Bags - Support
Summary: Phases out single-use plastic grocery bags. Reusable, paper, and (in certain jurisdictions) compostable plastic bags can only be distributed with a minimum 10 cent charge. Includes standards and incentives for plastic bag manufacturers to transition to making reusable bags. Status: Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 270 into law!  

SB 804 (Lara) - Conversion Technology - No Position
Summary: SB 804 would have changed the definition of Conversion Technology and could allow diversion credits for methods other than recycling and composting, including controversial waste-to-energy projects. Status: It is no longer active.

SB 1014 (Jackson) Pharmaceutical Take-Back Program - Support
Summary: Creates voluntary takeback programs to adopt model guidelines as established under SB 966 (Simitian). Status: Referred to Assembly Appropriations. Passed Assembly ESTM and BPCP committees on 6/17/14 and 6/24/14, respectively. Previously passed Senate Floor on 5/29/14. This bill is no longer active.

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AB 323 (Chesbro) Organics Recycling

Summary

AB 323 presents a package of policies that will drive the recycling of yard trimming and food scraps, not only resulting in a reduction of pollution and greenhouse gases, but also creating jobs and supporting a burgeoning industry.

Position and Status

Status: AB 323 was held in Assembly Appropriations.

Description

AB 323 requires CalRecycle to overhaul regulations on landfill cover materials and organics management by clarifying that green waste used as alternative daily or intermediate cover no longer counts as diversion; analyzing the health and safety impacts of using MRF residual fines and compost overs as cover or for other beneficial uses; and, if deemed suitable, adopting performance-based standards by 2015 for their safe use while excluding residual fines from mixed-waste processing. The bill also requires CalRecycle to implement regulations by 2017 mandating that large-quantity commercial organics generators arrange for separate organics collection, with flexibility for different materials, generator types, and regions, while defining key terms such as “commercial solid waste” and “large-quantity commercial organics generator” and making technical conforming changes to existing law.

CAW Staff Contact

Erica Parker (916) 443-5422

Support

Biodegradable Products Institute

Breathe California

California Biomass Energy Alliance

California Climate and Agriculture Network

California Coastal Protection Network

California Compost Coalition

California League of Conservation Voters

California Resource Recovery Association

Californians Against Waste

Center for Biological Diversity

City and County of San Francisco

CleanWorld

Coalition for Clean Air

Environment California

FEED Resource Recovery

F.M. Booth Mechanical

GAIA

Green Sangha

Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice

Harvest Power Inc.

Humboldt Waste Management Authority

Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

Lyles Construction Group

Marin County Hazardous and Solid Waste Management Joint Powers Authority

Napa Recycling and Waste Services

Natural Resources Defense Council

Northern California Recycling Association

Otto Construction

Peabody Engineering

Peninsula Sanitary Service, Inc

Planning and Conservation League

Recology, Inc.

Regatta Solutions, Inc.

Rethink Waste

Sierra Club California

Stanford Recycling Center Peninsula Sanitary Service, Inc.

StopWaste.Org

US Composting Council

Vasko Electric

Zanker

Opposition

County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee/Integrated Waste Management Task Force

SB 1014 (Jackson, 2013-14) Pharmaceutical Take-Back Program

Summary
Creates voluntary takeback programs to adopt model guidelines as established under SB 966 (Simitian).

Position and Status
CAW Supports. Referred to Assembly Appropriations. Passed Assembly ESTM and BPCP committees on 6/17/14 and 6/24/14, respectively. Previously passed Senate Floor on 5/29/14. This bill is no longer active.

Description
The use of pharmaceuticals in California has exploded in recent years—more than doubling in sales from 2000 to 2008—and this will only continue to grow as our population ages. The traditional methods of flushing drugs down the drain or throwing them in the trash create an array of threats to public health and safety, and the environment.

This bill originally sought to reduce these threats by placing the responsiblity on pharmaceutical manufacturers to create a program for convenient used drug disposal, similar to a successful program in place in British Columbia since 1996. It has been amended to codify the model guidelines for takeback program established under an expired law and authorizes pharmacies to accept home-generated pharmaceutical waste for takeback.

CAW Staff Contacts
Tony Hackett (916) 443-5422

Current Language, Analyses and Votes

Support

Alameda County Board of Supervisors (co-sponsor)
Alameda County District Attorney's Office
Alameda County Sheriff's Office
Ashland Cherryland Together
Breast Cancer Fund
Butte County Public Health Department
Butte County Sheriff's Office
California Alliance for Retired Americans (co-sponsor)
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
California Nurses Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California Product Stewardship Council (co-sponsor)
California Resource Recovery Association
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California School Employees Association
California State Association of Counties
California State Sheriff's Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
California Water Environment Association
Californians Against Waste
Center for Biological Diversity
Central Contra Costa County Sanitary District
Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority
City and County of San Francisco (co-sponsor)
City of Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox
City of Chula Vista Police Department
City of Corona Mayor Karen Spiegel
City of Fortuna
City of Livermore
City of Los Altos
City of Millbrae Mayor Wayne J. Lee
City of Palo Alto Mayor Nancy Shepherd
City of Porterville Mayor Cameron J. Hamilton
City of Roseville Mayor Susan Rohan
City of Sacramento
City of San Diego Environmental Services Department
City of San Jose
City of San Mateo
City of San Rafael
City of San Rafael Fire Department
City of Santa Maria Mayor Alice M. Patino
City of Santa Monica Mayor Pam O'Connor
City of Santa Rosa Mayor Scott P. Bartley
City of Sunnyvale Mayor Jim Griffith
City of Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto
City of Ukiah Mayor Phil Baldwin
Clean Water Action (co-sponsor)
Clover Flat Resource Recovery Park
Consumer Federation of California
CommPre/Horizons, Inc.
Community Prevention Partners of Santa Cruz County
Community Water Center
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Contra Costa County Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Coalition
County of Santa Barbara
County of Santa Clara
County of Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors - Supervisors Neal Coonery & Bruce McPherson
Defenders of Wildlife
Delta Diablo
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Eastern Municipal Water District
Ecology Action
Ecology Center
El Dorado Irrigation District
Environment California
Environmental Working Group
Goleta Sanitary District
Goleta West Sanitary District
Gray Panthers of San Francisco
Heal the Bay
Horsnyder Pharmacy, Santa Cruz
Hospice of Santa Cruz County
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District
Las Virgenes-Triunfo Joint Powers Authority
League of California Cities
League of Women Voters of California
Leucadia Wastewater District
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee/ Integrated Waste Management Task Force
Mammoth Community Water District
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Marin County Hazardous and Solid Waste Joint Powers Authority
Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Midway City Sanitary District
Monterey Regional Waste Management District
Mt. View Sanitary District
Napa County Board of Supervisors
Napa Sanitation District
National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse
Natural Resources Defense Council
North American Hazardous Materials Management Association
OWL, San Francisco Chapter
Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency
Pharamacists Planning Service, Inc.
Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles
Product Stewardship Institute
Rural County Representatives of California
Russian River Watershed Association
Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District
Sacramento State Student Health Services Pharmacy
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Santa Cruz Desal Alternatives
Scotts Valley Police Department
Seventh Generation Advisors
Sierra Club California
Silicon Valley Clean Water Action
Sonoma County Waste Management Agency
Sonoma County Water Agency
Stege Sanitary District
StopWaste
Tehama County Sanitary Landfill Agency
Teleosis Foundation
Town of Windsor
Union Sanitary District
Upper Valley Disposal & Recycling
UPSTREAM
Vallejo Sanitation & Flood Control District
Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority
Watsonville Pharmacy
West County Wastewater District
Women's Recovery Services