2015-2016 Legislation
The 2015-2016 session of the California legislature presents an opportunity for our state to lead the way on several issues related to recycling, water pollution and other areas critical to a healthy environment.
AB 199 (Eggman) would provide a sales and use tax exemption on recycling equipment as well as manufacturing equipment that uses recycled material. With new equipment to process recyclable material into new, marketable projects, California businesses would be able to increase the demand for recyclable material. This bill has been signed into law by Governor Brown.
AB 888 (Bloom) would ban the sale of plastic microbeads contained in toothpaste, facial scrubs and other personal care products. The tiny pieces of plastic are dumped into oceans and fresh water sources by the trillions. They absorb environmental toxins before they are consumed by fish and wildlife, polluting our food chain. This bill was signed into law by Governor Brown. Please check out this wonderful video produced by AB 888 co-sponsor the Story of Stuff Project .
AB 1005 (Gordon) will extend the Plastic Market Development Program. The program has successfully increased the in-state processing and use of recycled plastic, spurring private investment and jobs. Prior to the existence of the program, less than 2 percent of plastic beverage containers collected for recycling were processed and manufactured into new products in California. The remainder was exported. By 2014, in-state plastic processing and use increased by more than 3,000 percent to almost 100,000 tons. This bill was signed into law by Governor Brown September 22nd, 2016.
AB 1239 (Atkins, Gordon) Tire Recycling: would reform incentive payments to increase the state's stagnant recycling rate and allow recyclers to compete with disposal, export and illegal dumping alternatives. This would help expand the state's tire recycling infrastructure to reduce greenhouse gases, create jobs, and cut the statewide and local costs associated with tire cleanup. The bill failed to pass the legislature before the August 31st deadline and is no longer active.
AB 1419 (Eggman) will avoid the environmental risk inherent in the stockpiling and export of glass from monitors and televisions, by creating a recycling framework for CRT panel glass that has grown less popular after the advent of LCD and LED screens. New LCD and LED technology for televisions and monitor screens has taken over and demand for old-fashioned Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) devices has dropped dramatically. The end-use market for CRT glass generated from recycling scrap CRT’s has dried up and recyclers across the nation are struggling with what to do with the glass. Today, old TV and computer monitors are stockpiling up throughout the state with nowhere good to go other than in the ground or over seas.
AB 1447 (Alejo) would set a 10% minimum recycled content for PET (plastic) food and beverage containers and extend the current 35% minimum recycled content on glass currently applied to in-state manufacturers to all glass bottles filled or manufactured in state. This would increase demand for the materials that Californians recycle every day. Cheap global oil prices are encouraging the use of 'virgin' materials and increasing destructive mining and air pollution associated with their production. This bill was approved by the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources but was held in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
AB 2530 (Gordon) will simply require manufacturers to report the amount of virgin and post-consumer plastic they purchase the previous year. The reported data will help CalRecycle and policy makers to better assess market demand for California RPET manufacturing compares with current collection and recycling levels, in order to better inform future policy. This is the same policy that is required of glass beverage container manufacturers since 1991. This bill was signed into law by Governor Brown September 29th, 2016.
AB 2725 (Chiu) will standardize date labels on food, creating one standard label for "best if used by" and one standard label for "expires on." Confusing, misleading, and cryptic food labels lead many consumers and stores to throw out perfectly healthy food every day. Date labels on food come in a dizzying variety of forms including “use by,” “best before,” “sell by,” and “enjoy by” dates, yet these simple markers are both poorly understood and surprisingly under-regulated, such that their meanings and time frames are generally not defined. This bill is no longer active.
AB 2812 (Gordon) will ensure that state agencies have the recycling receptacles and staffing that is required to comply with the legislature's recycling mandates. This bill provides accountability for state agencies.
SB 778 (Allen) will require that motor oil change shops follow the oil drain interval specified in the customer vehicle owner’s manual when recommending the date or mileage for the next oil change and that recommendations be reflected in the form of a window sticker or other means. The Senate and Assembly approved this bill, but it was vetoed by Governor Brown.
SB 1287 (McGuire) is based on successful gear recovery programs in California that have proven effective, have the voluntary support of the fishermen and are self-sustaining. The bill promotes the retrieval of lost gear as an easy way to mitigate the increasing amount of ocean waste and wildlife entanglements.
SB 1383 (Lara) would require a 75 percent reduction in statewide disposal of organic waste by 2025. This includes a goal of 20% of edible food that is currently disposed of to be recovered for human consumption. The bill aims to reduce of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants, or "Super Pollutants", emitted in the state, including methane from the waste sector. This bill was signed into law by Governor Brown September 19th, 2016.
AB 199 (Eggman) - Sales Tax Exemption on Recycling Equipment
Summary: AB 199 would provide financial assistance in the form of sales tax exemption on equipment purchases to businesses that process or utilized recycled feedstock.
Position and Status: CAW is the sponsor of AB 199. AB 199 passed the legislature with bipartisan support and was signed by the Governor on October 11, 2015.
Description: AB 199 is authored by Assemblymember Susan Eggman (D-Stockton). The bill would add recycled content manufacturing and processing to the successful Advanced Transportation and Alternative Sources Manufacturing Sales and Use Tax Exclusion Program. This will provide an important incentive to recycle more materials and reintroduce more recyclable materials into California’s manufacturing economy.
Contacts: Nick Lapis (916) 443-5422
Current Language, Analysis and Votes
Organizations supporting AB 199:
Californians Against Waste (Sponsor)
State Treasurer John Chiang
Alameda County Waste Management Authority (StopWaste)
American Recycling Company, LLC
Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers
Association of CA Recycling Industries
Association of Compost Producers
CA Association of Recycling Market Development Zones
CA Compost Coalition
CA Electronic Asset Recovery
CA League of Conservation Voters
CA Manufacturers & Technology Association
CA Product Stewardship Council
CA Refuse Recycling Council
CA Resource Recovery Association
CA Teamsters Public Affairs Council
CarbonLITE
Command Packaging
CR&R Waste and Recycling Services
CRM Co.
EcoPET
ECS Refining
EPIC Plastics
E-Recycling
Glass Packaging Institute
Global Plastics
Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce
Inland Empire Disposal Association
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
Kern Refuse Incorporated
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
Los Angeles County Waste Management Association
Metropolitan
Mojave Desert and Mountain Recycling Authority
Napa Recycling
Natural Resources Defense Council
North County Recycling
Northern California Recycling Association
Northern Recycling & Waste Services
Norton Packaging
Plastic Recycling Corporation of California
PC Recycle
Potential Industry
Recology
RePET
RePlanet
Republic Services
Solid Waste Association of North America
Solid Waste Association of Orange County
Sonoma Compost
Strategic Materials
Talco Plastics
Tri-CED Community Recycling
Varner Bros
Verdeco Recycling
Waste Management
XT Green
AB 888 (Bloom) - Ban on Plastic Microbeads
Summary: AB 888 bans the sale of plastic microbeads found in toothpaste, facial scrubs and other personal care products.
Position and Status: AB 888 is sponsored by CAW. The Governor just signed the nation’s toughest ban on plastic microbeads!
Description: Plastic microbeads have been introduced into personal care products over the past decade and have been found in oceans, lakes (including the Great Lakes) and rivers throughout the world. They are generally not recovered in traditional wastewater treatment plants. The tiny pieces of plastic are then dumped into oceans and fresh water sources by the trillions. They absorb environmental toxins and are consumed by fish and wildlife, polluting our food chain. This bill reduces the problem at the source by banning plastic microbeads in personal care products by 2020. Natural alternatives such as apricot shells, cocoa beans, and salt and sugar are ready alternatives that are already used in some products.
Contact: Tony Hackett (916) 443-5422
Current language, analyses, and votes
Organizations Supporting AB 888:
Californians Against Waste (sponsor)
California Association of Sanitation Agencies (sponsor)
Clean Water Action (sponsor)
The Story of Stuff Project (sponsor)
5 Gyres Institute (sponsor)
3 Green Moms
Acure Organics
Aroma Naturals
As You Sow
Azul
Breast Cancer Fund
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California League of Conservation Voters
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Carpinteria Sanitary District
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Environmental Health
Center for Oceanic Awareness Research and Education
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority
Central Marin Sanitation Agency
ChicoBag
City of Palo Alto
City and County of San Francisco
Clean Oceans Competition
Cleanups For Change
Coachella Valley Water District
Community Environmental Council
Costa Mesa Sanitary District
Defenders of Wildlife
Delta Diablo
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Elemental Herbs
Environment California
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Environmental Working Group
FloraTech
Goleta Sanitary District
Green Sangha
Green Science Policy Institute
Heal the Bay
Health Care Without Harm
Hello Products
Hidden Resources
Klean Kanteen
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District
Las Virgenes - Triunfo Joint Powers Authority
Leucadia Wastewater District
LA City Councilmember Paul Koretz
LA City Mayor Eric Garcetti
LA Waterkeeper
LUSH Cosmetics
Manduka
Mango Materials
Metro Water District of Southern California
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Napa Recycling and Waste Services
Natural Resources Defense Council
Ocean Conservancy
Physicians for Social Responsibility, SF Bay Chapter
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Plastic Soup Foundation
Preserve
Ross Valley Sanitary District
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
San Francisco Water Power Sewer
Save Our Shores
Save The Bay
Sea Turtles Forever
Seventh Generation Advisors
Sierra Club California
State Lands Commission
Surfrider Foundation
Team Marine, Santa Monica High School
Turtle Island Restoration Network
UPSTREAM
Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority
Wallace J. Nichols, PhD
WeTap
Wildcoast
World Centric
World Society for the Protection of Animals
AB 1005 (Gordon) - California Plastic Recycling
Summary: AB 1005 extends California's Plastic Market Development Program to 2022.
Position and Status: AB 1005 is sponsored by CAW.
Passed the legislature August 25th, 2016
Signed into law by Governor Brown September 22nd, 2016!
Read the Fact Sheet
Description: This bill will extend the Plastic Market Development Program. The program has successfully increased the in-state processing and use of recycled plastic, spurring private investment and jobs. Prior to the existence of the program, less than 2 percent of plastic beverage containers collected for recycling were processed and manufactured into new products in California. The remainder was exported. By 2014, in-state plastic processing and use increased by more than 3,000 percent to almost 100,000 tons.
Contact CAW: Tony Hackett, (916) 443-5422
Organizations supporting AB 1005:
California Nevada Beverage Association
Californians Against Waste (sponsor)
CarbonLITE
Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority
Clean Water Action
Ecopet Plastics
Epic Plastics
Global Plastics
Marin Sanitary Service
The National Association for PET Container Resources
Peninsula Packaging Company
Peninsula Plastics Recycling
RePET Inc.
rePlanet
REPSCO, Inc.
Sonoma county Waste Management Agency
Talco Plastics Inc
Tri-CED Community Recycling
UPSTREAM
Verdeco Recycling, Inc
Zanker Recycling
AB 1419 (Eggman) - CRT Recycling
Position and Status: Signed by the Governor. CAW supports.
Description: AB 1419 (Eggman) will avoid the environmental risk inherent in the stockpiling and export of glass from monitors and televisions, by creating a recycling framework for CRT panel glass that has grown less popular after the advent of LCD and LED screens. New LCD and LED technology for televisions and monitor screens has taken over and demand for old-fashioned Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) devices has dropped dramatically. The end-use market for CRT glass generated from recycling scrap CRT’s has dried up and recyclers across the nation are struggling with what to do with the glass. Today, old TV and computer monitors are stockpiling up throughout the state with nowhere good to go other than in the ground or over seas.
Contact: Tony Hackett, (916) 443-5422
AB 1447 (Alejo) - Minimum Recycled Content Standard
Summary: AB 1447 will set a 10% minimum recycled content for PET (plastic) food and beverage containers and extend the current 35% minimum recycled content on glass from just in-state manufacturers to all glass bottles filled or manufactured in state.
Position and Status: CAW is the sponsor of AB 1447. This bill has been approved by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee but was held in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
Description: AB 199 is authored by Assemblymember Luis Alejo (D-Salinas). PET recycling in California is facing incredible challenges, especially when it comes to making recycled PET commodities that have to compete in a marketplace with virgin PET. Drastic drops in oil prices have had the effect of undermining the demand and price for California-generated recycled materials—California recycled material processors and recycled product makers are starting to lose market share to out of state/country ‘virgin’ producers. This bill would require that, starting July 1, 2016, manufacturers of PET plastic packaging sold in CA must meet 10% minimum PET recycled content. Starting January 1, 2017 and every year thereafter, manufacturers of PET plastic packaging sold in CA must report to CalRecycle the amount of packaging made for sale, and the amount of rPET used in the manufacturing of that product.
CAW Staff Contacts: Tony Hackett (916) 443-5422
Organizations supporting AB 199:
Californians Against Waste (sponsor)
Assoc. of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers
Boretech
Californians Against Waste
California Plastics Recyclers Coalition
California Refuse Recycling Coalition
CarbonLITE
Don’t Waste LA Project
EcoPET
Global Plastics
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
Marin Sanitary Service
Napa Recycling and Waste Services
Peninsula Packaging, LLC
Peninsula Plastics Recycling
Potential Industries
RePET
Replanet
Stopwaste
Tri-CED Community Recycling
Verdeco
Waste Management
Zanker Road Resource Management
Natural Resources Defense Council
AB 2153 (Cristina Garcia) Lead-Acid Battery Recycling
Summary: AB 2153 would create the Lead-Acid Battery Cleanup Fund to pay the cost of cleanup in areas in the state which have been contaminated by lead-acid batteries.
Position and Status: CAW is supporting
Passed Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials April 13th, 2016
Passed Assembly Appropriations June 2nd, 2016
Passed Assembly Floor June 2nd, 2016
Passed Senate Environmental Quality August 3rd, 2016
Passed Senate Appropriations August 11th, 2016
Next step: Senate Floor Vote
Description: AB 2153 will ensure that communities whom have been contaminated by lead-acid battery facilities are provided with the necessary funding needed for investigation and clean-up. While the recycling of lead acid batteries reduces the environmental and economic costs of mining for lead, it is important to ensure that the manufacturers of these batteries take responsibility for protecting the health of communities that are affected by lead contamination.
The Lead-Acid Battery Cleanup Fund will pay for the investigation, site evaluation, cleanup, abatement, remedy, removal, monitoring, and other response actions for communities in California with lead contamination concerns from lead-acid battery facilities. This will be done by imposing a $1 fee for each lead-acid battery sold by a manufacturer as well as a $1 fee for each lead-acid battery purchased by a consumer or business.
This bill also simplifies the deposit refund process for consumers by setting standards for dealers of lead-acid batteries.
Contact CAW: Tony Hackett (916) 443-5422
AB 2530 (Gordon) - Recycled Content Labeling on Beverage Containers
Summary: AB 2530 would simply require manufacturers to report the amount of virgin and post-consumer plastic they purchase the previous year.
Position and Status: CAW is the sponsor of this bill.
Passed the legislature August 25th, 2016
Signed into law by Governor Brown September 29th, 2016
Read the Fact Sheet
Description: AB 2530 would require the manufacturer of a beverage sold in a plastic beverage container, subject to the California Redemption Value (CRV), to annually report to CalRecycle on the amount of post-consumer recycled plastic and the amount of virgin plastic that they used in the past year for plastic beverage containers subject to the CRV. CalRecycle would make this information available on its website. The reported data will help CalRecycle and policy makers to better assess market demand for California RPET manufacturing compares with current collection and recycling levels, in order to better inform future policy.
Contact CAW: Tony Hackett, (916) 443-5422
Organizations supporting AB 2530:
As You Sow
Californians Against Waste (Sponsor)
CarbonLITE
Clean Water Action
Ecopet Plastics Inc.
Global Plastics
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
Marin Sanitary Service
Napa Recycling
Natural Resources Defense Council
Plastic Pollution Coalition
RePET
Recycle Smart
Sierra Club California
Sonoma County Waste Management Agency
StopWaste
Tri-CED Community Recycling
UPSTREAM
Verdeco Recycling Inc.
West Coast Chapter Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI)
Zanker Road Resource Management
AB 2812 (Gordon) State Agency Recycling
Summary: AB 2812 will ensure that state agencies have the recycling receptacles and staffing that is required to comply with the legislature’s recycling mandates.
Position and Status: CAW supports.
Passed the legislature August 23rd
Signed into law by Governor Brown September 23rd, 2016!
Description: In 2011, the legislature passed AB 341 (by Assembly Member Wes Chesbro), which required commercial generators, including state agencies, to recycle the waste that they generate. In 2014, the legislature passed AB 1826 (also by Assembly Member Wes Chesbro), which expanded this mandate to include organic waste. This bill provides accountability to ensure that state agencies comply with these requirements.
Contact: Tony Hackett (916)-443-5422
Current language, analysis, and votes
Organizations Supporting AB 2812:
Californians Against Waste
Northern California Recycling Association
Rural County Representatives of California
Solid Waste Association of North America
AB 2725 (Chiu) - The Food Waste and Date Labeling Act of 2016
Summary: AB 2725 would standardize date labels on food, creating one standard label for "best if used by" and one standard label for "expires on."
Position and Status: This bill is no longer active. CAW was the sponsor of this bill.
Failed to pass Assembly Health committee April 12th, 2016
Description: Confusing, misleading, and cryptic food labels lead many consumers and stores to throw out perfectly healthy food every day. Date labels on food come in a dizzying variety of forms including “use by,” “best before,” “sell by,” and “enjoy by” dates, yet these simple markers are both poorly understood and surprisingly under-regulated, such that their meanings and time frames are generally not defined. AB 2725 would standardize date labels on food, creating one standard label for "best if used by" and one standard label for "expires on."
Contact CAW: Nick Lapis, (916) 443-5422
Current language, analysis, and votes
Bi-Rite Market hosts a press conference to announce the introduction of AB 2725.
Organizations supporting AB 2725:
Californians Against Waste (Co-Sponsor)
Natural Resources Defense Council (Co-Sponsor)
Bi-Rite Market
AZUL
Clean Water Action
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Stockton
California Compost Coalition
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Environment California
Environmental Working Group
Food Shift
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
Marin Sanitary Service
NIKA Small Earth
San Francisco Department of the Environment
Solana Center for Environmental Innovation
Sonoma County Waste Management Agency
City of Sunnyvale
Stop Waste
Tri-CED Community Recycling
Zanker Road Resource Management, Ltd.
SB 778 (Allen) - Motor Oil Change Notification
Summary: SB 778 would prevent automotive repair shops from deceiving and misleading consumers with recommendations for unnecessary and costly oil changes.
Position and Status: SB 778 is sponsored by CAW.
Passed the legislature August 29th, 2016
Vetoed by the Governor September 30th, 2016
Read the Fact Sheet
Description: SB 778 is authored by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica). This bill would require that motor oil change shops follow the oil drain interval specified in the customer vehicle owner’s manual when recommending the date or mileage for the next oil change and that recommendations be reflected in the form of a window sticker or other means.
CAW Staff Contacts: Tony Hackett (916) 443-5422
Organizations Supporting SB 778:
Californians Against Waste (Sponsor)
Automotive Oil Change Association
Biosynthetic Technologies
California League of Conservation Voters
California Product Stewardship Council
CALPIRG
CarMax Auto Superstores
Clean Water Action
Consumer Federation of California
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety
Honda
Natural Resources Defense Council
Northern California Recycling Association
Oil Changers, Inc.
Sierra Club California
StopWaste
LA County Solid Waste Management Committee/Integrated Waste Management Task Force
The Solid Waste Association of North America
Tri-CED Community Recycling
Wildcoast Costasalvaje
AB 1239 (Atkins, Gordon) - Tire Recycling Program Reform
Summary: AB 1239 will help expand the state’s tire recycling infrastructure to reduce greenhouse gases, create jobs, and cut the statewide and local costs associated with tire cleanup.
Position and Status: CAW is the sponsor of AB 1239. The bill is no longer active.
Failed to pass the legislature before the August 31st deadline
Read the Fact Sheet
Description: AB 1239 is authored by Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Assemblymember Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park). This bill would provide incentive payments to end users of recycled tires in order to increase the state’s stagnant recycling rate and allow recyclers to compete with disposal, export, and illegal dumping alternatives. This bill gives CalRecycle the authority to increase the state tire fee to cover the costs of regulating waste tires (in an amount not to exceed $1.00/tire).
CAW Staff Contacts: Nick Lapis (916) 443-5422
Organizations supporting AB 1239:
Alameda Waste Management Authority and Recycling Board (Stop Waste)
BAS Recycling
Californians Against Waste (sponsor)
California Association of Local Conservation Corps
California League of Conservation Voters
California State Association of Counties
CRM Company
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Don’t Waste LA
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
Marin County Hazardous and Solid Waste Management JPA
Mojave Desert and Mountain Recycling
Napa Recycling and Waste Services
Rural County Representatives of California
Sonoma County, AB 939 Local Task Force
StopWaste
WILDCOAST
Zanker Recycling
SB 1287 (McGuire) Crab Gear Retrieval Act
Summary: SB 1287 would proactively reduce marine debris and minimize potential impacts to whales via entanglement in lost crab fishing gear.
Position and Status: CAW is supporting
Passed the legislature August 29th, 2016
Signed into law by Governor Brown September 23rd, 2016!
Description: This bill is based on successful gear recovery programs in California that have proven effective, have the voluntary support of the fishermen and are self-sustaining. The bill promotes the retrieval of lost gear as an easy way to mitigate the increasing amount of ocean waste and wildlife entanglements. Reducing this dominant source of pollution in California’s waters would be an important step in restoring and protecting our local environment.
Contact CAW: Tony Hackett, (916)-443-5422
SB 1383 (Lara)- Super Pollutants
Summary: This bill creates goals for short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) reductions in various industry sectors, this includes reduction goals for black carbon, fluorinated gases, and methane. The methane emission reduction goals include a 75% reduction in the level of statewide disposal of organic waste from 2014 levels by 2025.
Position and Status: CAW is supporting the bill.
Passed the legislature August 31st, 2016
Signed into law by Governor Brown September 19th, 2016
Description: This bill would require the State Air Resources Board to adopt a strategy to reduce emissions of SLCPs, also known as Super Pollutants, in order to achieve a reduction in methane by 40%, hydrofluorocarbon gases by 40%, and anthropogenic black carbon by 50% below 2013 levels by 2030.
SLCPs are powerful greenhouse gases are much more potent than carbon dioxide and have dramatic and detrimental effects on human health and climate change. Reducing these emissions will have immediate beneficial impacts on climate and public health.
Organic materials comprise two-thirds of the waste stream and even the best landfills only capture half to three quarters of the gas while they operate, and no gas capture system can capture emissions before it is installed or for the decades after its removal. When managed outside the landfill, these same materials can be made into a valuable soil amendment that sequesters carbon, increases soil water holding capacity, prevents erosion, and reduces the need for, and impacts of, synthetic fertilizers.
This bill also aims to divert 20% of edible food that is currently being disposed of, to be recovered for human consumption by 2025. In addition to avoiding landfill methane emissions, the diversion of edible food from landfills allows for a new opportunity to feed the millions of food insecure Californians. Food waste prevention and rescue programs capture the value of food to be put to better use, creating a more efficient food system
Contact: Nick Lapis (916)-443-5422