BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2058
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2008
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Loni Hancock, Chair
AB 2058 (Levine) - As Amended: March 28, 2008
SUBJECT : Recycling: plastic carryout bags.
SUMMARY : Establishes diversion rates for plastic carryout bags
and requires stores to charge a fee of 15 cents per bag if they
have not met the diversion rates.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires operators of stores (defined as supermarkets and
stores over 10,000 square feet that include a pharmacy) to
establish an in-store plastic carryout bag recycling program.
The program must include:
a) Plastic bags provided by the store to include a label
encouraging customers to return the bag to the store for
recycling;
b) Easily accessible recycling bins for plastic bags;
c) All plastic bags collected must be recycled in a manner
consistent with the local jurisdiction's recycling plan;
d) The store must maintain records relating to the program
for at least three years and must make the records
available to the local jurisdiction or California
Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) upon request; and
e) The operator of the store must make reusable bags
available to customers.
2)Requires manufacturers of plastic bags to develop educational
materials to encourage reducing, reusing, and recycling
plastic bags.
3)Authorizes a city, county, or the state to impose penalties
for violations of the above requirements.
4)Pre-empts local governments from requiring stores that meet
these provisions to implement separate recycling programs or
AB 2058
Page 2
from imposing a fee on plastic bags.
5)Establishes a sunset on the above provisions of January 1,
2013.
THIS BILL :
1)On and after July 1, 2011, prohibits a store from providing
plastic bags to consumers unless the store demonstrates to
CIWMB a 35% increase in bag diversion by 2010 as compared to
2007. Allows exception to this prohibition if the store
charges a per bag fee.
2)On and after July 1, 2013, prohibits a store from providing a
plastic bag to a customer unless the store demonstrates to
CIWMB a 70% increase in bag diversion by 2010 as compared to
2007. Allows exception to this prohibition if the store
charges a per bag fee.
3)Authorizes a store to sell plastic bags to customers for no
less than 15 cents per bag.
4)Defines "diversion" as a reduction in volume of plastic bags
provided to customers and an increase in the volume of plastic
bags recycled. Diversion can be calculated per store, for a
chain of stores, regionally, or statewide.
5)Extends the sunset date for this Chapter from January 1, 2013
to January 1, 2015.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Background
According to the author, Californians use over 19 billion
plastic bags annually (approximately 552 per person), creating
over 147,000 tons of waste. CIWMB staff estimates that only
5-6% of plastic materials are recycled in California.
Plastic bags are a significant contributor to litter and marine
debris. Their light weight and expansive nature makes them
especially prone to blowing into waterways. Even when disposed
of in the waste stream, these bags pose litter problems as they
AB 2058
Page 3
blow off of trucks and out of solid waste handling operations.
According to the USEPA, marine debris has become a problem along
shorelines, coastal waters, estuaries, and oceans throughout the
world. Marine debris can be life threatening to marine
organisms and can wreak havoc on coastal communities and the
fishing industry. Recent studies by the Algalita Marine
Research Foundation and the Southern California Coastal Water
Research Project have found that the average mass of plastics in
the seawater off the coast of Long Beach is two and a half times
greater than the average mass of plankton. After storms with
excessive runoff, the mass of plastics is even greater. A
similar study over seawater 1,000 miles west of San Francisco
found the mass of plastics was six times the mass of plankton in
drifts where marine animals congregate for feeding on plankton.
In order to address this problem, Los Angeles County prepared a
report, An Overview of Carryout Bags in Los Angeles County, in
2007. The report included several key findings. Plastic
carryout bags have been found to significantly contribute to
litter and have other negative impacts on marine wildlife and
the environment. Biodegradable carryout bags are not a
practical solution in Los Angeles County as there are no local
commercial composting facilities able to process the bags.
Reusable bags are more environmentally sustainable than paper
and plastic bags. Accelerating the widespread use of reusable
bags will diminish plastic bag litter and redirect environmental
preservation efforts and resources toward "greener" activities.
Reusable bags are the most environmentally benign alternative to
plastic bags. Paper, the most likely replacement for plastic,
also has drawbacks, including being more costly for stores and
using more energy to produce and recycle. However, these do
degrade when littered and do not pose the threats to marine life
that plastic bags do. Plastic bags are difficult to collect in
curbside programs because they clog sorting equipment.
Additionally, compostable or degradable plastic bags are not
recyclable and contaminate recycling equipment if they are mixed
in with conventional plastic bags. Moreover, most degradable
bags do not break down in a marine environment.
In 2006, AB 2449 (Levine), Chapter 845, was enacted, requiring
all stores to establish a plastic bag recycling program. The
stated goal of this legislation was to increase recycling, and
to create the infrastructure necessary to collect and recycle
plastic bags. That bill also pre-empted local governments from
AB 2058
Page 4
enacting a per-bag fee on plastic bags. Local governments have
stated concerns to the pre-emption created by AB 2449, arguing
that the fee could be used to discourage bag distribution and
fund anti-litter or recycling programs.
2)This bill
According to the author, AB 2058 expands on AB 2449 by
establishing recycling benchmarks for stores. This bill allows
stores to charge a fee of 15 cents per bag in lieu of
demonstrating increased recycling rates. The fees would be used
to fund "plastic bag litter reduction, clean up, waste reduction
and recycling activities."
3)Related legislation
AB 2829 (Davis) requires stores to charge a fee of 25 cents per
plastic carryout bag distributed to customers and creates the
California Plastic Carryout Bag Impact Fund. Also requires that
all plastic bags to include an environmental awareness message
in addition to the words "PLEASE RETURN TO A PARTICIPATING STORE
FOR RECYCLING." This bill is also pending before this
Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Californians Against Waste
Department of the Environment, City and County of San Francisco
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Marin County Board of Supervisors
The Northern California Recycling Association
Opposition
American Chemistry Council
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Grocers Association
California Retailers Association
Earth Resources Foundation
Green Sangha
Malibu Surfing Association
Surfrider Foundation
AB 2058
Page 5
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092