HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.3 Plastic Bottle Recycle
CITY CLERK
File # D[IDOJ~-lliJ[Q]
AGENDA STATEMENT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: May 20, 2008
SUBJECT:
Approve Letter of Support for SB1625 1625 (Corbett) - Plastic
Bottle Recycling
Report Prepared by: Mark Lander, City Engineer
A TT ACHMENTS:
1.
2.
3.
SB1625 (Copy)
Fact Sheet for SB 1625
Draft Letter of Support
RECOMMENDATION:
.~~
Accept the report, and authorize the Mayor to sign the letter of
support for SB1625 to Senator Tom Torlakson, Chair, Senate
Appropriations Committee.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT:
Adoption of the bottle bill may result in future cost savings to the
City as a result of reduced plastic bottle debris that must be removed
from the City's stormwater system and/or reduced trash abatement
requirements under the upcoming Municipal Stormwater Permit.
Increased revenue to the State's Beverage Container Redemption
Fund may product an increase in funds currently being passed on to
the City for use in purchasing recycled materials. Solid waste
haulers would be provided an incentive to recycle additional
materials and increase the diversion rate from landfill disposal.
Consumers will see an increase of 5 to 10 cents in the purchase price
of containers added to the redemption program. This cost can be
offset if consumers choose to return containers to a redemption
center.
DESCRIPTION: Senate Bill 1625, by Senator Ellen Corbett, would modify the
existing California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act to include certain plastic
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COpy TO: Jim Scanlin, Alameda County Clean Water Program
ITEM NO.
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G:\NPDESISB1625 Plastic Bottle BilllAgst SB1625 5-20-08.doc
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bottles and plastic-coated containers currently excluded by the Act. The Bill has potential pollution
reduction benefits, as well as potential savings to municipalities for trash abatement and stormwater
programs, and to ratepayers for solid waste services.
Under the Act, certain containers consisting of glass, plastic, and aluminum for specified beverages
require payment of a "redemption" value by distributors into the State Beverage Container Redemption
Fund. Since this pre-sale cost is passed on to the consumer at the point of sale, the consumer can receive
a rebate of this cost by recycling the container. Solid waste haulers are provided a financial incentive to
recycle materials and increase the diversion rate from landfill disposal. In addition, portions of the
unredeemed fees are made available as grants to local governments to purchase materials and supplies
incorporating recycled materials (the City of Dublin currently receives about $10,000 annually).
An estimated 13 billion plastic bottles and plastic coated containers are generated each year in California.
Of these, approximately 6.5 billion plastic bottles and 300 million plastic-coated containers are recyclable,
but are not covered under the current Act and are not subject to the redemption cost. As a result, less than
12% of these containers are recycled. A large portion of the containers end up as litter; plastic bottles are
the single largest source of litter after fast food containers.
SB 1625 would add these categories of plastic bottles, plastic-covered containers, and other plastic
containers to the Act. These containers would be subject to a pre-sale recycling fee (the term "redemption
fee" will be dropped), with funds accrued to the existing redemption fund.
The sponsors of the Bill estimate that approximately half of the additional containers eligible for recycling
will actually be recycled.
The Bill excludes containers used for milk, infant formula, medical food, or large juice containers.
The City of Dublin, along with other municipalities, will be required to implement new trash abatement
programs under the Municipal Regional Permit for stormwater, which will likely be adopted by the San
Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) in early 2009. The draft permit
requires enhanced trash and litter collection, increased street sweeping and storm inlet cleaning, and
retrofitting of structural trash controls in storm drainage systems. Permittees are attempting to negotiate
less rigid permit requirements based on the actual trash problem in each jurisdiction.
Approval of SB 1625 would help municipalities in two ways. First, increased recycling of containers
could result in a reduction in littering, and proportionately less costly trash reduction programs at the local
level. Secondly, the Regional Board may be more likely to reconsider the current prescriptive trash
abatement requirements in the permit on the basis that SB1625 will eliminate much ofthe problem at the
source. Municipalities could request that a portion of unredeemed funds in the State Redemption Fund be
made available for local use in meeting State stormwater requirements with regard to trash abatement
It is recommended that the City Council accept the report, and authorize the Mayor to sign the letter of
support for SB 1625 to Senator Tom Torlakson, Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee.
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AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2008
SENATE BILL
No. 1625
Introduced by Senator Corbett
(Coauthor: Senator Kuehl)
February 22, 2008
An act to amend Sections 14500, 14501, 14504, 14505, 14512.7,
14551, and 14575 of, to add Sections 14517.1 and 14518.6 to, and to
repeal Section 14523.5 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to
recycling, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1625, as amended, Corbett. Recycling: CRY containers.
(1) Under existing law, the California Beverage Container Recycling
and Litter Reduction Act, every beverage container sold or offered for
sale in this state is required to have a minimum refund value. A
distributor is required to pay a redemption payment for every beverage
container sold or offered for sale in the state to the Department of
Conservation and the department is required to deposit those amounts
in the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund. The money in
the fund is continuously appropriated to the department for the payment
of refund values and processing fees. A violation of the act is a crime.
"Beverage" is defined, for purposes of the act, to include, among
other things, beer and other malt beverages, wine and distilled spirit
coolers, carbonated mineral and soda waters, noncarbonated fruit drinks,
and vegetable juices, in liquid form that are intended for human
consumption, but excludes from that definition vegetable drinks in
beverage containers of more than 16 ounces. The act also excludes,
from the definition of "beverage," any product sold in a container that
Corrected 4-23-08-See last page.
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is not an aluminum beverage container, a glass container, a plastic
beverage container, or a bimetal container.
This bill would rename the act as the California Container Recycling
and Litter Reduction Act. The bill would define the term "plastic bottle"
as an individual rigid or semirigid container with a body consisting
primarily of plastic and with a neck narrower than the body in which
one gallon or less of any nonbeverage product is sold. The bill would
define the term "CRV container" to mean a beverage container or a
plastic bottle and would provide that the term "beverage container,"
when used in the act, means a CRY container.
The bill would also revise the term "beverage" to include nut, grain,
or soy drinks that contain any percentage of juice, and would delete the
requirement that a vegetable drink subject to the act be sold in a
container of 16 ounces or less. The bill would delete the exclusion from
the term "beverage," for a product that is not sold in the above-specified
types of containers. The bill would also make conforming changes to
other definitions, for purposes of the act.
Since the payments for the plastic beverage containers and other CRY
containers that this bill would make subject to the act would be deposited
in a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an
appropriation. The bill would also impose a state-mandated local
program by creating new crimes relating to CRY containers.
(2) The Department of Conservation is required to establish reporting
periods of 6 months each for redemption rates and recycling rates for
specified types of beverage containers. The act also requires the
department to determine the redemption rates and recycling rates for
those beverage containers for each reporting period and to issue a report
on those determinations. The act defines various words for purposes of
those provisions, including "redemption rate." The act also makes
various findings and declarations, including a declaration that, when
the redemption rate for anyone type of beverage container falls below
65%, the act provides for an increased refund value.
This bill would delete the provisions that require the department to
establish reporting periods for redemption rates and that require the
department to determine redemption rates for specified types of beverage
containers. The bill also would delete the definition of redemption rate.
(3) The existing act requires the department to calculate a processing
fee and a processing payment for each beverage container with a
specified scrap value. The processing fee is required to be paid by
beverage manufacturers for each beverage container sold or transferredn
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to a dealer. Existing law requires the department to pay processing
payments for redeemed containers to processors, for each type of
beverage container, in a specified manner. The department is required
to reduce the processing fee for calendar year 2007 to zero for a
container that has a recycling rate equal to, or greater than, 40%.
This bill would instead require the department to suspend the
requirement to pay the processing fee for any container type with a
certain recycling rate for calendar years 2009 and 2010 if the balance
of the fund is more than $150,000,000.
(4) The bill would prohibit the department from expending any funds
collected pursuant to the California Beverage Container Recycling and
Litter Reduction Act that were collected or payable on or before January
1, 2009, for a beverage container, for making any refund value,
processing payment, handling fee, or other expenditures related to a
CRY container that was not subject to the act on January 1,2007.
(5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.
Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act
for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact asfollows:
1 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2 following:
3 (a) California has demonstrated a more than 20-year
4 commitment to reducing and recycling materials that would
5 otherwise become waste.
6 (b) California's commitment to waste reduction and recycling
7 has demonstrated itself in the development and implementation
8 of a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling policy that has
9 succeeded in a 50 percent diversion of solid waste from landfills.
10 (c) California's commitment has further demonstrated itself in
11 the development and implementation of the nation's most
12 expansive and cost effective beverage container recycling system
13 that has succeeded in recycling 60 percent of beverage containers
14 generated.
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1 (d) Despite the commitment and efforts of the public, local
2 agencies, and the state, to reduce waste and increase recycling, the
3 lack of incentives and opportunities for the recycling of most plastic
4 bottles has resulted in a recycling failure.
5 (e) Studies by the California Integrated Waste Management
6 Board (CIWMB) and the United States Environmental Protection
7 Agency reveal that each year California generates more than 13
8 billion plastic bottles and disposes of more than 315,000 tons of
9 plastic bottle waste.
10 (f) A recent study by the CIWMB further revealed that while
11 96 percent of the plastic bottles not currently covered by the state's
12 container recycling law are made from readily recyclable and
13 marketable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high density
14 polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, less than 12 percent of these plastic
15 bottles are currently recycled.
16 (g) Relying exclusively on California's curbside recycling
17 infrastructure to collect the more than six billion non-California
18 Refund Value (CRV) plastic bottles littered and landfilled in
19 California annually has proven unsuccessful and even moderate
20 success, 50 percent recycling, if it were possible, would cost local
21 agencies and ratepayers in excess of thirty-five million dollars
22 ($35,000,000) annually in higher collection and processing costs.
23 (h) Compounding the problem of plastic litter and waste, the
24 California Ocean Protection Council (OPe) has determined that
25 marine debris poses a serious threat to California's marine
26 environment and ocean-based economies, and that 60 to 80 percent,
27 inclusive, of all marine debris and 90 percent of all floating debris
28 is plastic.
29 (i) To help reduce the problem of plastic marine debris, the OPC
30 in February unanimously adopted a resolution stating in part: "The
31 state should look closely at extending the CRY or similar Extended
32 Producer Responsibility programs to include other plastics
33 commonly found in marine debris."
34 (j) California's 20 years of experience demonstrates that
35 extending the financial incentives and convenient return
36 opportunities of the state's successful container recycling and litter
37 reduction law to all plastic bottles regardless of content represents
38 the single most expeditious and cost-effective means of reducing
39 and recycling the more than six billion non-CRY plastic bottles
40 that are littered and landfilled in California annually.
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1 SEC. 2. Section 14500 of the Public Resources Code is
2 amended to read:
3 14500. This division shall be known and may be cited as the
4 California Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act.
5 SEe. 3. Section 14501 of the Public Resources Code IS
6 amended to read:
7 14501. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
8 (a) Experience in this state and others demonstrates that financial
9 incentives and convenient return systems ensure the efficient and
10 large-scale recycling ofbcvcragc containers. Accordingly, it is the
11 intent of the Legislature to encourage increased, and more
12 convenient, bcvcragc container redemption opportunities for all
13 consumers. These redemption opportunities shall consist of dealer
14 and other shopping center locations, independent and industry
15 operated recycling centers, curbside programs, nonprofit dropoff
16 programs, and other recycling systems that assure all consumers,
17 in every region of the state, the opportunity to return bcvcragc
18 containers conveniently, efficiently, and economically.
19 (b) California grocery, beer, soft drink, container manufacturing,
20 labor, agricultural, consumer, environmental, government, citizen,
21 recreational, taxpayer, and recycling groups have joined together
22 in calling for an innovative program to generate large-scale
23 redemption and recycling ofbcvcragc containers.
24 (c) This division establishes a beverage container recycling goal
25 of 80 percent.
26 (d) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that every
27 container type proves its own recyclability.
28 (e) It is the intent of the Legislature to make redemption and
29 recycling convenient to consumers, and the Legislature hereby
30 urges cities and counties, when exercising their zoning authority,
31 to act favorably on the siting of multimaterial recycling centers,
32 reverse vending machines, mobile recycling units, or other types
33 of recycling opportunities, as necessary for consumer convenience,
34 and the overall success of litter abatement and bc';cragc container
35 recycling in the state.
36 (f) The purpose of this division is to create and maintain a
37 marketplace where it is profitable to establish sufficient recycling
38 centers and locations to provide consumers with convenient
39 recycling opportunities through the establishment of minimum
40 refund values and processing fees and, through the proper
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1 application of these elements, to enhance the profitability of
2 recycling centers, recycling locations, and other bC'v'Cragc container
3 recycling programs.
4 (g) The responsibility to provide convenient, efficient, and
5 economical redemption opportunities rests jointly with
6 manufacturers, distributors, dealers, recyclers, processors, and the
7 Department of Conservation.
8 (h) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this division,
9 that all empty bC'vcntgc containers redeemed shall be recycled,
10 and that the responsibilities and regulations of the department shall
11 be determined and implemented in a manner which favors the
12 recycling of redeemed containers, as opposed to their disposal.
13 (i) Nothing in this division shall be interpreted as affecting the
14 current business practices of scrap dealers or recycling centers,
15 except that, to the extent they function as a recycling center or
16 processor, they shall do so in accordance with this division.
17 U) The program established by this division will contribute
18 significantly to the reduction of the bcvcragc container component
19 of litter in this state.
20 SEe. 4. Section 14504 of the Public Resources Code is
21 amended to read:
22 14504. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), "beverage"
23 means any of the following products if those products are in liquid,
24 ready-to-drink form, and are intended for human consumption:
25 (1) Beer and other malt beverages.
26 (2) Wine and distilled spirit coolers.
27 (3) Carbonated water, including soda and carbonated mineral
28 water.
29 (4) Noncarbonated water, including noncarbonated mineral
30 water.
31 (5) Carbonated soft drinks.
32 (6) Noncarbonated soft drinks and "sport" drinks.
33 (7) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b),
34 vegetable, nut, grain, soy, or noncarbonated fruit drinks that contain
35 any percentage of juice.
36 (8) Coffee and tea drinks.
37 (9) Carbonated fruit drinks.
38 (b) "Beverage" does not include any of the following:
39 (1) Wine, or wine from which alcohol has been removed, in
40 whole or in part, whether or not sparkling or carbonated.
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1 (2) Milk, medical food, or infant formula.
2 (3) One hundred percent fruit juice in containers that are 46
3 ounces or more in volume.
4 (c) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall
5 apply:
6 (1) "Infant formula" means any liquid food described or sold
7 as an alternative for human milk for the feeding of infants.
8 (2) (A) "Medical food" means a food or beverage that is
9 formulated to be consumed, or administered enterally under the
10 supervision of a physician, and that is intended for specific dietary
11 management of diseases or health conditions for which distinctive
12 nutritional requirements, based on recognized scientific principles,
13 are established by medical evaluation.
14 (B) A "medical food" is a specially formulated and processed
15 product, for the partial or exclusive feeding of a patient by means
16 of oral intake or enteral feeding by tube, and is not a naturally
17 occurring foodstuff used in its natural state.
18 (C) "Medical food" includes any product that meets the
19 definition of "medical food" in the federal Food, Drug, and
20 Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.e. Sec. 360ee (b)(3)).
21 (3) "Noncarbonated soft drink" means a nonalcoholic,
22 noncarbonated naturally or artificially flavored water containing
23 sugar or sweetener or trace amounts of various elements from both
24 natural and synthetic sources.
25 SEe. 5. SectIon 14505 of the Public Resources Code is
26 amended to read:
27 14505. (a) "Beverage container" means the individual, separate
28 bottle, can, jar, carton, or other receptacle, however denominated,
29 in which a beverage is sold, and which is constructed of metal,
30 glass, or plastic, or other material, or any combination of these
31 materials. "Beverage container" does not include cups or other
32 similar open or loosely sealed receptacles.
33 (b) "California Refund Value container" or "CRV container"
34 means a beverage container or a plastic bottle, as defined in Section
35 14517.1.
36 (c) Except as provided in subdivision (a), whenever the term
37 "beverage container" is used in this division, it shall be deemed
38 to mean a CRY container.
39 (d) Whenever the term "distributor" is used in this division, it
40 shall be deemed to mean a CRY container distributor.
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1 (e) Whenever the term "beverage manufacturer" is used in this
2 division, it shall be deemed to mean a CRY container manufacturer.
3 SEe. 6. Section 14512.7 of the Public Resources Code is
4 amended to read:
5 14512.7. "Fund" means the California Container Recycling
6 Fund established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 14580.
7 SEe. 7. Section 14517.1 is added to the Public Resources Code,
8 to read:
9 14517.1. (a) "Plastic bottle" means an individual rigid or
10 semirigid container with a body consisting primarily of plastic and
11 with a neck narrower than the body in which one gallon or less of
12 a nonbeverage product is sold.
13 (b) The department may develop, maintain, and regularly update
14 a list of products and containers that meet the definition of "plastic
15 bottle" in this section.
16 ( c) "Plastic bottle" does not mean a container for a beverage,
17 as defined in Section 14504, or a product expressly excluded from
18 the definition of beverage pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
19 14504.
20 (d) "Plastic bottle" does not mean a container for any toxic or
21 hazardom product that contains a toxic or hazardous product that
22 is regulated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
23 Act (7 u.s.e. Sec. 136 et seq.).
24 SEe. 8. Section 14518.6 is added to the Public Resources Code,
25 to read:
26 14518.6. "Product manufacturer" means a person who bottles
27 or otherwise fills a plastic bottle or imports a filled plastic bottle,
28 for sale to a distributor, dealer, or consumer.
29 SEC. 9. Section 14523.5 of the Public Resources Code is
30 repealed.
31 SEe. 10. Section 14551 of the Public Resources Code is
32 amended to read:
33 14551. (a) The department shall establish reporting periods
34 for the reporting of recycling rates. Each reporting period shall be
35 six months. The department shall determine all of the following
36 for each reporting period and shall issue a report on its
37 determinations, within 130 days of the end of each reporting period:
38 (1) Sales of beverages in aluminum beverage containers, bimetal
39 beverage containers, glass beverage containers, plastic beverage
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1 containers, and other beverage containers in this state, including
2 refillable beverage containers.
3 (2) Returns for recycling, and returns not for recycling, of empty
4 aluminum beverage containers, bimetal beverage containers, glass
5 beverage containers, plastic beverage containers, and other
6 beverage containers in this state, including refillable beverage
7 containers returned to distributors pursuant to Section 14572.5.
8 These numbers shall be calculated using the average current
9 weights of beverage containers, as determined and reported by the
10 department.
11 (3) An aluminum beverage container recycling rate, the
12 numerator of which shall be the number of empty aluminum
13 beverage containers returned for recycling, including refillable
14 aluminum beverage containers, and the denominator of which shall
15 be the number of aluminum beverage containers sold in this state.
16 (4) A bimetal beverage container recycling rate, the numerator
17 of which shall be the number of empty bimetal containers returned
18 for recycling, including refillable bimetal beverage containers, and
19 the denominator of which shall be the number of bimetal beverage
20 containers sold in this state.
21 (5) A glass beverage container recycling rate, the numerator of
22 which shall be the number of empty glass beverage containers
23 returned for recycling, including refillable glass beverage
24 containers, and the denominator of which shall be the number of
25 glass beverage containers sold in this state.
26 (6) A plastic beverage container recycling rate, the numerator
27 of which shall be the number of empty plastic beverage containers
28 returned for recycling, including refillable plastic beverage
29 containers, and the denominator of which shall be the number of
30 plastic beverage containers sold in this state.
31 (7) A recycling rate for other beverage containers, the numerator
32 of which shall be the number of empty beverage containers other
33. than those containers specified in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive,
34 returned for recycling, and the denominator of which shall be the
35 number of beverage containers, other than those containers
36 specified in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, sold in this state.
37 (8) The department may define categories of other beverage
38 containers, and report a recycling rate for each of those categories
39 of other beverage containers.
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1 (9) The volumes of materials collected from certified recycling
2 centers, by city or county, as requested by the city or county, if
3 the reporting is consistent with the procedures established pursuant
4 to Section 14554 to protect proprietary information.
5 (b) The department shall determine the manner of collecting
6 the information for the reports specified in subdivision (a),
7 including establishing procedures, to protect any proprietary
8 information concerning the sales and purchases.
9 SEC. 11. Section 14575 of the Public Resources Code is
10 amended to read:
11 14575. (a) If any type of empty CRY container with a refund
12 value established pursuant to Section 14560 has a scrap value less
13 than the cost of recycling, the department shall, on January 1,2000,
14 and on or before January 1 annually thereafter, establish a
15 processing fee and a processing payment for the container by the
16 type of the material of the container.
17 (b) The processing payment shall be at least equal to the
18 difference between the scrap value offered to a statistically
19 significant sample of recyclers by willing purchasers, and except
20 for the initial calculation made pursuant to subdivision (d), the
21 sum of both of the following:
22 (1) The actual cost for certified recycling centers, excluding
23 centers receiving a handling fee, of receiving, handling, storing,
24 transporting, and maintaining equipment for each container sold
25 for recycling or, only if the container is not recyclable, the actual
26 cost of disposal, calculated pursuant to subdivision (c). The
27 department shall determine the statewide weighted average cost
28 to recycle each container type, which shall serve as the actual
29 recycling costs for purposes of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c),
30 by conducting a survey of the costs of a statistically significant
31 sample of certified recycling centers, excluding those recycling
32 centers receiving a handling fee, for receiving, handling, storing,
33 transporting, and maintaining equipment.
34 (2) A reasonable financial return for recycling centers.
35 (c) The department shall base the processing payment pursuant
36 to this section upon either of the following:
37 (1) The department shall use the average scrap values paid to
38 recyclers between October 1,2001, and September 30,2002, for
39 the 2003 calculation and the same 12-month period directly
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1 preceding the year in which the processing fee is calculated for
2 any subsequent calculation.
3 (2) For calculating processing payments that will be in effect
4 on and after January 1, 2004, the department shall determine the
5 actual costs for certified recycling centers, every second year,
6 pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). The department shall
7 adjust the recycling costs annually to reflect changes in the cost
8 of living, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
9 United States Department of Labor or a successor agency of the
10 United States government.
11 (d) Except as specified in subdivision (g), the actual processing
12 fee paid by a beverage manufacturer shall equal 65 percent of the
13 processing payment calculated pursuant to subdivision (b).
14 (e) The department, consistent with Section 14581 and subject
15 to the availability of funds, shall reduce the processing fee paid
16 by beverage manufacturers by expending funds in each material
17 processing fee account, in the following manner:
18 (1) On January 1,2005, and annually thereafter, the processing
19 fee shall equal the following amounts:
20 (A) Ten percent ofthe processing payment for a container type
21 with a recycling rate equal to or greater than 75 percent.
22 (B) Eleven percent of the processing payment for a container
23 type with a recycling rate equal to or greater than 65 percent, but
24 less than 75 percent.
25 (C) Twelve percent of the processing payment for a container
26 type with a recycling rate equal to or greater than 60 percent, but
27 less than 65 percent.
28 (D) Thirteen percent of the processing payment for a container
29 type with a recycling rate equal to or greater than 55 percent, but
30 less than 60 percent.
31 (E) Fourteen percent ofthe processing payment for a container
32 type with a recycling rate equal to or greater than 50 percent, but
33 less than 55 percent.
34 (F) Fifteen percent of the processing payment for a container
35 type with a recycling rate equal to or greater than 45 percent, but
36 less than 50 percent.
37 (G) Eighteen percent of the processing payment for a container
38 type with a recycling rate equal to or greater than 40 percent, but
39 less than 45 percent.
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1 (H) Twenty percent of the processing payment for a container
2 type with a recycling rate equal to or greater than 30 percent, but
3 less than 40 percent.
4 (I) Sixty-five percent of the processing payment for a container
5 type with a recycling rate less than 30 percent.
6 (2) Notwithstanding this section, for calendar years 2009 and
7 2010 only, if the balance of the fund that is subject to expenditure
8 pursuant to Section 14581 on September 30, 2007, and on
9 September 30 of each year thereafter, is more than one hundred
10 fifty million dollars ($150,000,000) the requirement to pay a
11 processing fee for any container type shall be suspended during
12 the subsequent calendar year (January 1 to December 31) for each
13 container type with a recycling rate as follows:
14 (A) Fifty-five percent for the 12-month period ending June 30,
15 2008, for the suspension in 2009.
16 (B) Sixty percent for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2009,
17 for the suspension in 2010.
18 (C) For any container type with a recycling rate ofless than the
19 required thresholds, the processing fee payment shall be in the
20 amount provided in paragraph (1).
21 (3) The department shall calculate the recycling rate for purposes
22 of paragraphs (1) and (2) based on the 12-month period ending on
23 June 30 that directly precedes the date of the January 1 processing
24 fee determination.
25 (f) Not more than once every three months, the department may
26 make an adjustment in the amount of the processing payment
27 established pursuant to this section notwithstanding any change
28 in the amount of the processing fee established pursuant to this
29 section, for any beverage container, if the department makes the
30 following determinations:
31 (1) The statewide scrap value paid by processors for the material
32 type for the most recent available 12-month period directly
33 preceding the quarter in which the processing payment is to be
34 adjusted is 5 percent more or 5 percent less than the average scrap
35 value used as the basis for the processing payment currently in
36 effect.
37 (2) Funds are available in the processing fee account for the
38 material type.
39 (3) Adjusting the processing payment is necessary to further
40 the objectives of this division.
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1 (g) (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), every
2 beverage manufacturer shall pay to the department the applicable
3 processing fee for each container sold or transferred to a distributor
4 or dealer within 40 days of the sale in the form and in the manner
5 which the department may prescribe.
6 (2) (A) Notwithstanding Section 14506, with respect to the
7 payment of processing fees for beer and other malt beverages
8 manufactured outside the state, the beverage manufacturer shall
9 be deemed to be the person or entity named on the certificate of
10 compliance issued pursuant to Section 23671 of the Business and
11 Professions Code. If the department is unable to collect the
12 processing fee from the person or entity named on the certificate
13 of compliance, the department shall give written notice by certified
14 mail, return receipt requested, to that person or entity. The notice
15 shall state that the processing fee shall be remitted in full within
16 30 days of issuance of the notice or the person or entity shall not
17 be permitted to offer that beverage brand for sale within the state.
18 If the person or entity fails to remit the processing fee within 30
19 days of issuance of the notice, the department shall notify the
20 Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control that the certificate
21 holder has failed to comply, and the Department of Alcoholic
22 Beverage Control shall prohibit the offering for sale of that
23 beverage brand within the state.
24 (B) The department shall enter into a contract with the
25 Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, pursuant to Section
26 14536.5, concerning the implementation of this paragraph, which
27 shall include a provision reimbursing the Department of Alcoholic
28 Beverage Control for its costs incurred in implementing this
29 paragraph.
30 (3) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if a beverage
31 manufacturer displays a pattern of operation in compliance with
32 this division and the regulations adopted pursuant to this division,
33 to the satisfaction of the department, the beverage manufacturer
34 may make a single annual payment of processing fees, if the
35 beverage manufacturer meets either of the following conditions:
36 (i) If the redemption payment and refund value is not increased
37 pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 14560, the
38 beverage manufacturer's projected processing fees for a calendar
39 year total less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
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1 (ii) If the redemption payment and refund value is increased
2 pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 14560, the
3 beverage manufacturer's projected processing fees for a calendar
4 year total less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
5 (B) An annual processing fee payment made pursuant to this
6 paragraph is due and payable on or before February 1 for every
7 beverage container sold or transferred by the beverage
8 manufacturer to a distributor or dealer in the previous calendar
9 year.
10 (C) A manufacturer shall notify the department of its intent to
11 make an annual processing fee payment pursuant to this paragraph
12 on or before January 31 ofthe calendar year for which the payment
13 will be due.
14 (4) The department shall pay the processing payments on
15 redeemed containers to processors, in the same manner as it pays
16 refund values pursuant to Sections 14573 and 14573.5. The
17 processor shall pay the recycling center the entire processing
18 payment representing the actual costs and financial return incurred
19 by the recycling center, as specified in subdivision (b).
20 (h) When assessing processing fees pursuant to subdivision (a),
21 the department shall assess the processing fee on each container
22 sold, as provided in subdivisions (c) and (f) (d) and (e), by the type
23 of material of the container, assuming that every container sold
24 will be redeemed for recycling, whether or not the container is
25 actually recycled.
26 (i) The container manufacturer, or a designated agent, shall pay
27 to, or credit, the account ofthe beverage manufacturer in an amount
28 equal to the processing fee.
29 (j) If, at the end of any calendar year for which glass recycling
30 rates equal or exceed 45 percent and sufficient surplus funds remain
31 in the glass processing fee account to make the reduction pursuant
32 to this subdivision or if, at the end of any calendar year for which
33 PET recycling rates equal or exceed 45 percent and sufficient
34 surplus funds remain in the PET processing fee account to make
35 the reduction pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall
36 use these surplus funds in the respective processing fee accounts
37 in the following calendar year to reduce the amount of the
38 processing fee that would otherwise be due from glass or PET
39 beverage manufacturers pursuant to this subdivision.
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SB 1625
1 (1) The department shall reduce the glass or PET processing
2 fee amount pursuant to this subdivision in addition to any reduction
3 for which the glass or PET beverage container qualifies under
4 subdivision-ffl (e).
5 (2) The department shall determine the processing fee reduction
6 by dividing two million dollars ($2,000,000) from each processing
7 fee account by an estimate of the number of containers sold or
8 transferred to a distributor during the previous calendar year, based
9 upon the latest available data.
10 SEe. 12. The Department of Conservation shall not expend
11 any funds collected pursuant to Division 12.1 (commencing with
12 Section 14500) of the Public Resources Code that were collected
13 or payable on or before prior to January 1, 2009 for a beverage
14 container, as defined in Section 14505, as that section read-tm
15 immediately preceding January 1, 2009, for making any refund
16 value, processing payment, handling fee, or any program or other
17 expenditure related to a CRY container that was not subject to the
18 California Beverage Recycling and Litter Reduction Act on J afitmrj
19 1, 2007 immediately preceding January 1, 2009.
20 SEC. 13. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
21 Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
22 the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
23 district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
24 infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
25 for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
26 the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
27 the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
28 Constitution.
29
30
31
32
33
CORRECTIONS:
Text-Page 15.
o
97
SB 1625 - PLASTIC BOTTLE RECYCLING AND MARINE DEBRIS
POLLUTION PREVENTION
Senator Ellen Corbett
/10 ~ /1
l
IN BRIEF
SB 1625 aims to significantly reduce the amount of plastic
litter pollution entering our marine environment by
expanding the scope of California's successful Bottle and
Can Recycling Law to include all plastic bottles. Plastic
marine debris pollution is a serious and growing problem,
the source of which is right here on land. Up to 80% of
marine debris pollution consists of plastic from urban litter.
Containers under California's Bottle and Can Recycling Law
are littered less than other plastic items because they have a
redemption value. However, because plastics are the fastest
growing component of the waste stream, only about 50% of
plastic bottles are currently covered by California's Bottle
and Can Recycling Law. Expanding the program to include
all plastic bottles will significantly reduce plastic litter
pollution this measure will result in the recycling of more
than 3 billion additional plastic bottles, reducing littered and
landftlled plastic waste by 130,000 tons annually.
THE ISSUE
Marine debris pollution is poisoning our ocean and
burdening our $43 billion dollar ocean economy. Plastic
bottles are the second most-commonly found plastic litter
item on beaches, behind takeout food packaging. Plastic
bottle litter does not biodegrade; instead it breaks into
smaller pieces as a result of radiation from the sun. These
pieces kill millions of sea birds and thousands of marine
mammals and endangered sea turtles, as well as countless
fish, who mistake them for food. Litter pollution in the
Pacific Ocean congregates into a giant "garbage patch"
North of Hawaii that is twice the size of Texas. In this
"garbage" patch plastic outweighs plankton by a factor of
46!
Since its implementation in 1987, California's Bottle and
Can Recycling Law has drastically reduced the presence of
regulated containers in the litter stream and has increased
container recycling levels to record levels.
California generates more than 6.5 billion plastic bottles and
approximately 300 million plastic-coated beverage boxes and
cartons annually, none of which are covered under existing
law. While 95 percent of these containers are technically
recyclable, less than 12% are actually recycled. That means
more than 220,000 tons of plastic and plastic-coated paper is
littered or 1andftlled in California annually. Plastic does not
biodegrade-so if not recycled, this waste continues to
accumulate, year after you. If littered or blown from
reciptcles, this accumulating plastics waste can quickly enter
our marine environment through storm drains and creeks.
Municipalities have spent billions trying to prevent urban
plastic litter from entering our watersheds. This is an
especially pressing issue for Southern Californian
communities that are required by US EPA Total Maximum
Daily Loads (TMDL) for Trash to reach 0 trash levels by
2014. This is a serious and costly issue that requires a State
solution.
The collection and disposal of plastic bottles costs local
governments and ratepayers in excess of $32 million
annually. The increase in recycling as a result of SB 1625 will
likely cut this disposal cost in half. What little plastic bottle
recycling is occurring now is primarily being subsidized by
local governments and ratepayers, at a cost more than $16
million annually. SB 1625 will eliminate these existing costs
to curbside recycling programs and instead provide curbside
programs with more than $67 million in new recycling
program revenue. SB 1625 and the resulting growth in
recycling represents a net revenue benefit to local
governments and curbside recycling programs of roughly
$100 million annually.
EXISTING LAW
California's Bottle and Can Recycling Law requires that
regulated containers by assigned a refund value that is
redeemed by consumers when the container is recycled.
Alternatively, consumers can donate the container to a
nonprofit recycler. Unredeemed funds are used to fund
curbside recycling, litter abatement, market development
grants, and other programs. Currently, California's Bottle
and Can Recycling Law covers beer and malt beverages, soft
drinks, water, sports drinks, and other specified beverages in
glass, plastic and aluminum containers.
WHAT THE BILL DOES
SB 1625 will add all plastic bottles to California's Bottle and
Can Recycling Law, including food product bottles,
cosmetic product bottles and cleaning product bottles. SB
16525 ends the exclusion from the program given to certain
paperboard and aseptic containers. SB 1625 also ends the
confusing practice of calculating an inflated "redemption
rate" and will instead rely upon the more accurate "recycling
rate" and provides a temporary processing fee fix so that
existing program members are not unfairly penalized by the
temporary recycling rate fluctuation caused by the inclusion
of new containers.
SUPPORT
Californians Against Waste (Sponsor)
In lelllFIT ~_ ..
Alameda County \Vaste Management Authority
Allied Waste Industries
California League of Conservation Voters
California State Association of Counties
City and County of San Francisco Department of
Environment
City of Fairfield
City of Manteca
City of Sacramento
City of Santa Barbara Environmental Services
Environment California
Glass Packaging Institute
Heal the Bay
League of California Cities
Owens- Illinois
Planning and Conservation League
The Sierra Club
\Vaste Management
111 t1
OPPOSITION
American Chemistry Council
California Nevada Soft Drink Association
Clorox
Coalition of Independent Recyclers
Soap and Detergent Association
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Senator Ellen Corbett
Staff: Michael Jarred
916-651-4010
lvIichael.J arred@sen.ca.gov
Mark Murray and Bryan Early
Californians Against Waste
916-443-5422
murray@cawrecycles.org
bryanearly@cawrecycles.org
May 2, 2008
/2 ;f ICJ
CITY OF DUBLIN
"Celebrating 25 Years Of Cityhood 1982-2007"
100 Civic Plaza, Dublin, California 94568
Website: http://www.ci.dublin.caus
May 10, 2008
The Honorable Senator Tom Torlakson, Chair
Senate Appropriations Committee
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 1625 (Corbett) Bottle Bill Update - Support
Dear Senator Torlakson:
The City of Dublin urges your support of Senate Bill 1625 by Ellen Corbett, which will help
reduce plastic litter, waste and marine debris by expanding California's successful Container
Recycling Law to include all plastic bottles. This measure, when implemented, will result in the
recycling of more than 3 billion additional plastic bottles, reducing littered and landfilled plastic
waste by 130,000 tons annually.
California generates more than 6.5 billion plastic bottles and approximately 300 million plastic-
coated beverage boxes and cartons every year, none of which are currently covered under
existing law. And while upwards of 95% of these containers are 'technically recyclable,' less
than 12% are currently being recycled. That means more than 220,000 tons of plastic and
plastic-coated paper is littered or landfilled in California annually. Because plastic does not
biodegrade, all of this plastic, year after year, continues to accumulate, much of it as marine
debris flowing from streets through storm drains, and ultimately to rivers, bays and the ocean.
This proposal would add a 'California Refund Value' of 5 cents (10 cents on containers 24
ounces and larger) - and apply the resources, infrastructure and incentives of California's most
successful recycling program - to the problem of nearly 6 billion plastic bottles and plastic
coated containers that are landfilled or become litter and marine debris in the state annually.
Managing plastic waste poses a growing cost burden on local governments. The collection
and disposal of plastic bottles costs local governments and ratepayers in excess of $32 million
annually. As a result of SB 1625, the increase in recycling will - at a minimum - cut this
disposal cost in half. What little plastic bottle recycling is occurring now is primarily being
subsidized by local governments and ratepayers, at the rate of more than $16 million per year.
58 1625 will eliminate these existing costs to curbside recycling programs and instead provide
curbside programs with more than $67 million in new recycling program revenue. 5B 1625,
and the resulting growth in recycling, represents a net revenue benefit to local governments
and curbside recycling programs of roughly $100 million annually.
Area Code (925) . City Manager 833-6650 . City Council 833-6650 . Personnel 833-6605 . EI
Finance 833-6640 . Public Works/Engineering 833-6630 . Parks & Community Services 8~ ATTAC.ENT 3
Planning/Code Enforcement 833-6610 . Building Inspection 833-6620 . Fire Preventi ·
Printprl nn Rpr.vr./prl PRnpr
May 10, 2008
Senator Tom Torlakson
SB 1625 Bottle Bill Update
Page 2.
II ;r I~
This measure would also authorize the Department of Conservation to utilize a portion of
surplus redemption funds to offset processing fees for two years on containers with high
recycling rates. Existing law uses market-incentives via processing fees to encourage
manufacturers to 'design for recycling' and support 'market development.' While SB 1625 will
result in a substantial increase in the actual volume of plastic containers recycled, the initial
'averaging' of the high recycling 'rate' for containers already in the program with the low
recycling 'rate' for new containers will likely temporarily skew the 'average rate' for plastic
bottles down. Therefore, a temporary 'offset' of processing fees for existing beverage
producers is justified to ensure that they are not inadvertently penalized as a result of program
expansion.
For all of these reasons, we urge your 'Aye' vote on this important measure when it is heard in
Senate Appropriations.
Sincerely,
Janet Lockhart
Mayor
JL/mb
cc: Members, Senate Appropriations Committee
Richard C. Ambrose, City Manager
Joni Pattillo, Assistant City Manager
Melissa Morton, Public Works Director
Mark Lander, City Engineer
G:\NPDES\SB1625 Plastic Bottle BiII\SB1625 Bottle Bill Support Letter.doc