BILL NUMBER: AB 521	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Hueso and Stone

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2013

   An act relating to solid waste.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 521, as introduced, Hueso. Solid waste: plastic.
   The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989,
administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery,
requires every rigid plastic packaging container, as defined, sold or
offered for sale in this state to generally meet one of specified
criteria.
   This bill would declare the intention of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would create the Plastic Pollution Reduction
Producer Responsibility Act to significantly reduce plastic pollution
in the marine environment and require producers of those products to
be financially responsible for this reduction.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The health of California's ocean and coastline is increasingly
threatened by the persistent influx of plastic pollution on our
shores and into our ocean. Plastic marine pollution is hurting
California's environment and economy.
   (b) The vast majority of litter in California's coast and ocean
comes from land-based sources, and it is well documented from more
than 25 years of coastal cleanup data that up to 80 percent of this
litter is plastic.
   (c) A 2012 study by the Convention on Biological Diversity found
that 663 marine species have been impacted by marine litter through
entanglement and ingestion, which is a two-thirds increase in species
from a similar study in 1998.
   (d) In 2012, Region 9 of the federal Environmental Protection
Agency estimated California's coastal cities and counties spend more
than four hundred eighteen million dollars ($418,000,000) each year
to combat litter and curtail marine debris.
   (e) The global production and consumption of plastic, especially
single use plastic products, is on the rise.
   (f) Existing federal and state laws designed to combat marine
litter are failing to keep plastic pollution from entering the ocean
and harming marine wildlife and coastal economies.
   (g) Of the many plastic materials that pollute the ocean,
single-use plastic items are some of the worst offenders. While used
briefly on land, these items contain plastic that persists
indefinitely in the marine environment.
   (h) A new approach is needed in California to reduce the impacts
of single-use plastic products on California's environment and
economy.
  SEC. 2.  It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
that would create the Plastic Pollution Reduction Producer
Responsibility Act to do all of the following:
   (a) Protect California's coasts and oceans by significantly
reducing plastic pollution in the marine environment and requiring
producers of those products to be financially responsible for the
reduction.
   (b) Reduce the financial burden on local governments, taxpayers,
and California regional water quality control boards in implementing
key marine plastic pollution prevention infrastructure and
activities.
   (c) Support California's economy by shifting the financial burden
to those responsible for marine plastic pollution and by providing
resources for local infrastructure projects.
   (d) Conduct ongoing monitoring to show measurable reduction of
plastic pollution in the marine environment and to better understand
the sources, pathways, and impacts of marine plastic pollution.