BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1103
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Date of Hearing: August 24, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1103
(Dodd) - As Amended June 6, 2016
SUBJECT: Solid waste disposal: self-haulers
SUMMARY: Adds self-haulers to the requirement that exporters,
brokers, and transporters of recyclables or compost submit
specified, periodic information to the Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) and requires CalRecycle to
develop regulations to define "self-hauler."
EXISTING LAW, pursuant to the California Integrated Waste
Management Act:
1)Establishes a state recycling goal that 75% of solid waste
generated be diverted from landfill disposal by 2020 through
source reduction, recycling, and composting.
2)Requires each local jurisdiction to divert 50% of solid waste
from landfill disposal through source reduction, recycling,
and composting.
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3)Requires exporters, brokers, and transporters of recyclables
or compost to submit periodic information to CalRecycle on the
types, quantities, and destinations of materials that are
disposed of, sold, or transferred.
4)Authorizes CalRecycle to adopt practices and procedures
related to waste tracking in the state.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, this bill has
negligible state costs.
COMMENTS: An estimated 35 million tons of waste are disposed of
in California's landfills annually, of which 32% is compostable
organic materials, 29% is construction and demolition debris,
and 17% is paper.
CalRecycle is tasked with diverting at least 75% of solid waste
generated statewide by 2020. Organic materials make up
one-third of the waste stream and food continues to be the
greatest single item disposed, making up over 15% of materials
landfilled. CalRecycle is also charged with implementing its
Strategic Directive 6.1, which calls for reducing organic waste
disposal by 50% by 2020. According to CalRecycle, significant
gains in organic waste diversion are necessary to meet the 75%
goal and implement Strategic Directive 6.1. Recycling
technologies for organic waste include composting, anaerobic
digestion, and other types of processing that generate renewable
fuels, energy, soil amendments, and mulch.
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Compost and other soil amendments that can be produced from
organic materials have been shown to improve soil health by
incorporating organic matter, beneficial micro-organisms, and
nutrients and reduce the need for chemical pesticides and
fertilizers. These products also conserve water by allowing
water to penetrate the soil more quickly decreasing runoff.
Recycling organic waste provides significant GHG reductions over
landfilling. Composting and other organics processing
technologies, including anaerobic digestion, reduce GHGs by
avoiding the emissions that would be generated by the material's
decomposition in a landfill. Landfill gas is generated by the
decomposition of organic materials such as food, paper, wood,
and yard waste. Fifty percent of landfill gas is methane, a GHG
that is over 80 times more efficient at trapping heat than
carbon dioxide. While most modern landfills have systems in
place to capture methane, significant amounts continue to escape
into the atmosphere. According to ARB's GHG inventory,
approximately 7 million tons of CO2 equivalent are released
annually by landfills. That number is expected to increase to
8.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent by 2020.
According to the author, there is a significant amount of
organic waste collected by "self-haulers" that may not be
captured by CalRecycle's waste tracking system. To the extent
that these self-haulers transport a significant amount of
organic waste, California may have an incomplete picture of how
much organic waste is being diverted from landfills and what the
true amount of GHG emissions reductions are actually being
achieved, relative to the state's statutory goals.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Republic Services
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092