The Recycling Advocate - May 26, 2009 - Volume 14, Number 4

Legislative Update: The budget situation has been at the forefront of debates in the legislature this session, but CAW and our partners will continue to strive to make sure lawmakers also realize the importance of policies with a track record of conserving energy and resources, reducing wasteful consumption, and utilizing recycled materials in manufacturing. 

AB 479 (Chesbro) - Waste Diversion - Location: Assembly Appropriations - Would set a 75% statewide waste diversion goal and, to help meet this target, would require businesses to recycle.

AB 222 (Adams) – Waste-to-Energy – Location Assembly Floor - Would undermine the success of California’s waste reduction and recycling efforts by allowing resource-destroying “conversion technologies” to count as recycling under AB 939 and as renewable electricity under the state’s renewable energy law.

SB 55 (Corbett) - Bottle Bill - Location: Senate Floor. -  Would prohibit convenience zone beverage container recyclers from engaging in predatory pricing.

SB 723 (DeSaulnier) - Electronic Waste Payments - Location: Senate Appropriations.  -Would authorize the CIWMB to adjust E-waste Collector and Recycler payments annually, rather than every two years to more accurately reflect market conditions for scrap material.

AB 1329 (Brownley) - PVC - Location: Assembly Floor - Would phase out PVC resin in consumer packaging by 2014 due to its contaminating affect in the recycling stream and toxicity concerns.

AB 147 (Saldana) - Electronic Waste Reporting - Location: Assembly Appropriations. Authorizes DTSC to request documentation from electronics manufacturers about the amount of hazardous materials contained in the consumer electronics they offer for sale in the State. 

AB 1173 (Huffman) - CFLs - Status: Assembly Appropriations. Would limit payment of ratepayer derived Energy Efficiency Funds for CFL ‘prebates’ to only those entities that produce high quality lamps and who support either direct implementation of specified CFL recycling program or commitment of specified financial support for CFL recycling.

AB 907 (Chesbro) - Used Oil - Status: Assembly Floor. Tasks the Integrated Waste Management Board authority to develop a program to provide incentives to manufacturers of re-refined oil, and to develop additional capacity for the re-refining of used oil.

Read more about the bills CAW is following

San Francisco nears 75% waste diversion rate.
San Francisco inched closer to its 75% 2010 landfill diversion goal this year, posting a 72% diversion rate.  San Francisco diverted only 35% of its waste in 1996.

"By requiring builders to recycle debris from construction projects, we were able to divert tens of thousands of new tons of material away from the landfill," said Mayor Gavin Newsom. "Clearly, mandatory recycling measures pay off; if we’re going to reach a recycling rate of 75 percent in 2010 and zero waste by 2020, we need to make sure that residents and businesses are taking full advantage of our composting and recycling programs."

Local Governments take on plastic bag pollution.
California cities and counties continue to be at the forefront in the fight against plastic litter pollution.  The City of Palo Alto is the latest cities to ban plastic bags and polystyrene, some of the most problematic sources of plastic litter, in ordinances passed in March and April.  Plastic bag bans are pending in several other municipalities, including Berkeley, San Jose, Santa Clara County and Sacramento County.  In April, the California Ocean Protection Council voted unanimously to fund a Master Environmental Assessment on carryout bags that municipalities could use to defend against industry intimidation suits.

See a list of existing and proposed local ordinances.

Beverage container recycling rate hits 74%
According to the Department of Conservation, the Redemption and Recycling Rate for Beverage containers reached 74% for 2008. That means over 16 billion beverage containers were recycled in California last year.
Read the report.

Recycling News Links
•    May 19 - SF to vote on Cigarette Butt Litter Cleanup Fee
•    May 12 - Dell takes strong stance against exporting e-waste
•    May 11 - Sacramento County to Consider Banning Plastic Bags

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The Recycling Advocate is published by the environmental group Californians Against Waste.

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