AB 1086 (Aguiar-Curry)
Organic Waste Management

OVERVIEW

AB 1086 requires the Natural Resources Agency to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature that provides an implementation strategy to achieve the state’s organic waste, climate change and air quality mandates, goals, and targets.

THE ISSUE

Although California leads the nation in waste reduction and recycling, the state disposes of more than 15 million tons of compostable organic waste each year from urban sources, in addition to millions of tons of agricultural and forestry waste. When landfilled, burned, or illegally land-applied, this material creates numerous pollution problems, including: the emission of short-lived climate pollutants and criteria pollutants, the contamination of groundwater with nitrates and other constituents, and the spread of diseases and pests. 

In contrast, when this same material is composted, it creates a soil amendment that has been shown to offer significant soil carbon-sequestration and water-quality benefits, to provide erosion control, and to reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

Unfortunately, conflicting permitting requirements continue to discourage the best uses of organic materials. Composting of organic waste, an environmental mitigation strategy, faces more difficult air and water regulations than direct land application of the same organic waste materials, which can have a far more negative environmental impact. Dairies and other manure generators face higher regulatory hurdles when they use off-site agricultural waste (that would otherwise be open-burned) to use as a bulking agent for composting than they do when they simply spread the manure. Uncontrolled open-burning of agricultural waste continues to grow as alternatives become more and more expensive.

California needs an evidence-based plan that can help the state best meet its composting goals in an efficient, effective manner.

Position: Supported by Californians Against Waste
Contact: Nick Lapis

BILL SUMMARY

This measure requires several relevant state agencies and departments to consult with stakeholders and relevant permitting agencies and submit a report that provides an implementation strategy that identifies the specific measures needed to achieve the state’s organic waste, and related climate change and air quality, mandates, goals, and targets by 2023. 

Status: Dead. Held by Senate Appropriations Committee.
Current language, analysis, and votes: AB 1086