Jun 3 - Recycling Advocate: Legislative Victories for Priority Recycling Bills
Legislative Update
This week marks the deadline for bills to pass out of their house of origin (before heading over the other house), and we are proud to report that most of this year’s ambitious recycling bills have passed this hurdle.
The following bills have passed their votes on the Senate or Assembly floor and will now be heard in the other house.
• AB 341 (Chesbro), which expands recycling services to apartment buildings and businesses, and sets a statewide goal of a 75% recycling rate by 2020, passed the Assembly with a 48-28 vote.
• AB 960 (Lowenthal), which helps tackle the problem of illegal e-waste exports to foreign countries by requiring recyclers to conform their exporting practices in order to receive payments for collections, passed the Assembly with a 50-25 vote.
• AB 1149 (Gordon and Wieckowski), which extends the Plastic Market Development program to continue investment in California’s plastics recycling and manufacturing infrastructure, passed the Assembly with a 77-1 vote.
• SB 568 (Lowenthal), which prohibits food vendors from distributing foamed polystyrene food takeout containers, passed the Senate 21-15.
• AB 818 (Blumenfield), the Renters’ Right to Recycle Act, which brings the opportunity to recycle to the underserved sector of apartment complexes and other multifamily dwellings, passed with a 51-25 vote on the Assembly floor.
• SB 567 (DeSaulnier) will expand California’s existing end-of-life labeling requirements from bags and food packaging to all plastic products and limit misleading statements about product degradation, passed the Senate with a 21-13 vote.
• AB 525 (Gordon), which extends a successful statewide tire recycling program that promotes the recycling of tires into Rubberized Asphalt Concrete, passed the Assembly with a 78-0 vote.
• AB 298 (Brownley), which sets health and safety standards for reusable bags, passed with a 49-25 vote on the Assembly floor.
Local Plastic Ordinances Update
• On May 31, the Belmont City Council voted to move forward with bans on both single-use plastic bags and expanded polystyrene foam food containers. The Council will vote on the ordinances during a public hearing at a later date.
Recycling News
• Jun 1 - Improper Recycling of E-waste is a Health Threat
• Jun 1 - Study Shows Biodegradable Products Cause Harm When Landfilled
• May 27 - CAW Exposes Toxic Waste Violations at Produce Supplier
• May 25 - Bottle Bill Advocates Should Look to CA Success
• May 24 - EU Considers Ban on Plastic Bags
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