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SB-665 Plastic waste: single-use plastics alternatives: working group.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 09/19/2023 09:00 PM
SB665:v94#DOCUMENT

Enrolled  September 19, 2023
Passed  IN  Senate  September 14, 2023
Passed  IN  Assembly  September 13, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  September 07, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  September 01, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  June 21, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  May 18, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 665

Introduced by Senator Allen

February 16, 2023

An act to add and repeal Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 42375) of Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 665, Allen. Plastic waste: single-use plastics alternatives: working group.
Existing law establishes the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, which covers certain single-use packaging and plastic single-use food service ware, as provided. As part of its comprehensive statutory scheme, the act requires the producers, as defined, of these covered materials to source reduce plastic covered material, to ensure that covered material offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the state on or after January 1, 2032, is recyclable or eligible to be labeled “compostable,” and to ensure that plastic covered material offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the state meets specified recycling rates.
Existing law vests the California Environmental Protection Agency with authority over various environmental matters and various state agencies, including the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Existing law establishes the Ocean Protection Council to, among other things, coordinate activities of state agencies that are related to the protection and conservation of coastal waters and ocean ecosystems. Existing law requires CalRecycle to consult with the council regarding its adoption of regulations to establish a process, and develop criteria, for determining the types of food service packaging that are reusable, recyclable, or compostable. Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state.
This bill would require the California Environmental Protection Agency, by January 1, 2025, to establish a working group of the above-referenced state entities that would establish a framework, by July 1, 2026, for evaluating novel plastic and plastic-alternative material types used to produce single-use products as they are developed, in order to inform state policy decisions designed to create a more sustainable and circular economy, as provided. The bill would require the working group to, among other things, develop recommendations related to novel material types, including the appropriate marketing and labeling of the material, the handling of the material at the end of its useful life, and how the material needs to be treated in relation to existing state policies, rules, and regulations. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2029.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) In 2022, the California Legislature passed and the Governor signed Senate Bill 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act that requires producers of single-use packaging and single-use plastic food service ware to take responsibility for the end-of-life management of the material they put into the marketplace. Among the requirements of that act is a mandate on producers to reduce the amount of single-use plastic they use by 25 percent by 2032. One pathway to accomplishing this goal is to shift from single-use plastic material to alternatives that are reusable and to nonplastic alternatives that are recyclable or compostable. Innovative companies are already researching and developing alternative materials that can provide the same functionality as single-use plastics without some or all of the negative impacts traditional plastics have on human health and the environment.
(2) Jurisdictions inside and outside of California have also put in place producer mandates aimed to reduce the amount of traditional single-use plastics. Many policies promote or require the use of compostable, biodegradable, and biobased materials as a replacement for nonbiodegradable petroleum-based single-use plastic and companies are responding by making products like straws, cutlery, and packaging that are designed to break down naturally.
(3) As companies innovate to meet these requirements, the alternatives they produce will have different benefits and impacts, and may be more costly to produce. Some materials that are more sustainably sourced than traditional fossil fuel-based, nonrenewable plastics, may still result in persistent microplastic particles polluting our waterways. Similarly, new materials that truly break down into natural components may result in higher greenhouse gas emissions, the depletion of nitrogen or phosphorous, use excess water, or degrade habitats through the intensive industrial farming required to grow the necessary feedstocks. Other alternative products may be benign after they break down in the natural environment and leave no microplastics. Those alternative products may contain fewer harmful chemicals, like perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and result in less deforestation and depletion of natural resources.
(b) To prevent regrettable substitutions as California strives to reduce the use of single-use plastics and phases out the use of fossil fuels, and to encourage companies to innovate and produce environmentally beneficial products, it is necessary, and the intent of the Legislature, to develop a science-based framework to assess the sustainability of a plastic or plastic-alternative material along its whole life cycle, including formation and risks of microplastics to humans and ecosystems.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 6.3 (commencing with Section 42375) is added to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER  6.3. Single-Use Plastic Alternatives Working Group

42375.
 (a) By January 1, 2025, the California Environmental Protection Agency shall establish a working group made up of the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the Department of Food and Agriculture, and the Ocean Protection Council. The working group shall be staffed by a board, department, or office within the California Environmental Protection Agency, at the direction of the agency, and shall, by July 1, 2026, establish a framework for evaluating novel plastic and plastic-alternative material types used to produce single-use products as they are developed in order to inform policy decisions designed to create a more sustainable and circular economy.
(b) In developing the framework, the working group shall do all of the following:
(1) Ensure the framework can be used as a comparative tool to assess novel material types to determine potential impacts to human health and the environment, and assess the ease with which those material types can be readily recycled, composted, or reused. The framework shall enable an assessment and categorization based on the full life cycle of representative finished products made from those novel material types, including, but not limited to, the material’s source, production, distribution, and its end-of-life properties. The framework shall enable a comparative analysis of material life cycles, including comparing the life cycle impacts of novel materials to similar life cycles of the same type of finished products made from a variety of materials, including, but not limited to, fossil fuel-based plastic, paper, and, where possible, other natural materials like bamboo, sugar cane, agave, and pasta.
(2) Consider tradeoffs between sustainability objectives and risks, including, but not limited to, greenhouse gas emissions, water and energy usage, natural resources depletion, soil health, impacts to public health, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities, pollution, and impacts to the environment and wildlife.
(3) Consult with scientists, academic experts in this sector, industry, environmental advocacy organizations, environmental justice advocates, and local agencies responsible for solid waste management, recycling, and composting.
(4) Review existing scientific data, research, and testing methodologies.
(5) Prior to establishing the framework, receive and consider public input during the development of the framework, hold at least one public workshop to consider the scope of the framework, and hold at least one public hearing to receive public comment on a draft framework.
(c) The working group shall also develop a set of recommendations, including, but not limited to, potential scientific testing standards that could be used for certifying novel materials. These recommendations shall inform state policy related to novel material types, including, but not limited to, appropriate marketing and labeling of the material, how the material is handled at the end of its useful life, and how the material needs to be treated in relation to existing state policies, rules, and regulations.
(d) This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.