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PENDING BILLS IN SACRAMENTO
by JANE BOGNER
SUNDAY, August 22, 2004

Now that the state budget has been passed, committees are again tackling new recycling bills. My favorite bill from 2003 would have established a two-cent environmental fee on disposable shopping bags and fast-food cups that would have paid for the cleanup and recycling of litter. This bill was passed by the Assembly and Senate but somehow died along the way. My suspicion was that the plastic (read oil companies) bag industry and fast-food lobbies made their objections heard. Oh well, moving on...

Two plastics bills are in the works. Our own Senator Wesley Chesbro’s bill (SB 1729) would stimulate a greater use of post consumer plastic in new products.

Senate Bill 1749 (Karnette) would prohibit the use of the terms "compostable" and "biodegradable" when labeling plastic bags unless the bags meet ASTM standards for those terms. Last year the Coastal Commission purchased “biodegradable” bags for the annual Coastal Cleanup only to learn that the company sent them regular plastic bags with a bogus label.

Last year, the hot electronic bill involved computer monitor and television recycling. This year, it is cell phone recycling. Assembly Bill 2901 (Pavley) would establish the nation's first retail take back requirement for cell phone recycling. The measure would require anyone that sells cell phones in the state to take back old phones at no cost to consumers.

The recycling of fluorescent lamps has taken a different approach to the “deposit and return” theme. Senate Bill 1180 (Figueroa) would establish the nation's first advance disposal fee (ADF) on fluorescent lamps containing mercury. SB 1180 requires manufacturers or distributors to pay an ADF of 8 to 12 cents on all lamps sold in the state. Funds would be used to pay for recycling lamps, public education, and the enforcement of their ban in landfills. Vallejo and Benicia residents can take fluorescent lamps to the Devlin Road Hazardous Waste facility which is open 9 am to 4 pm every Friday and Saturday. For information call 1 800 984-9661 or www.recycle-guide.com.

Assembly Bill 338 (Levine) would require Caltrans to increase its use of rubberized asphalt concrete (RAC) made from old tires. The use of RAC in paving projects is recognized as a safer, quieter, and more cost effective paving material, as well as a viable end-use for the more than 30 million tires thrown away in CA annually. 

To keep abreast of recycling legislation, go to the Californians Against Waste’s website www.cawrecycles.org. Zero Waste Action Network Conference. The National Recycling Council’s 23rd Annual Congress and Exposition will be held in San Francisco from August 29 through September 1, 2004. (www.nrc-recycle.org/congress).

Preceding the NRC, a two-day International Dialogue on Proper Discard Management in the New Millennium will be held in San Francisco (August 26 and 27) at the State PUC Building at 505 Van Ness Avenue (www.crra.com/grc/international/). This event is being organized by the Global Recycling Council. The GrassRoots Recycling Network will be hosting the Zero Waste Action Network Conference in Oakland on Saturday, August 28. This one-day event is a gathering of Zero Waste experts and advocates from around the globe. (www.grrn.org/conference2004)

VALCORE’s ReUse BARN

VALCORE has the following free items available: hundreds of letter-size hanging file folders, boxes of 11x17 paper (printed on one side but great for art projects), three-ring binders.

VALCORE Recycling Vice President Jane Bogner's "A Sorted Affair" is published every other week in the Times-Herald, Community Outlook Section. For recycling information call Genie Kaggerud, VALCORE Recycling manager at 645-8258 or visit www.VALCORErecycling.org.

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