SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No:
AB 1045
Irwin
Author:
4/20/2015
Version:
No
Urgency:
Consultant: Joanne Roy
Hearing Date: 7/1/2015
Yes
Fiscal:
SUBJECT: Organic waste: composting.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Requires pursuant to the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (Act)
(Public Resources Code §40000 et seq.):
a) Establishes a statewide diversion goal of 75% by 2020.
b) Requires local agencies to divert, through source reduction, recycling, and
composting, 50% of solid waste disposed by their jurisdictions.
c) Requires a commercial waste generator, including multi-family dwellings, to
arrange for recycling services and requires local governments to implement
commercial solid waste recycling programs designed to divert solid waste
from businesses.
d) Requires generators of specified amounts of organic waste (i.e., food waste
and yard waste) to arrange for recycling services for that material.
2) Under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (commonly
referred to as AB 32), requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to determine the
1990 statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions level and approve a statewide
GHG emissions limit that is equivalent to that level, to be achieved by 2020,
and to adopt GHG emissions reductions measures by regulation. ARB is
authorized to include the use of market-based mechanisms to comply with these
regulations. (Health and Safety Code §38500 et seq.).
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This bill:
1) States legislative findings and declarations regarding the state’s recycling and
composting policies and the environmental and agricultural benefits of compost
development and application.
2) Requires the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), in
coordination with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
(CalRecycle) to develop and implement policies to aid in diverting organic
waste from landfills by promoting composting, as specified.
3) Requires CalEPA, in developing these policies, to work with the California
Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to promote a goal of 5 million
metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions through
development and application of compost on working lands.
4) Requires CalEPA to convene CalRecycle, the State Water Resources Control
Board (SWRCB), and the Air Resource Board (ARB) to ensure coordination of
goals and policies.
5) Requires CalRecycle, in coordination with the ARB and SWRCB, to develop a
policy to promote streamlined permitting and regulation of composting facilities
while protecting air and water quality.
Background
1) Statewide waste diversion goals. CalRecycle is tasked with diverting at least
75% of solid waste statewide by 2020. Currently, an estimated 35 million tons
of waste are disposed of in California’s landfills annually, of which 32% is
compostable organic materials, 29% is construction and demolition debris, and
17% is paper.
In addition, CalRecycle is charged with implementing Strategic Directive 6.1,
which calls for reducing organic waste disposal by 50% by 2020. According to
CalRecycle, significant gains in organic waste diversion (through recycling
technologies or organic waste, including composting and anaerobic digestion)
are necessary to meet the 75% goal and to implement Strategic Directive 6.1.
2) Recycling organic waste. For purposes of recycling, “organic waste” is defined
as food waste, green waste, landscape and pruning waste, nonhazardous wood
waste, and food-soiled paper waste that is mixed in with food waste. Organic
material, like food waste and yard waste, represents about one-third of the solid
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waste sent to landfills even though a large percentage can be recycled or
composted.
Recycling technologies for organic waste include composting, anaerobic
digestion, and other types of processing that generate renewable fuels, energy,
soil amendments, and mulch. Anaerobic digestion, which produces biogas that
can be processed into biomethane fuel, is particularly suited to handle food
waste. Green waste is more efficiently processed through composting.
3) What is compost? According to CalRecycle, compost is the controlled
decomposition of organic material such as leaves, twigs, grass clippings and
food scraps. A wide range of materials may be composted, but they must
consist of principally organic components (i.e. carbon-containing remnants or
residues of life processes). Compost products may vary since the properties of
any given compost depend on the nature of the original feedstock and the
conditions under which it was decomposed. However, mature compost is
normally dark brown in color and should have an even texture and a pleasant,
earthy aroma.
Composting is a means of controlling and accelerating the decomposition
process. An overabundance of soil organisms is responsible for transforming
the organic matter in compost into carbon dioxide, water, humic substances
(components of soil that affect physical and chemical properties and improve
soil fertility) and energy in the form of heat. Most composting facilities use a
thermophilic process, which breaks down the waste with heat-loving bacteria,
and rely on high temperatures to meet pathogen reduction standards.
Composting diverts organic materials out of landfills and turns it into a product
that is useful for soil restoration. In addition to improving the quality of soil,
compost prevents soil erosion, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers,
herbicides, and pesticides, and enables better soil water retention.
4) Composting in California. According to CalRecycle, there are 181 composting
facilities in the state. However, some of these facilities may not be involved in
waste diversion (e.g. agricultural residuals, manure, and other material not
destined for disposal). CalRecycle estimates that the top 30 compost facilities
that take organics out of the waste stream handle approximately 80% of the
material.
Comments
1) Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “AB 1045 establishes a statewide
policy to promote the use of compost by requiring state entities to work together
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to establish a coordinated effort for the development and deployment of
compost in order to achieve multiple state goals.”
2) Coordinating efforts. Multiple state agencies are involved with regulating
composting. CalRecycle permits compostable material handling operations and
facilities. ARB is the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating
sources of emissions of GHGs that cause global warming in order to reduce
emissions of GHGs. CDFA annually inspects compost facilities selling to
organic food producers for adherence to National Organic Program regulations.
SWRCB and the regional water quality control boards issue individual waste
discharge requirements for larger composting facilities. This bill proposes to
provide for improved state agency coordination of composting efforts and
development.
3) Amendments Needed. This bill requires CalRecycle, in coordination with the
ARB and SWRCB, to develop a policy to promote streamlined permitting and
regulation of composting facilities while protecting air and water quality.
a) Streamlined. “Streamlined” is a term that may connote cutting corners or
favoring speed to the potential detriment of what has been forsaken.
Streamlining permitting and regulatory processes may more expeditiously
get a facility up and running, but it also may result in long-term, unintended
consequences.
For example, a streamlined permitting process to authorize a new
composting facility may be on a fast track for approval because of various
factors such as location in an area zoned for industrial use – However, was
that location analyzed to consider potential environmental impacts, such as
whether the location is upwind to a residential area? Depending on how the
permitting process was expedited, was the public provided an opportunity to
participate; was the process transparent? Permitting and regulatory
requirements exist to protect public health and safety as well as the
environment; and such purposes should not be compromised for the sake of
speed.
On the other hand, “coordination” of permitting and regulatory
requirements would serve to increase efficiency and ensure that efforts do
not overlap unnecessarily, while preserving the goal of protecting the public
and environment. It would be prudent for the agencies to coordinate
permitting and regulatory requirements rather than streamline them.
An amendment is needed on page 4, line 31, to delete “streamlined” and
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replace with “coordinated.”
b) “Protecting air and water quality.” Although air and water quality are
certainly worth protecting, they are not the only environmental impacts that
should be considered. For example, other impacts in permitting and
regulating composting facilities may include land use planning, natural
resources, agricultural resources, biological resources, noise,
transportation/traffic, cultural resources, and utilities. It would be prudent
to broaden the spectrum of protection beyond air and water only, and
include the environment as a whole.
An amendment is needed on page 4, lines 32-33, to delete “air and water
quality,” and replace the term with “the environment.”
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 876 (McCarty) would require a county or regional agency to include in its
annual report to CalRecycle specified information regarding organic waste
recycling. AB 876 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Environmental Quality
Committee on July 1, 2015.
AB 1826 (Chesbro, Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014) phased in requirements for
generators of specified amounts of organic waste to arrange recycling services for
that material beginning January 1, 2016, through January 1, 2019.
AB 341 (Chesbro, Chapter 476, Statutes of 2011) required local businesses and
multifamily residential dwellings of five or more units that generate more than four
cubic yards of solid waste per week to separate recyclable materials from solid
waste and subscribe to a basic level of recycling service that included collection,
self-hauling, or other arrangements for the pickup of the recyclable materials or
subscribe to a recycling service that may include mixed waste processing that yields
diversion results comparable to source separation.
SOURCE: Author
SUPPORT:
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME),
AFL-CIO
California Compost Coalition
California League of Conservation Voters
California Organics Recycling Council
Californians Against Waste
Carbon Cycle Institute
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City and County of San Francisco Department of the Environment
City of Thousand Oaks
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Planning and Conservation League
Republic Services, Inc.
Rural County Representatives of California
San Francisco Department of the Environment
Stop Waste
West Marin Compost Coalition
1 Individual
OPPOSITION:
None received
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