[GreenYes] CA Zero Waste Bill Introduced

[Gary Liss <gary@garyliss.com>]

SB1526 just introduced into the CA Legislature includes the adoption of a 
Zero Waste goal for California (Section 7).  You can get a full copy of the 
bill at: 
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_1501-1550/sb_1526_bill_20020220_in 
troduced.html

This bill also addresses Conversion Technologies and Biomass to
coordinate state activities related to the development and use of 
conversion technologies for the production of energy, alternative fuels, 
and other products.

This bill also addresses the controversial ADC issue in a creative 
way.  The bill would require any local agency that requires residents or 
businesses to separate green waste materials from other refuse, and uses 
that green waste as cover material in landfills or otherwise disposes of 
the green waste in a landfill, to include in its refuse collection billing 
statements to residents and businesses a clear, concise, and conspicuous 
notice of the amount of green waste materials that are collected from 
residents and businesses and are ultimately used as landfill cover material 
or discarded in a landfill.

This bill also addresses key funding issues for solid waste.  This bill 
would authorize the CIWMB to adjust the current landfill fee once every 3 
years to reflect increases and decreases in the consumer price index.  It 
would also require payments from each operator of a transfer station of all 
solid waste processed at the transfer station for disposal at an 
out-of-state disposal site.  The fee would be 80% of the fee that would 
have been charged under existing law if the solid waste had been disposed 
of in this state.

Section 7, as introduced, is pasted in below.  Please write to Senator 
Gloria Romero to express strong support for the Zero Waste goal and Section 
7 of SB1526, as introduced.

Thanks!

Gary Liss
***************************************
   SEC. 7.  Section 40004 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
    40004.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
    (1) In 1989, the Legislature and the Governor enacted the
California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, calling for a
change in thinking for all Californians on how we manage our trash.
The act has successfully increased awareness of the need to reduce
the generation of trash, reuse valuable discarded materials, and
recycle all recyclable materials.  In 2002, efforts such as curbside
recycling, composting, and source reduction are a part of everyday
life for most Californians and many California businesses.
    (2) The 21st century presents new municipal solid waste management
challenges for California.  At California's current annual growth
rate of 2 percent, California's population is expected to reach 64
million people by 2035.  Waste generation is estimated to nearly
double in the same period. This requires a long-term strategic plan
for sustainability.
    (3) According to the California Integrated Waste Management Board,
as of December 31, 2001, California's remaining capacity at
permitted and operational landfills was only 35 years.  In urban
areas, there were only 12 years of remaining capacity in landfills,
and in the Los Angeles area there were only nine years of remaining
landfill capacity.
    (4) California's natural beauty and tourism are threatened as we
site landfills near our national parks and in the middle of large
population centers alike.
    (b) The Legislature also finds and declares all of the following:

    (1) A zero waste goal is essential in strategically managing
discards.
    (A) Zero waste seeks to redesign the way that resources and
materials flow through society by taking a "whole system" approach.
It is both an "end of pipe" solution that maximizes recycling and
waste minimization and a design principle that ensures that products
are made to be reused, repaired, or recycled back into nature or the
marketplace.
    (B) Zero waste envisions the complete redesign of the industrial
system so that natural resources are not viewed as an endless supply
of materials for making into products that break down within a period
and are then discarded into landfills or incinerators.
    (C) Zero waste is a target for all sectors of society to aim for,
one that resets the compass so that governments, communities, and
businesses do not base their viability on needless use of limited
natural resources.
    (2) A zero waste goal helps improve economic prosperity through
improved environmental performance, using the strategy of waste
reduction with zero waste as the ideal long-term goal.  This approach
leads to lower cost of resources, energy, and waste management;
higher morale; and improved community image.
    (A) In two reports to the board in January 2002, based on studies
conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, and the National
Recycling Coalition, it was concluded that when material is diverted
rather than disposed of in landfills, all of the following occurs:
    (i) Sales or public outlays, or both, more than double, to 212
percent.
    (ii) Income increases by more than half, to 165 percent.
    (iii) Value-added nearly doubles, to 177 percent.
    (iv) Jobs nearly double, to 190 percent.
    (B) Findings from both studies show the following economic
benefits of diversion:
    (i) Solid waste diversion is a big business, comparable with other
large industries in California.
    (ii) Diversion has a bigger impact per ton on the economy than
disposal.
    (iii) The statewide economic impacts from diversion are nearly the
same or higher than the impacts from disposal.
    (3) The board has adopted a zero waste goal and states in its 2001
Strategic Plan, "our aim is toward a zero-waste philosophy which
focuses on the most efficient use of our natural resources in order
to reduce waste and protect the environment.  The Board is committed
to working in partnership with local government, private businesses,
and product manufacturers to develop a future modeled on resource
stewardship and waste minimization."
    (4) Businesses, organizations, and municipalities all over the
world have adopted a zero waste goal.  These include all of the
following:
    (A) The Hewlett Packard Company.
    (B) The Amdahl Corporation.
    (C) The Epson Corporation.
    (D) The Pillsbury Company.
    (E) The Xerox Corporation.
    (F) Fetzer Vineyards.
    (G) Del Mar Fairgrounds.
    (H) The Patagonia Corporation.
    (I) The Mad River Brewing Company.
    (J) The Collins & Aikman Corporation.
    (K) The Interface Corporation.
    (L) Zanker Road Landfill.
    (M) Namibian Breweries, Tsumeb, Namibia (a ZERI project in
southern Africa).
    (N) Brewers of Ontario, Canada.
    (O) Del Norte County.
    (P) San Luis Obispo County.
    (Q) Santa Cruz County.
    (R) The City of Seattle, Washington.
    (S) The Australian Capital Territory of Canberra (No Waste by
2010).
    (T) New Zealand.  More than one-third of New Zealand communities
have adopted zero waste goals.
    (c) Therefore, the Legislature finds and declares the following:
    (1) Zero waste is the goal for the State of California.
    (2) Strategic plans and long-term strategies of the California
Integrated Waste Management Board, and implementation of those plans
and strategies, should include a zero waste goal.



Gary Liss
916-652-7850
Fax: 916-652-0485

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