TO: Board of Directors
FROM: Amanda Griffis, Supervising Environmental Resource Specialist
REPORT BY: Amanda Griffis, Supervising Environmental Resource Specialist
SUBJECT: Approval of AB 1812 Support Letter and Authorization for Chair to Sign
RECOMMENDATION
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APPROVAL OF AB 1812 SUPPORT LETTER AND AUTHORIZATION FOR CHAIR TO SIGN
DISCUSSION AND REQUESTED ACTION: Agency Manager requests approval of a letter in support of AB 1812 (Aguiar-Curry) Solid waste: compostable products and authorization for the Chair to sign the letter.
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BACKGROUND
Local governments have been working in good faith to implement the sweeping requirements of SB 1383 which mandates the collection and processing of organic materials at an unprecedented scale. Cities and counties have invested substantial public resources to establish new or expand existing collection programs, amend contracts, secure responsible end markets, educate residents and businesses, and conduct enforcement.
California's organics recycling system processes approximately 12 million tons of yard trimmings and food scraps (organic waste) annually, but this system depends on uncontaminated organic waste streams. These efforts are undermined when non-compostable materials enter the system. Plastic and "compostable plastic" contamination in the compost stream increases processing costs, degrades compost quality, leads to rejected loads and landfilling, and jeopardizes the ability to meet procurement requirements, threatening the viability of organic waste recycling programs and the markets that depend on high-quality finished compost. Removing contamination from composting streams already accounts for over 20% of compost production costs, and compostable plastics exacerbate this problem. Because they are indistinguishable from conventional plastics in a high-volume setting, "compostable" plastics cannot be reliably sorted by hand or mechanically. Instead, all plastics are removed to protect the quality of the ...
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