Bill Text: CA SB1232 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 1232 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Solid waste: products: labeling: biodegradability.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-19 - May 19 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1232 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB1232-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate March 29, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1232

Introduced by Senator Allen

February 17, 2022

An act to amend Section 42357 of, and to add Section 42357.1 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1232, as amended, Allen. Solid waste: products: labeling: biodegradability.

Existing law prohibits the sale or offering for sale of a product that is labeled as “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decomposable,” and prohibits implying that a product will break down, fragment, biodegrade, or decompose in a landfill or other environment, unless the product meets one of several specified standards relating to environmental marketing claims.

This bill would additionally allow a manufacturer to make a claim that a product is “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decomposable” if the product, among other things, does not contain an intentionally added ingredient determined by the ~~Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery~~ Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to present a risk to human health from dermal or oral exposure or if the ~~department~~ office, in consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, determines, with respect to a specific product, material, or ingredient, that there is competent and reliable evidence supporting a claim that it is “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decomposable.”

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

Section 42357 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

42357.

(a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), a person shall not sell or offer for sale a product in this state that is labeled with the term “compostable” or “home compostable” unless, at the time of sale or offering for sale, the product meets the applicable ASTM standard specification, as specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 42356, or, if applicable, the product has OK compost HOME certification, as provided in paragraph (4).

(2) Compliance with only a section or a portion of a section of an applicable ASTM standard specification does not constitute compliance with paragraph (1).

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a person may sell or offer for sale a product in this state that is labeled with a qualified claim for a term specified in paragraph (1), if the product meets the relevant standard adopted by the department pursuant to Section 42356.2.

(4) (A) A product shall not be labeled with the term “home compostable” unless the manufacturer of that product holds OK compost HOME certification with regard to that product, except as provided in subparagraph (B) or (C).

(B) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the ASTM adopts a standard specification for the term “home compostable” on or before January 1, 2016, and the department determines that the ASTM standard specification is at least equal to, or more stringent than, the OK compost HOME certification, a product labeled with the term “home compostable” shall meet that ASTM standard specification. The department may also take the actions specified in Section 42356.1 with regard to an ASTM standard for home compostability.

(C) If the department adopts a standard pursuant to Section 42356.2, a product labeled with the term “home compostable” shall meet the standard adopted by the department and not the standard specified in subparagraph (A) or (B).

(b) Except as provided in subdivision (a) or (f), or in Section 42357.1, a person shall not sell or offer for sale a product in this state that is labeled with the term “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decomposable,” or any form of those terms, or in any way imply that the product will break down, fragment, biodegrade, or decompose in a landfill or other environment.

(c) The director may issue guidelines, consistent with this chapter, for determining whether a product is not compliant with the labeling requirements of this section, and whether a product is designed, pigmented, or advertised in a manner that is misleading to consumers.

(d) A manufacturer or supplier, upon the request of a member of the public, shall submit to that member, within 90 days of the request, information and documentation demonstrating compliance with this chapter, in a format that is easy to understand and scientifically accurate.

(e) A product that is in compliance with this chapter shall not, solely as a result of that compliance, be deemed to be in compliance with any other applicable marketing requirement or guideline established under state law or by the Federal Trade Commission.

(f) (1) The department may adopt the European Committee for Standardization’s standard specification EN 17033:2018 entitled “Plastics—Biodegradable mulch films for use in agriculture and horticulture—Requirements and test methods” or may adopt a standard that is equivalent to, or more stringent than, that standard, as it read on January 1, 2020.

(2) A person may sell or offer for sale commercial agricultural mulch film labeled with the term “soil biodegradable” only if the department has adopted the standard specification, or an equivalent or more stringent standard, pursuant to paragraph (1) and the commercial agricultural mulch film is certified to meet both that specification and the ASTM standard specification for compostability.

(3) For purposes of this subdivision, “commercial agricultural mulch film” means film plastic that is used only as a technical tool in commercial farming applications.

(g) (1) A person shall not sell or offer for sale a product in this state that is labeled with the term “compostable” or “home compostable” unless the product satisfies all of the following:

(A) If any standard specification is applicable to the product pursuant to this chapter and the department has approved a third-party certification entity to certify products according to that standard specification, the product shall have certification that it meets at least one such standard from an approved third-party certification entity for the standard. This requirement shall only apply on and after January 1, 2024, and it shall not apply unless there is, and has been for at least one year immediately prior to the product being sold or offered for sale, a third-party certification entity approved by the department to provide the applicable certification.

(B) On and after January 1, 2026, is an allowable agricultural organic input under the requirements of the United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program. By January 1, 2024, the department, through a public stakeholder process, shall determine whether, for purposes of this section, it would be feasible to separate the collection of products in order to recover organic waste that is suitable for use in organic agricultural applications from the collection of products not suitable for use in organic agricultural applications. If the department determines that such bifurcation is feasible and would enable efficient processing by solid waste processing facilities, the department shall adopt regulations on or before January 1, 2026, to establish a bifurcated approach, and products that are not collected for the purpose of recovering organic waste that is suitable for use in organic agricultural applications shall comply with the department’s regulations and are not subject to the requirements of this subparagraph. The director may grant a five-year extension for complying with this requirement if either of the following apply:

(i) The product or substance has or will soon be, as determined by the director, included as allowed on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (Sections 205.600 to 205.607, inclusive, of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations).

(ii) The product or substance has or will soon be, as determined by the director, included as an allowable organic input for compost under federal law.

(C) Does not have a total organic fluorine concentration of greater than 100 parts per million, unless the department adopts a different standard that it determines would more effectively limit the presence of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances.

(D) Is labeled in a manner that distinguishes the product from a noncompostable product upon reasonable inspection by consumers and to help enable efficient processing by solid waste processing facilities.

(E) Is designed to be associated with the recovery of desirable organic wastes, such as food scraps and yard trimmings, that are collected for composting, unless the product complies with the department’s regulations pursuant to subparagraph (B), to the extent the department elects to adopt such regulations.

(2) The department may adopt regulations for determining whether products comply with the requirements of subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1). The department, in adopting regulations pursuant to this subdivision, may consider whether the regulations are consistent with the product labeling requirements of other states, stakeholder input, and industry-standard guidelines. The regulations may include requirements that products are not designed, pigmented, or advertised in a manner that is misleading to consumers.

SEC. 2.

Section 42357.1 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

42357.1.

A manufacturer may make a claim that a product is “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decomposable” if either of the following is satisfied:

(a) All of the following requirements have been met:

(1) The product, and its contents if the product is a package or container, does not contain an intentionally added ingredient, as defined in Section 108952 of the Health and Safety Code, that is any of the following:

(A) Identified on a designated list, as defined in Section 108952 of the Health and Safety Code, because it presents a risk to human health from dermal or oral exposure.

(B) Identified on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances as a prohibited nonsynthetic substance for use in organic agriculture or livestock due to its potential environmental harm (Sections 205.602 and 205.604 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations).

(C) Determined by the ~~department~~ Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to present a risk to human health from dermal or oral exposure when present in a product labeled as “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decomposable.”

(2) The product, including its label and closure system if applicable, and its contents if the product is a package or container, is exclusively composed of nonsynthetic organic materials as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Guidance on the Classification of Materials (NOP 5033), notwithstanding the presence of any mineral fillers or mineral additives, or up to 10 percent synthetic substances by product weight that comply with paragraphs (1), (3), and (4).

(3) The mineral content of the product does not exceed 25 percent of the product by weight.

(4) (A) Testing of the product, or a representative sample of the product, in laboratory conditions through respirometry in compliance with ASTM standard D6691-17, demonstrates that the product will be consumed by marine bacteria in no longer than five years.

(B) No more than six months following the replacement of withdrawn ASTM standard D7081-05, the product, or a representative sample of the product, has been demonstrated to biodegrade in laboratory conditions in accordance with the standard that replaces ASTM standard D7081-05.

(b) The ~~department~~ Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, in consultation with the department, determines, with respect to a specific product, material, or ingredient, that there is competent and reliable evidence supporting a claim that it is “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decomposable,” with or without qualifications on these terms. In making this determination, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall require that the specific product, material, or ingredient meets the requirements described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a).