Amended  IN  Assembly  May 05, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2287

Introduced by Assembly Members Eggman and Ting

February 14, 2020

An act to amend Sections 42356 and 42357 of the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2287, as amended, Eggman. Solid waste: plastic products: certification.
Existing law prohibits a person from selling a plastic product in the state that is labeled with the term “compostable,” “home compostable,” or “marine degradable” unless, at the time of sale, the plastic product meets the applicable ASTM standard specification or the Vincotte OK Compost HOME certification, as provided. Existing law prohibits the sale of a plastic product that is labeled as “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decomposable,” and prohibits implying that a plastic product will break down, fragment, biodegrade, or decompose in a landfill or other environment, unless the plastic product meets one of several specified standards relating to environmental marketing claims.
This bill would repeal the provision that conditionally prohibits the sale of a plastic product that is labeled “marine degradable.” The bill would authorize the Director of Resources Recycling and Recovery to issue guidelines for determining whether a plastic product is not compliant with these labeling requirements, and whether a plastic product is designed, pigmented, or advertised in a manner that is misleading to consumers. The bill would authorize the director Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to adopt a specified standard for biodegradable mulch film plastic plastic, or a standard that is equivalent to, or more stringent than, that standard, and would authorize the sale of commercial agricultural mulch film, as defined, labeled with the term “soil biodegradable” only if the commercial agricultural mulch film meets, is certified to meet, and the director department adopts, that specified standard. The bill would authorize the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to adopt regulations for plastic product labeling to ensure that plastic products labeled “compostable,” “home compostable,” or “marine degradable” are clearly distinguishable upon quick inspection by consumers and solid waste processing facilities. The bill would update the name of a specified certification for home compost and the name of the organization that developed that certification and would make other conforming changes.

Existing law requires a manufacturer or supplier of plastic products, upon the request of a member of the public, to submit to that member, within 90 days of the request, information and documentation demonstrating compliance with the labeling requirements described above.

This bill would require a person who sells a plastic product in the state that is labeled with the term “compostable,” “home compostable,” or “soil biodegradable” to, upon the request of a member of the public, demonstrate to that person that the product has been certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute or a recognized third-party independent verification body that has been approved by the director.

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

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 42356 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

42356.
 For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a) “ASTM” means the ASTM International.
(b) (1) “ASTM standard specification” means one either of the following:
(A) The ASTM Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics D6400, as published in September 2004, except as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 42356.1.

(B)The ASTM Standard Specification for Non-Floating Biodegradable Plastics in the Marine Environment D7081, as published in August 2005, except as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 42356.1.

(C)

(B) The ASTM Standard Specification for Biodegradable Plastics Used as Coatings on Paper and Other Compostable Substrates D6868, as published in August 2003, except as specified in subdivision (c) of Section 42356.1.
(2) “ASTM standard specification” does not include an ASTM Standard Guide, a Standard Practice, or a Standard Test Method.
(c) “Department” means the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
(d) “Director” means the Director of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
(e) “Manufacturer” means a person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation that produces a plastic product.
(f) “OK compost HOME certification” means certification of conformity with the existing TUV Austria certification “OK compost HOME certification” which, as of January 1, 2011, uses European Norm 13432 standard adapted to low-temperature composting in accordance with the TUV Austria program “OK 2-Home Compostability of Products.”
(g) “Plastic product” means a product made of plastic, whether alone or in combination with other material, including, but not limited to, paperboard. A plastic product includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(1) (A) A consumer product.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “consumer product” means a product or part of a product that is used, bought, or leased for use by a person for any purpose.
(2) A package or a packaging component.
(3) A bag, sack, wrap, or other thin plastic sheet film product.
(4) A food or beverage container or a container component, including, but not limited to, a straw, lid, or utensil.
(h) “Supplier” means a person who does one or more of the following:
(1) Sells, offers for sale, or offers for promotional purposes, a plastic product that is used.
(2) Takes title to a plastic product, produced either domestically or in a foreign country, that is purchased for resale or promotional purposes.

SEC. 2.

 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 a plastic product in this state that is labeled with the term “compostable,” “home compostable,” or “marine degradable” “compostable” or “home compostable” unless, at the time of sale, the plastic product meets the applicable ASTM standard specification, as specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 42356, or, if applicable, the plastic 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 a plastic product in this state that is labeled with a qualified claim for a term specified in paragraph (1), if the plastic product meets the relevant standard adopted by the department pursuant to Section 42356.2.
(4) (A) A plastic product shall not be labeled with the term “home compostable” unless the manufacturer of that plastic 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 plastic 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 plastic product labeled with the term “home compostable” shall meet that standard and not the standard specified in subparagraph (A) or (B).
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (a) or (f), a person shall not sell a plastic 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 plastic 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 plastic product is not compliant with the labeling requirements of this section, and whether a plastic 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, including, but not limited to, compliance with the third-party certification requirements of subdivision (g), if applicable. 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 director 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.” 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 commercial agricultural mulch film labeled with the term “soil biodegradable” only if the director department has adopted the standard specification specification, or an equivalent or more stringent standard, pursuant to paragraph (1) and the commercial agricultural mulch film meets is certified to meet that specification.
(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 who sells a plastic product in this state that is labeled with the term “compostable,” “home compostable,” or “soil biodegradable” shall, upon the request of a member of the public, demonstrate to that person that the product has been certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute or a recognized third-party independent verification body that has been approved pursuant to paragraph (2).

(2)For purposes of paragraph (1), the director may approve a recognized third-party independent verification body that has requirements that are equivalent to, or more stringent than, those required by the Biodegradable Products Institute.

(h)The department may adopt regulations for plastic product labeling to ensure that plastic products labeled “compostable,” “home compostable,” or “marine degradable” are clearly distinguishable upon quick inspection by consumers and solid waste processing facilities. The department, in adopting regulations pursuant to this subdivision, may consider the plastic product labeling requirements of other states, to maximize consistency with those requirements when possible.