California Integrated Waste Management Board 1 Update And Request For Direction On The Determination Of The Co- Mingled Recycling Rate For The At-Store Recycling Programs Under AB 2449 Board Meeting Item 7 November 13, 2007 Neal Johnson

California Integrated Waste Management Board 2 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Summary of Activities Board Approved Notice For Permanent Regulations (September 2007) Co-Mingled Recycling Rate Scope of Work Prepared Draft Scope of Work Met with Dept of Conservation California Conservation Corps California State University Staff Test Bale Sort Met with Industry Stakeholders (October 2007) Board Direction on Recycling Rate (November 2007)

California Integrated Waste Management Board 3 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Current Emergency Regulations Plastic Carryout Bag Definition Same as Definition in Public Resources Code Only Stores Provide Carryout Bags Stores Are Supermarkets and Pharmacies Bags Must Have Return to Participating Store Text Co-Mingled Recycling Rate Percentage of Plastic Carryout Bags in All Film Plastic Materials Recycled by Stores Allows Calculation of Percentage of Plastic Carryout Bags Recycled Compared with Plastic Carryout Bag Generated

California Integrated Waste Management Board 4 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Store Operator Reporting Requirement Emergency Regulations Annual Report Due by April 1 Weight of Plastic Carryout Bag Purchased Weight of Plastic Carryout Bags Recycled OR Weight of All Film Plastic Materials Recycled Board Will Apply Co-Mingled Recycling Rate to All Film Plastic to Estimate Carryout Bags Recycled Public Resources Code “Collection, Transport and Recycling” Records “Make Records Available to the Board upon Request”

California Integrated Waste Management Board 5 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Measures Of Program Success Public Resources Code Law Is Not Consistent In Use of Term “Plastic Carryout Bags” No Criteria For or Specific Measure of Program Success Regulations Annual Reports Submitted to Board Plastic Carryout Bags Purchased Plastic Carryout Bags Recycled OR All Film Plastic Materials Recycled CIWMB Calculates Percentage of Plastic Carryout Bags Recycled

California Integrated Waste Management Board 6 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Bale Sorting Trial Sacramento Recycler September 2007 Two 1-Ton “Sandwich” Bales from Major Retailer Sorting Categories Plastic Carryout Bags Other Plastic Shopping Bags Other Plastic Bags Non-Bag Film Plastic Rigid/Durable Plastics

California Integrated Waste Management Board 7 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Bale Sorting Trial Equal Amounts of “Plastic Carryout” Bags and “Non-Regulated Shopping” Bags Sorters Do Not Know Which Businesses Are Stores Sorting Regulated from Non-Regulated Shopping Bags More than Triples Time To Sort Most “Other Plastic” Bags Were Not From Customer Drop-Offs

California Integrated Waste Management Board 8 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Stakeholder Expectations Stores are the Infrastructure for Customer Recycling of Plastic Carryout Bags and Non- Regulated Shopping Bags Stores Should Receive Credit For Their Recycling of Bags Co-mingled Rate Would Reduce Costs to Track and Report Carryout Bags Separately

California Integrated Waste Management Board 9 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Issues Co-Mingled Recycling Rate Is Based on Sampling Data Pilot Study Very Difficult to Determine Which Bags Are Plastic Carryout Bags as Defined Which Businesses Are Regulated Stores? Operators May Have Regulated Stores And Unregulated Locations Generic Bags (No Store Name)

California Integrated Waste Management Board 10 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Issues Measure Recycling Rate for Regulated Store Carryout Bags only? Could compare Recycling to Generation for Regulated Store Plastic Carryout Bags High Cost/Difficult to Sort Fewer Samples/Accuracy Issues Regulated and Non-Regulated Shopping Bags? Would Recognize Increased Recycling of All Shopping Bags Lower Cost/Easier to Sort More Samples/Higher Accuracy

California Integrated Waste Management Board 11 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Conclusions Very Difficult and Costly to Separate Plastic Carryout Bags From Non- Regulated Shopping Bags Stores Are Recycling Plastic Carryout and Non-Regulated Shopping Bags Customers Think a Bag is a Bag is a Bag When Recycling

California Integrated Waste Management Board 12 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Conclusions Combining Plastic Carryout and Non- Regulated Shopping is a Better Measure of Amount of Plastic Bags Recycled by Customers If Co-Mingled Rate includes All Shopping Bags, Will Not Know the “Recycling Rate” of Regulated Store Plastic Carryout Bags Board Direction Needed

California Integrated Waste Management Board 13 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate Staff Recommendation Adopt Option 1: Calculate 2007 Co- Mingled Recycling Rate Using Both “Plastic Carryout” Bags as Defined and “Non-Regulated Shopping” Bags

California Integrated Waste Management Board 14 Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Rate