Californians Against Waste 2007 Legislation Wrap-Up

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Mark Murray
Executive Director
Californians Against Waste

The 2007 legislative session is officially behind us, with mixed results. What began as the most ambitious year for waste reduction and recycling policy since 1989, ended on a decidedly sour note, with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoing the two most significant waste prevention and recycling bills that made it to his desk.

Governor Vetoes Legislation to Require Multifamily Recycling Opportunities

CAW-sponsored AB 548 (Levine) would have required apartment owners to provide recycling services to their tenants. In his veto message, the Governor cites significant costs as a deterrent in the legislation.

The legislation would have expanded recycling opportunities to the more than 7 million Californians living in apartments and other multifamily dwellings that still lack a basic recycling opportunity where they live.

CAW worked closely with the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), recyclers, local governments and apartment owners in crafting the legislation. The only known opponent was the California Apartment Owners Association.

Earlier this year the CIWMB identified expanded multifamily recycling as an important 'early action measure' to reduce GHG emissions, as well as increase recycling. AB 548 tracked that recommendation.

If Governor Schwarzenegger is unwilling to take the relatively modest step of requiring recycling at apartments, I'm perplexed as to how the Governor will make serious progress toward the State's more ambitious GHG emission reduction goals.

Toxic E-Waste Bill Vetoed

AB 48 (Saldana) would have prohibited the sale in California of electronic devices that contain certain hazardous materials, including lead and mercury, consistent with the European Union's RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances) directive by 2010. In his veto message, the Governor cited unexplained and ostensibly harmful consequences of the bill.

The provisions of AB 48 track a policy that's already been in place for 4 years in California on computer monitors and televisions, and which the Governor expanded earlier in the week by adding lighting products (AB 1109).