TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Alexandria Latragna, Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consider Approving Letters of Support Regarding Senate Bill 54 (Allen) and Assembly Bill 1080 (Gonzalez) - California Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act (City Manager Moe).
AUTHORIZE LETTERS OF SUPPORT
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the Mayor to sign a letter of support to the California State Senate and the State Assembly regarding Senate Bill 54 (Allen) and Assembly Bill 1080 (Gonzalez) - California Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act.
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
Senate Bill (SB) 54, introduced by Senator Ben Allen, and Assembly Bill (AB) 1080, introduced by Assembly Member Lena Gonzalez, are identical bills that direct the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to establish a comprehensive framework to address plastic pollution and waste.
California's solid waste and recycling industries are facing a series of critical issues. First among these challenges are changes in China's trade import policies. These changes are collectively referred to as "National Sword" and have significantly disrupted California's recycling industry by restricting foreign imports of recyclable materials and increasing the requirements that aim to reduce contamination levels in recycling streams.
International markets have served as a key component of California's recycling infrastructure system. Since the change in China's policy, materials including plastics and paper are piling up at local waste facilities across the state with no place to go. This has caused increased costs to local governments, slowdowns in waste processing of other materials, and public health...
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