USA – Schwarzenegger terminates some plastics bills, signs others

Plastics Recycling Update reports that ringing a long, hard legislative session to an end, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a number of plastics-related bills that reached his desk, yet signed others.



Plastics Recycling Update reports that Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation, for the third year in a row, which would have required multi-family residences to offer recycling for tenants and struck down a key hazardous materials measure.



The California governor, however, signed legislation that would support funding for multi-family recycling, ban some kinds of plastics in children‘‘s toys and allow programs for the take-back of unused or expired pharmaceutical drugs. The governor said that he struck down AB 548 – mandating recycling at multi-family residences – because he feels recycling laws should be carried out by local governments. Schwarzenegger did, however, sign SB 1021, which extends multi-family recycling grants for another year, to 2008, and increases funding from $5 million to $15 million.



In another move sure to garner much attention, the governor signed AB 1108, which bans toys and baby products containing more than trace amounts of phthalates, a chemical linked to developmental problems in children. Similar bans have been enacted on the chemical in the European Union and 14 other nations. In a signing statement, the governor said he did not feel a "product-by-product" ban is an effective way to craft the state‘‘s chemical policy. Also relating to chemicals, SB 966 begins the process of developing programs to take back unused or expired pharmaceutical drugs, closing what some have called a conspicuous gap in hazardous chemicals management.



The governor also vetoed AB 48, a proposed expansion of provisions on Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) under the California Waste Recycling Act. As the measure was modeled after the EU RoHS Directive, Schwarzenegger specifically targeted parts of the bill that would have "deviated" from the EU approach in his veto message.



According to the governor, the legislation was "overly broad in its scope because it would prohibit the sale of potentially tens of thousands of electrical and electronic products."