God Bless Governor Schwarzenegger!
Why do you ask! Because he knows how important the eco footprint California leaves behind is his legacy and ours. After months of lobbying against SB (bill) 1454 which would prohibit any plastics that are biodegradable to say they are biodegradable, it finally got stopped on the very last day. This bill is two years in the making, the assembly members and senators of California all let this go through, why because their fellow democrat created it. This to me was a big lesson in politicians and bureaucratic BS. I was told that once we started explaining this bill to them they became aware and concerned with its implications to California. We need to keep this state friendly to the possibilities of doing ECO business, not push companies away like this law would have done. The irony is that BPI, Biodegradable Products Institute launched this campaign because they believe they have title ownership over the word Biodegradable - which in there case is strictly Compostable. But lets face it composting, while it is one viable option does not offer the convenience for plastic bottles options. Corn based products are compostable and the only way for them to break down is only in a commercial composter which takes 90 days to breakdown. There are companies that use these kinds of bottles, and they have to provide services to collect these bottles and bring them to a composter. Now we hear the composters are complaining that even then the bottles aren’t breaking down fast enough. The solutions have improved and with it come products using an organic additive called Eco-Pure, used in all kinds of products. This additive allows plastics using it to breakdown in a highly microbial environment anywhere from 1-5 years. The beauty is however, that bottles using Eco-pure can also be recycled and put back into the recycling stream. BPI waged a campaign to not allow these types of products on the market to educate people about how they are in fact biodegradable. And the people have spoken! Since July we’ve been campaigning against it. We formed a coalition called the Environmental Plastics Coalition with several California companies, we asked all of you to write letters to the Senators and Assembly Members, and when they turned a blind eye and either didn’t vote ( which counts as a no vote) or just voted status quo - we watched as this unqualified, unconstitutional law made it through the system all the way to our esteemed governor. This is his last week to pass bills. I was told he had about 1900 bills to go through. If he didn’t see them all, then they would automatically become law. But he didn’t do that, he heard the facts about the bill, his aids read all of our letters to the Governor about why this was an incomplete bill and would hurt California and he responded. This is what he said:
To the Members of the California State Senate:
I am returning Senate Bill 1454 without my signature.
This bill greatly expands existing environmental labeling requirements for plastic bags and plastic food and beverage containers to apply to virtually any and all types of plastic products.
I have signed into law the author’s SB 228, which requires manufacturers of compostable plastic bags meeting specific American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) standards to ensure that the bag is readily and easily identifiable from other plastic bags. I think that bill represents a reasonable next step in providing information to the consumer and recyclers about the differences in biodegradable products.
I am concerned about the much more expansive universe of plastic products that this bill would regulate and the unforeseen consequences that could result from such a vast expansion.
For this reason, I am unable sign this bill.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
And with that our industry, our perseverance and our dedication to moving forward in the right direction has been rewarded. To that I say God Bless the Governor.
However, a new day will dawn and now the fight will continue. The FTC has members of the BPI team on their counsel as they make new guidelines for labeling biodegradability and they are in the process of creating those guidelines. We have time to make an impact and create a more standardized test that will create the ability to test all products to see if they are biodegradable or not.
As creators of our reality, we can stand up and make a difference. Our passion, our drive and our dedication to the highest good can succeed. Remember the higher frequencies are what will prevail in the coming years. Keep on going after your dreams, sometimes they do in fact come true! And please continue to buy our delicious water because our container are 100% Recyclable and Biodegradable! We are on special at all Albertsons stores in California! $1.49, now how does it get any better than that!