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TO: Members, Senate Committee on Appropriations FROM: Southwest California Legislative Council SUBJECT: AB 904 (Feuer): Marine Debris - OPPOSE I OPPOSE AB 904 (Feuer), which would impose new and costly mandates on California’s food service industry by imposing an unworkable framework aimed at reducing marine debris. AB 904 would prohibit a food provider, as defined, from distributing disposable food service packaging to a consumer unless that disposable food service packaging is compostable or recyclable. Restaurants and other food providers make choices about food service packaging based on several criteria, including performance, cost, and customer preference. The performance issue is particularly troubling in that food service packaging must be able to withstand certain heat and moisture thresholds. The reason many packages contain various forms of plastics are to meet these specific performance expectations. AB 904 does not address the impact of prohibiting the sale of products that were created specifically for this purpose. While it is clear that there is a real problem with marine debris, we do not believe that this legislation really addresses the core problem. All that would be accomplished by AB 904 is a change in the content of the litter stream in California. Prohibiting a product from being sold does not change behaviors that lead to California’s litter problem.