cac 10/9 @12
rican...@aol.com
COUNTYWIDE INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT
CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE/ CRRA San Diego Chapter and Zero Waste San Diego Public Meeting MEETING NOTICE AND AGENDA
WHEN: Thursday, October 9, 2025 from 12:00 – 2:00 pm
This meeting will be in-person with the option for virtual attendance
PLEASE NOTE: floor and room change for in-person attendance County of San Diego, Department of Public Works
5510 Overland Ave
3rd Floor, Conference Room #371
(For access - please ring the C&D bell located at the County Surveyor counter) San Diego, CA 92123
MEETING LINK: Join the meeting now
Phone call in through Teams:
Call +1 619-343-2539 and enter the meeting ID 299 560 363 771#
Contact: Steve Weihe 858-694-2559
Submit Agenda Items to Chair Rick Anthony and County Staff Steve Weihe 2 weeks prior to the next meeting: RicAn...@aol.com and Steve...@sdcounty.ca.gov
Agenda
1. Welcome, Introductions and Attendance
2. Approval, Minutes September 2025
3. Chair’s Report
4. Staff Reports
a. Cities
b. County
c. Haulers
d. Non-Profits
5. Public Comments and Communication
6. Regional Planning Issues
a. Wasting Fee
7. Legislative Update
8. Roundtable
9. Adjournment
Minutes
Thursday, September 11, from 12:00-2:00 p.m.
1. Welcome, Introductions and Attendance
a. Chair
i. Stephen Mergener, Zero Waste San Diego* (*in-person attendee)
ii. Ric Anthony, Zero Waste San Diego*
b. Guests
i. Steve Weihe, County of San Diego
ii. Eric Wolff, County of San Diego
iii. Ani Putnam, City of San Diego
iv. Ruth Janssen, I Love A Clean San Diego
v. Lotte Phoummavong, Goodwill Industries of San Diego
vi. Bob Hill, EDCO
vii. Oscar Gittemeier, City of San Diego Libraries
2. Eric Wolff – County of San Diego
a. Eric discussed how the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) is subject to Brown Act (open government). To be a voting member, attendees must
i. Be a member in good standing
1. Attend monthly meetings in person
a. Members are allowed to attend twice virtually. If members attend CAC meetings more than twice virtually, they are no longer considered a member, but are a guest (and cannot vote).
ii. The County and City of San Diego (and other jurisdictions) cannot be members.
iii. If the group wishes, the County can provide an annual refresher on the Brown Act requirements.
iv. Only active members are Ric and Stephen (per attendance)
v. Questions/comments
1. Chair – we (CAC) should be able to advise the Board of Supervisors. Chair believes that virtual attendance should be allowed and count towards being an voting member.
2. Chair - meeting with Board Office (unsure which district) on Monday 9/15 regarding the Wasting Fee.
A. Chair suggests DPW lead the allocation and spend of any monies collected from the Wasting Fee.
3. Approval, minutes from July 2025
a. Approved
4. Chair’s Report –
a. Captain Moore will be showing the Great Pacific Garbage Patch movie 9/16 at Pacific Beach Library – "The Great Pacific Garbage Patch" Film Screening and Panel Discussion
b. Global Zero Waste Forum in Turkey October 17-19, 2025
c. National Zero Waste USA Conference - https://zerowasteusa.org/event/national-zero-waste-conference-2025/ 10/22/25
i. Day one - spotlight on businesses
ii. Day two – spotlight on local government
d. National Recycling Congress - https://www.nrcrecycles.org/congress/ 10/1/25
i. Virtual option as well.
5. Staff reports
a. City of San Diego
i. Outreach
1. Measure B
a. Portal enrollment is live
b. 9/30/25 deadline to select bins and size https://www.sandiego.gov/environmental-services/trash-service-updates
2. CalRecycle grant
a. Will incorporate door to door outreach for multifamily complexes and target a total of 6,000 doors through 64 properties.
A. Handouts will include a kitchen pail, magnet and flyers on organic waste.
B. Targeted outreach to businesses
1. 180 total is the goal (with 85 already onboarded).
b. Fix It Clinics
A. Emily Creegan is lead; working on 9 events, one in each district.
c. Stephanie Ewalt is the lead for mattress recycling.
d. I Love A Clean San Diego – contract is pending.
b. County of San Diego
i. Site Visits
1. Actively visiting Tier I/II businesses (under SB 1383), commercial as well as multi-family residences to assist with recycling and organic waste educational outreach.
ii. Waivers
1. Reviews continue both on organic waste waiver exemptions and self-haul forms for recyclables.
iii. Outreach
1. Starting to give out kitchen pails to multifamily residents to help with the convenience of storage/transport. Bringing to tabling events.
2. Newly revised MFC bag designs have been approved and ordered; delivery anticipated by the end of the year.
3. Looking into agricultural plastics recycling options.
iv. Self-Haul
1. Some businesses have decided to stop self-hauling recyclables (too much work) and have switched back to cart/dumpster service.
c. Haulers
i. EDCO
1. In the process of building two more anaerobic digesters (AD) at their Escondido location
a. Will bring their digester capacity to 186,000 tons of organic waste once construction is completed in 2026.
2. Open to Lemon Grove MRF tour.
3. PET plastic – having difficulty moving materials (RPlanet Earth closed recently). Unknown if it will reopen.
4. Methane gas is being captured, cleaned and put into SDG&E grid. Goal is to use the CNG in their own trucks.
5. Currently, only taking materials from EDCO customers and franchised cities; may open up to non-EDCO customers in the future.
6. A local outlet for the digestate has been identified; AD process is constantly being refined to improve the end products.
7. Goodwill is partnering with EDCO for paper shredding events
a. Receiving around 1 ton of clothing donated at each event.
d. Non-profits
i. Zero Waste San Diego (ZWSD)
1. Reuse and Repair Collective- 611 Beech St. San Diego 92101
a. 9/25 is the grand opening (link above for info).
2. Zero Waste Symposium 2026
a. Tentatively scheduled for February 18, 2026
3. Fix-It Clincs
a. https://zerowastesandiego.org/sdfixitclinic/
A. Seven more are scheduled through the end of the year.
ii. Goodwill
1. Collection events have been busy
iii. I Love A Clean San Diego
1. Events https://www.cleansd.org/events/
iv. Sierra Club
1. Ric – they are working on a number of issues throughout the county.
v. League of Women Voters– No report
6. Public Comments and Communication
a. Attendees discussed
1. Oscar
a. Received sustainability funding in partnership with County libraries on food justice and food waste.
A. Would like to connect with others for tabling events.
7. Regional Planning issues
a. Wasting Fee discussion (from Chair)
i. Other counties are using a similar fee to pay for education; fee is only charged on waste (not recycle/organics).
1. Attended a recent Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting and participated in public comment (5 people spoke on the Wasting Fee topic).
2. One Board member asked if there were any textile recycling programs in San Diego county.
3. Ric and others will meet with BOS on Monday (9/15) on the Wasting Fee topic.
8. Legislative update (https://www.calpsc.org/legislation)
New 2025 bills introduced:
a. AB-762, Single-use Vaping Devices Sales Ban
This bill would prohibit, beginning January 1, 2026, a person from selling, distributing, or offering for sale a new or refurbished disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device in this state. The bill would define a “disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device” to mean a vaporization device that is not designed or intended to be reused, as specified.
Current Status: In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author; 04/29/2025.
b. AB-823, Solid waste: plastic microbeads.
This bill would, on and after January 1, 2027, prohibit a person from selling, distributing, or offering for promotional purposes in this state a cleaning product, as defined, or a personal care product in a rinse-off product, containing one ppm or more by weight of plastic microbeads that are used as an abrasive, as specified. The bill would, on and after January 1, 2028, prohibit a person from selling, distributing, or offering for promotional purposes in this state a coating, as defined, cleaning product, or personal care product, that contains one ppm or more by weight of plastic microbeads that are not used as an abrasive. Current Status: Passed Assembly and Senate. Enrolled and presented to the Governor.
c. AB-864, Hazardous waste: solar photovoltaic modules
This bill would exempt solar photovoltaic modules not identified as hazardous waste and treated as universal waste, as defined, from state hazardous waste regulations, if transferred to a designated recycler for legitimate recycling.
Current Status: Passed Assembly; in Senate. Ordered to inactive file at the request of Senator McNerney.
d. SB-45, Recycling: beverage containers: tethered plastic caps.
The bill would require, on and after January 1, 2027, beverage containers, as defined, intended for sale in this state, to have a cap that is tethered to the container that prevents the separation of the cap from the container when the cap is removed from the container by the consumer. (Rick spoke on this one).
Current Status: May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. 5/23/2025.
e. SB-501, Household Hazardous Waste Producer Responsibility Act
This bill would create a producer responsibility program for products containing household hazardous waste and would require a producer responsibility organization (PRO) to ensure the safe and convenient collection and management of covered products at no cost to consumers or local governments. The bill would define “covered product” to mean a consumer product that is ignitable, toxic, corrosive, or reactive, or that meets other specified criteria.
Current Status: May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. 5/23/2025.
f. SB-561 Hazardous waste: Emergency Distress Flare Safe Disposal Act. (Marine Flares)
This bill would create a manufacturer responsibility program for the safe and proper management of emergency distress flares. The bill would define “covered product” to include certain pyrotechnic devices that meet the criteria for household hazardous waste, as specified. The bill would require a manufacturer of a covered product, individually or through a manufacturer responsibility organization, to develop and management of covered products, as specified.
Current Status: Passed Senate; in Assembly. July 15 set for second hearing canceled at the request of author.
g. SB-615, Vehicle Traction Batteries
This bill would require a battery supplier, as defined, to be responsible for, among other duties, ensuring the responsible end-of-life management of a vehicle traction battery if it is removed from a vehicle that is still in service, as provided, or if the vehicle traction battery is offered or returned to its battery supplier, and reporting information regarding the sale, transfer, or receipt of a vehicle traction battery or module to the department, as provided.
Current Status: Passed Senate; in Assembly. Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry.
h. AB-80 Carpet recycling: product stewardship for carpet: fines
The act includes a product stewardship for carpet program and a successor carpet producer responsibility program. The product stewardship for carpet program requires a manufacturer of carpets sold in this state, individually or through a carpet stewardship organization, to submit a carpet stewardship plan to the department. The program authorizes the department to administratively impose a civil penalty of $25,000 per day on any person in violation of the program if the violation is intentional, knowing, or negligent.
Current Status: Passed Assembly; in Senate. In committee: Held under submission.
i. SB-353 Income tax: credits: food banks.
The Personal Income Tax Law
and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by
those laws, including, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2017,
and before January 1, 2027, a credit for qualified taxpayers in an
amount equal to 15% of the qualified value of fresh fruits or vegetables and
specified raw agricultural products or processed foods donated to a food bank.
This bill would extend the authorization for those tax credits indefinitely.
Current Status: Passed Senate; in Assembly. July 14 hearing: Retained in suspense file.
j. AB-998 Household hazardous waste: vape pens.
Under this bill, a vape pen confiscated by a school as contraband is presumed to have been generated by a household and does not lose its status as household hazardous waste when properly managed and disposed of at a household hazardous waste collection facility or through a household hazardous waste collection program.
Current Status: Passed Assembly; in Senate. In committee: Held under submission.
k. AB-1148 Food packaging: hazardous chemicals.
This bill would authorize the Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt regulations to restrict or prohibit the distribution, sale, or offering for sale in the state of food packaging that contains intentionally added antimony trioxide, bisphenols, or ortho-phthalates, as specified.
Current Status: Passed Assembly; in Senate. In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing cancelled at the request of the author.
l. Bills vetoed by the Governor (previous session):
i. SB 1066 -- EPR for Marine Flares
ii. SB 615 – End-of-life management for vehicle traction batteries
9. Roundtable
a. N/A
a. Federal Senate has approved a Recycling and a separate composting bill
i. S. 1194 Recycling and Composting A87ccountability Act
ii. S. 1189 Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2024 Passed Senate on 3/12/24.
10. Adjournment