42375.
(a) By January 1, 2025, the California Environmental Protection Agency shall establish a working group made up of the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the Ocean Protection Council. The working group shall be staffed by the state board and shall establish a framework for evaluating novel material types as they are developed in order to inform policy decisions designed to create a more sustainable and circular economy.(b) In developing the framework, the working group shall do all of the following:
(1) Ensure the framework can be used as a comparative tool to assess novel material types to determine potential impacts to human health and the environment. environment, and assess the ease with which those material types can be readily recycled, composted, or reused. The framework shall enable an assessment and categorization based on the full life cycle of representative finished products made from those novel material types, including, but not limited to, the material’s source
source, production, distribution, and its end-of-life properties. The framework shall enable a comparative analysis of material life cycles, including comparing the life cycle impacts of novel materials to similar life cycles of the same type of finished products made from a variety of materials, including, but not limited to, fossil fuel-based plastic, paper, and, where possible, other natural materials like bamboo, sugar cane, agave, and pasta.
(2) Consider trade-offs between sustainability objectives and risks, including, but not limited to, greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater
and energy usage,
natural resources depletion, impacts to public health, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities, and pollution.
(3) Consult with scientists, academic experts in this sector, industry innovators, environmental advocacy organizations, and environmental justice advocates. advocates, and local agencies responsible for solid waste management, recycling, and composting.
(4) Review existing scientific data, research, and testing methodologies.
(c) The working group shall also develop a set of recommendations to recommendations, including, but not limited to, potential scientific testing standards that could be used for certifying new materials. These recommendations shall inform state policy related to novel material types, including, but not limited to, appropriate marketing of the material, how the material is handled at the end of its useful life, and how the material needs to be treated in relation to existing state policies, rules, and
regulations.