Senate Bill 420, which will require the California Department of Transportation to use recycled aggregates in state paving projects unless it is economically unfeasible, has been signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The bill was proposed to the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality by the Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA), and vigorously supported by the CMRA Issues & Education Fund on its march through the legislature. CMRA members testified in front of various committees and talked with legislators to gain support for the bill, which will increase the use of recycled aggregates in the state.
“Not only is this bill good for recyclers,” says William Turley, executive director, CMRA and associate publisher of Construction & Demolition Recycling. “It also is good for the taxpayers in the state because in most parts of California recycled aggregates for roadbase are priced lower than natural aggregate, or at least the same price, and they are almost always nearer to the project so trucking needs are reduced.”
Jim O’Neill of Dan Copp Crushing, Anaheim, Calif., and a legislative director for the CMRA in California adds that using more recycled aggregates will help the California economy. Natural aggregates in Southern California and the Bay Area are shipped in from out of the country via barge or rail because there are little if any natural deposits available in those areas. “But recycling means that local employers will have local workers, and all will be paying taxes to our state instead of a foreign country while working in an environmentally friendly industry,” says O’Neill.
The complete text of the bill is available at www.leginfo.ca.gov.