A massive new legislative proposal in California to mandate recycling of luxury vinyl tile and other flooring is, in the eyes of the industry, asking too much, too soon. So plastic flooring makers came to a June 19 state Senate hearing hoping to slow it down.
But supporters, on the other hand, say it's a long-overdue effort to reduce the environmental impact of popular flooring material like LVT and push manufacturers to make their products much more recyclable.
A California Senate environment committee took a first look at the legislation June 19 and didn't come anywhere close to resolving those differences.
But the committee did vote 5-2 to move the legislation forward, setting up a summer of high-stakes negotiations with industry, environmentalists and lawmakers before the Legislature adjourns for the year Aug. 31.
The bill would create a first-in-the-U.S. extended producer responsibility program for resilient flooring, including vinyl, rubber and other flooring. Carpeting and synthetic turf would also be part of the EPR program.
The Resilient Floor Covering Institute, which represents makers of vinyl tile and other materials, argued at the Senate hearing that there wasn't enough time left in the legislative session to properly consider a complex new EPR scheme.
They said detailed legislative language was not made public until June 10.
"It would have been RFCI's hope and expectation to engage in some level of dialogue before a bill of this magnitude was put into print," said Anthony Samson, a lobbyist for RFCI and president of Samson Advisors in Sacramento.
He proposed that legislators, instead, wait for a report from the state agency CalRecycle assessing recycling needs in the flooring market and then have that agency recommend a plan to lawmakers to "establish the most effective program possible to address end-of-life management of resilient flooring."
"RFCI would stand ready at that time to work with Assembly Member [Cecilia] Aguiar Curry [the bill's author] and this committee through the course of a full legislative session to establish a program to work for manufacturers, consumers, recyclers and other entities throughout the supply chain," he said.
The bill sets a target of 25 percent recycling for synthetic flooring by 2030.
Similarly, a lobbyist for the synthetic turf industry echoed the flooring industry's concerns that the complexities of an EPR law will require more time from lawmakers.
"The industry is not opposed to recycling," said Greg Hurner, a lobbyist for the Synthetic Turf Council and president of Hurner Government Relations. "But we haven't even had an opportunity to find out whether we should be in the carpet program or set up our own program."
He said artificial turf is often made from polyethylene, while carpet is made from other plastics, complicating recycling efforts.
"There has to be a more thoughtful, deliberative process," Hurner said.