HB 143-ADVANCED RECYCLING AND FACILITIES  4:09:14 PM CHAIR SUMNER announced that the next order of business would be HB 143, "An Act relating to the Department of Environmental Conservation; relating to advanced recycling and advanced recycling facilities; relating to waste; and providing for an effective date." 4:09:21 PM REPRESENTATIVE TOM MCKAY, Alaska State Legislature, introduced HB 143, on behalf of the sponsor, the House Resources Standing Committee, of which Representative McKay serves as chair. He stated that HB 143 would create a regulatory framework for a new industry known as "advanced recycling." He stated that current recycling processes are only able to recycle 10 percent of collected plastic, and the proposed bill would clarify state statute to allow for advanced recycling. He noted that 23 other states have passed similar legislation. 4:11:06 PM TREVOR JEPSEN, Staff, Representative Tom McKay, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor, the House Resources Standing Committee, of which Representative McKay serves as chair, gave a PowerPoint presentation, titled "HB 143: Advanced Recycling" [hard copy included in the committee packet]. He began on slide 2 through slide 6 and stated that advanced recycling is a relatively new technology which would allow the industry to recycle plastics it currently does not have the ability to recycle. He explained that chemicals are used to recycle post-use plastics into petroleum-based products which can be used to create new chemical building blocks, plastic additives, waxes, lubricants, and feedstock for new plastics. He said that advanced recycling uses gasification, pyrolysis, and solvolysis to break down the plastics, and he showed a chart displaying the pyrolysis process. 4:15:44 PM MR. JEPSEN continued to slide 7 through slide 11 and stated that advanced recycling is necessary because of the low amount of plastics which are able to be recycled, and this does not include plastic which ends up as waste or pollution. The bill would incentivize markets to reuse products, preserve resources, and allow waste to be reused. He said that there is an estimated $70.2 million economic benefit for advanced recycling. The proposed bill would allow the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to develop regulations, define terms, and stipulate the advanced recycling facilities be regulated as manufacturing facilities, not waste disposal facilities. 4:19:16 PM MR. JEPSEN gave the sectional analysis for HB 143, on behalf of the House Resources Standing Committee, of which Representative McKay serves as chair, which read as follows [hard copy included in the committee packet]: Section 1: Amends the section to include the new nonresident postsecondary student license. Section 2: Adds a new subsection allowing for nonresident students who are enrolled half-time or part-time in postsecondary education to purchase a special nonresident postsecondary student license for sport fishing, hunting, or trapping at the same cost as a resident license. Section 3: Provides uncodified law that allows the Department of Fish and Game to adopt regulations to implement to the new license. Section 4: Provides for an effective date. Section 5: Provides for an effective date 4:20:07 PM CRAIG COOKSON, Senior Director, Plastics Sustainability, American Chemistry Council, provided invited testimony on HB 143. He stated that the American Chemistry Council represents over 200 companies and supports HB 143. The ability to mechanically recycle objects such as milk jugs, water bottles, and certain tub lids has existed for years, but objects such as snack wrappers are more difficult to mechanically recycle. He said that using advanced recycling, also known as chemical recycling, provides the opportunity to recycle materials which are more difficult to recycle, and companies, such as Wendy's and Under Armor, are selling products made with recycled plastic. He noted that 24 other states and the federal government regulate advanced recycling plants with the same regulations as manufacturing plants. 4:23:30 PM REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked how viable the industry would be in Alaska. MR. JEPSEN, in response, argued that, even if the industry is not yet viable in Alaska, it is necessary to have the regulations in place for when it does become viable. MR. COOKSON added that many companies are pledging to increase their usage of recycled materials, and some states are mandating certain amounts of products be recycled. He added that members of the American Chemistry Council have invested $7 billion in advanced recycling. 4:26:36 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked whether other states include regulations for water and air emissions in similar legislation. MR. COOKMAN answered that HB 143 is very similar to advanced recycling legislation passed in other states, leaving these types of regulations up to the respective environmental conservation departments. He added that advanced recycling facilities have been found to have very low emissions. In response to a follow-up question, he said that defining advanced recycling as a manufacturing facility is more appropriate for the process than the current practice. REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked how a company wishing to use the advanced recycling process would be permitted under current statute. 4:32:19 PM CHRISTINA CARPENTER, Director, Division of Environmental Health, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), stated that ADEC has not currently issued any permits for advanced recycling facilities, although it has the authority to do so. 4:33:24 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked whether ADEC would be able to inform companies what the regulatory framework would be like. MS. CARPENTER answered yes. MR. JEPSEN added that the bill would provide clarification for potential investors. 4:34:24 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked how much plastic material is recycled in Alaska. MR. JEPSEN expressed uncertainty. In response to a follow-up question, he said that he would follow up with the total recycling numbers to the committee. 4:35:41 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked whether there are specific companies looking to invest in Alaska. MR. JEPSEN answered that many large chemical and oil companies, such as ExxonMobil, are looking at investment in advanced recycling. MR. COOKMAN added that he is unaware about Alaska specifically, and the purpose of the bill is to create the regulatory framework needed to attract investment. 4:38:25 PM CHAIR SUMNER announced that HB 143 was held over.