BILL NUMBER: ACR 105INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Quirk SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 Relative to No Waste November. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 105, as introduced, Quirk. No Waste November. This measure would designate the month of November 2015 as No Waste November, an education and outreach period for the promotion of a zero waste lifestyle. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, Americans recycled and composted almost 87 million tons of the approximately 251 million tons of trash generated in 2012, equivalent to a 34.5 percent recycling rate; and WHEREAS, In 2012, each American, on average, recycled and composted 1.51 of the 4.38 pounds of waste generated per person per day; and WHEREAS, Americans recycled and composted about 72 million more tons of material in 2012 than in 1980, preventing the release of approximately 168 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions into the air, comparable to taking over 33 million cars off the road for a year; and WHEREAS, The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires cities and counties to reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost all discarded materials to the maximum extent feasible before any landfilling or other destructive disposal method is used; and WHEREAS, The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 mandates that all California jurisdictions achieve a 50 percent diversion rate by 2000, and sets a state policy goal of a 75 percent diversion rate by 2020; and WHEREAS, About one-half of the waste generated in California is source reduced, recycled, or composted, but California still disposes of about 37 million tons of waste in landfills and through other disposal methods; and WHEREAS, A zero waste lifestyle goes beyond just recycling and takes a system-wide approach that involves maximizing recycling, minimizing waste, reducing consumption, and ensuring products are made to be reused, repaired, or recycled back into nature or the marketplace; and WHEREAS, No Waste November is a month-long education and outreach period for the promotion of a zero waste lifestyle that will cover topics such as water waste, organic waste, energy waste, recycling, and the reuse of products; and WHEREAS, No Waste November will involve businesses, local governments, and communities and will educate adults and children in a variety of locations, including, but not limited to, homes, places of work, schools, parks, and neighborhoods; and WHEREAS, The lessons learned during No Waste November are intended to form the basis of a long-lasting education that Californians will continue to use in their everyday lives after the month ends; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby proclaims the month of November 2015 as No Waste November; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.