Portantino Bill Initiated by the Glendale Environmental Coalition to Tackle Waste Reduction in Schools Passes Senate Environmental Quality Committee
For Immediate Release: March 28, 2022
Contact: Lerna Shirinian, (818) 409-0400
Portantino Bill Initiated by the Glendale Environmental Coalition to Tackle Waste Reduction in Schools Passes Senate Environmental Quality Committee
Sacramento, CA - Senate Bill 1255, a measure introduced by Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) which seeks to reduce waste in K–12 schools and community colleges, passed the Senate Environmental Committee today. SB 1255 would establish a dishwasher grant program to address the state’s single-use trash and waste crisis. The idea for the bill was brought to Senator Portantino during by members of the Glendale Environmental Coalition.
“Right now we have no program in California dedicated to reducing single-use waste in our schools and installing commercial dishwashers can pave the way for safe and reusable food ware,” stated Senator Portantino. “It is time to implement effective and creative solutions to eliminating single-use waste, which also teaches students the value of conservation and environmental protection.”
Commercial dishwashers use little water, heat to high temperatures for complete sanitation, dry quickly, and are fast and energy efficient, lowering the number of dishes needed. Machines can last 15 years, providing significant savings over time and offsetting waste management costs that are expected to rise in the near future. However, industrial dishwashers have high upfront costs that schools cannot afford.
SB 1255 would establish the Dishwasher Grant Program for Waste Reduction in K–12 Schools and Community Colleges and would be administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The Department would provide grants to school districts, charter schools, and community college districts for the purchase and installation of commercial dishwashers at the school sites and campuses.
“A lack of dishwashing equipment is the single biggest barrier to making the switch to reusables, and previous few schools in California currently have them. SB 1255 would open the path to install a commercial dish machine to schools and community colleges across our state, and provide the means for both cost savings and a huge reduction of waste,” stated Monica Campagna, Campus Caretaker at Franklin Elementary in Glendale. As we saw at Franklin Elementary in Glendale where I tend the campus grounds, moving to reusables means not having to confront stock shortages and rising prices of single use items, far fewer waste bins and bag changes for custodians, less waste hauling pickup services to pay for, less litter on our campus, and approximately one thousand spork sets and throwaway trays not being sent to the landfill or compost facility each week. I've seen for myself the many positive changes a dishwasher in a cafeteria can make, and I wish this for every school and community college across our state.”
SB 1255 would require the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to award grants of up to $40,000 per kitchen of a school or campus and to develop administrative guidelines for implementation of the program. The bill would require the Department to develop materials and conduct outreach to those local educational agencies about the program and authorize them to work with the State Department of Education, the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, or other relevant state agencies for purposes of the program. Finally, SB 1255 would make the implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
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