Peoria Standard

State Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) has come out against a bill that would treat the state fair differently in regards to recycling. The bill seeks to exempt the state fair from certain regulations that apply to recycling.

Barickman expressed doubt about the bill to Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield). He said, "There were a few questions in committee I want to come back to and see if you’ve had a chance to look into them further. How will this bill ensure that compostable foodware will actually make it to a compost facility? We didn’t get a clear direction of that in committee."

"This statute does not require that contract," Morrison replied. "However I would assume and hope that is the intent they would in fact be able to do a contract for that."

He continued, "The concern here is that if compostable foodware is sent to a landfill it will not degrade as intended. The definition of recyclable foodware has a standard of what is commonly accepted in the local curbside residential pickup?  Why that definition?"

Morrison replied that that’s the standard that all recyclers already use.

The main issue that Barickman seems to have with the legislation is that it does not hold the state to the same standard that the government is attempting to hold private businesses to. 

"For clarity here, there is a mandate component to this," he said. "But my point is you’ve carved on the state fair that creates discrepancies. I would encourage a no vote."

The bill passed the Senate with 32 Yes votes and 13 No votes.

The bill had several Senate committee and floor amendments while it was in the Senate. It now goes to the House for a vote.

There were 13 senators -- both Republicans and Democrats -- who did not vote on the bill.