A bill that would make it easier to dispose of used oil filters has been approved by a second committee and is on its way to the full Assembly for a vote.

Philip Vermeulen, a legislative advocate for the Independent Waste Oil Collectors and Transporters, said that under current law in California, oil filters are considered a household hazardous waste. That means, he said, that they can either be recycled or placed in a landfill.

However, diesel fuel filters, which Vermeulen contends contain far fewer harmful substances than oil filters, are considered a hazardous waste and must be disposed of in a far more expensive manner.

“There’s no logic to it at all,” he said. “It costs $260 a barrel to dispose of diesel fuel filters vs. I think it’s $40 on average for a barrel of oil filters. It’s stupid.”

AB2254, introduced by Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian, R-Stockton, would change that by declaring diesel fuel filters to be a household hazardous waste.

A spokeswoman for Aghazarian said the omission of the diesel filters seemed “almost like an oversight in the health and safety code.”

“I called a lot of landfills around and found that they don’t have a problem taking them; they can recycle them, no problem,” she said. “It sounded like a good idea rather than have them go in the garbage can.”

The bill earlier passed the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials by a vote of 7-0. Thursday, May 13, it passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which sent it to the full Assembly with a “do pass” recommendation.

No vote has yet been scheduled in the full Assembly.