BILL REQ. #:  H-2634.1 

Prefiled 06/11/13. Read first time 06/10/13.   Referred to Committee on Environment.

     AN ACT Relating to collected compostable waste; amending RCW 70.95.092 and 70.95.090; adding a new section to chapter 70.95 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that including the separate collection of organic waste material, such as yard and food waste, for eventual composting in a city's or county's solid waste management plan has laudable social and environmental benefits, including the diversion of waste from our state's landfills.
     (2) The legislature further finds that the net environmental and social benefits of municipal composting decreases with an increase in shipping distance from the collection locations and the eventual storage and processing location. Using fossil fuels to truck compostable materials from one county to another increases the carbon footprint of our garbage and changes the nature of composting from a potentially environmentally beneficial activity to an activity that may work counter to the state's greenhouse emissions goals.     
     (3) The legislature further finds that an increase in truck traffic due to the hauling of compostable waste on the state's highways may work counter to the state's traffic reduction goals. Increases in truck hauling of compostable waste may increase traffic congestion, traffic-related accidents, and damage to the state's highway infrastructure.
     (4) The legislature further finds that there must be a careful balance between encouraging the benefits of municipal composting programs while ensuring that the potential negative consequences do not outweigh those benefits. An important element of that balancing formula is to require cities and counties that choose municipal composting programs to also invest in local facilities where the collected materials can be stored and processed.

Sec. 2   RCW 70.95.092 and 1989 c 431 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Levels of service shall be defined in the waste reduction and recycling element of each local comprehensive solid waste management plan and shall include the services set forth in RCW 70.95.090. In determining which service level is provided to residential and nonresidential waste generators in each community, counties and cities shall develop clear criteria for designating areas as urban or rural. In designating urban areas, local governments shall consider the planning guidelines adopted by the department, total population, population density, and any applicable land use or utility service plans.
     (2) Any county or city that, with or without exceptions, mandates compostable waste separation or collection as part of the level of service for customers of curbside or alley residential solid waste services must provide for the collected materials pursuant to section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a city or county that meets the conditions of RCW 70.95.092(2) must provide for the storage and processing of at least fifty percent of all collected compostable waste in the county where the materials are collected or pursuant to a contractual agreement that specifically provides for the storage and processing of compostable waste in a different county if performance of the contract has begun prior to the effective date of this section.
     (2) The requirement for locally collected compostable waste storage and processing created in subsection (1) of this section is temporarily modified as follows:
     (a) Until July 1, 2014, a city or county may export up to seventy percent of collected compostable waste to a different county for storage and processing; and
     (b) Until July 1, 2015, a city or county may export up to sixty percent of collected compostable waste to a different county for storage and processing.

Sec. 4   RCW 70.95.090 and 1991 c 298 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     Each county and city comprehensive solid waste management plan shall include the following:
     (1) A detailed inventory and description of all existing solid waste handling facilities including an inventory of any deficiencies in meeting current solid waste handling needs.
     (2) The estimated long-range needs for solid waste handling facilities projected twenty years into the future.
     (3) A program for the orderly development of solid waste handling facilities in a manner consistent with the plans for the entire county which shall:
     (a) Meet the minimum functional standards for solid waste handling adopted by the department and all laws and regulations relating to air and water pollution, fire prevention, flood control, and protection of public health;
     (b) Take into account the comprehensive land use plan of each jurisdiction;
     (c) Contain a six year construction and capital acquisition program for solid waste handling facilities; and
     (d) Contain a plan for financing both capital costs and operational expenditures of the proposed solid waste management system.
     (4) A program for surveillance and control.
     (5) A current inventory and description of solid waste collection needs and operations within each respective jurisdiction which shall include:
     (a) Any franchise for solid waste collection granted by the utilities and transportation commission in the respective jurisdictions including the name of the holder of the franchise and the address of his or her place of business and the area covered by the franchise;
     (b) Any city solid waste operation within the county and the boundaries of such operation;
     (c) The population density of each area serviced by a city operation or by a franchised operation within the respective jurisdictions;
     (d) The projected solid waste collection needs for the respective jurisdictions for the next six years.
     (6) A comprehensive waste reduction and recycling element that, in accordance with the priorities established in RCW 70.95.010, provides programs that (a) reduce the amount of waste generated, (b) provide incentives and mechanisms for source separation, and (c) establish recycling opportunities for the source separated waste.
     (7) The waste reduction and recycling element shall include the following:
     (a) Waste reduction strategies;
     (b) Source separation strategies, including:
     (i) Programs for the collection of source separated materials from residences in urban and rural areas. In urban areas, these programs shall include collection of source separated recyclable materials from single and multiple-family residences, unless the department approves an alternative program, according to the criteria in the planning guidelines. Such criteria shall include: Anticipated recovery rates and levels of public participation, availability of environmentally sound disposal capacity, access to markets for recyclable materials, unreasonable cost impacts on the ratepayer over the six-year planning period, utilization of environmentally sound waste reduction and recycling technologies, and other factors as appropriate. In rural areas, these programs shall include but not be limited to drop-off boxes, buy-back centers, or a combination of both, at each solid waste transfer, processing, or disposal site, or at locations convenient to the residents of the county. The drop-off boxes and buy-back centers may be owned or operated by public, nonprofit, or private persons;
     (ii) Programs to monitor the collection of source separated waste at nonresidential sites where there is sufficient density to sustain a program;
     (iii) Programs to collect yard waste, if the county or city submitting the plan finds that there are adequate markets or capacity for composted yard waste within ((or near)) the service area to consume ((the majority)), pursuant to section 3 of this act, at least fifty percent of the material collected; and
     (iv) Programs to educate and promote the concepts of waste reduction and recycling;
     (c) Recycling strategies, including a description of markets for recyclables, a review of waste generation trends, a description of waste composition, a discussion and description of existing programs and any additional programs needed to assist public and private sector recycling, and an implementation schedule for the designation of specific materials to be collected for recycling, and for the provision of recycling collection services;
     (d) Other information the county or city submitting the plan determines is necessary.
     (8) An assessment of the plan's impact on the costs of solid waste collection. The assessment shall be prepared in conformance with guidelines established by the utilities and transportation commission. The commission shall cooperate with the Washington state association of counties and the association of Washington cities in establishing such guidelines.
     (9) A review of potential areas that meet the criteria as outlined in RCW 70.95.165.