ESSB 5788 -
By Committee on Natural Resources, Ecology & Parks
ADOPTED 04/13/2005
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 It is the intent of the legislature to
improve recycling, eliminate illegal disposal of recyclable materials,
protect consumers from sham recycling, and to further the purposes of
RCW 70.95.020 and the goal of consistency in jurisdictional treatment
of the statewide solid waste management plan adopted by the department
of ecology.
Sec. 2 RCW 70.95.020 and 1998 c 156 s 1 and 1998 c 90 s 1 are
each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
The purpose of this chapter is to establish a comprehensive
statewide program for solid waste handling, and solid waste recovery
and/or recycling which will prevent land, air, and water pollution and
conserve the natural, economic, and energy resources of this state. To
this end it is the purpose of this chapter:
(1) To assign primary responsibility for adequate solid waste
handling to local government, reserving to the state, however, those
functions necessary to assure effective programs throughout the state;
(2) To provide for adequate planning for solid waste handling by
local government;
(3) To provide for the adoption and enforcement of basic minimum
performance standards for solid waste handling, including that all
sites where recyclable materials are generated and transported from
shall provide a separate container for solid waste;
(4) To encourage the development and operation of waste recycling
facilities needed to accomplish the management priority of waste
recycling, ((and)) to promote consistency in the requirements for such
facilities throughout the state, and to ensure that recyclable
materials diverted from the waste stream for recycling are routed to
facilities in which recycling occurs;
(5) To provide technical and financial assistance to local
governments in the planning, development, and conduct of solid waste
handling programs;
(6) To encourage storage, proper disposal, and recycling of
discarded vehicle tires and to stimulate private recycling programs
throughout the state; and
(7) To encourage the development and operation of waste recycling
facilities and activities needed to accomplish the management priority
of waste recycling and to promote consistency in the permitting
requirements for such facilities and activities throughout the state.
It is the intent of the legislature that local governments be
encouraged to use the expertise of private industry and to contract
with private industry to the fullest extent possible to carry out solid
waste recovery and/or recycling programs.
Sec. 3 RCW 70.95.305 and 1998 c 156 s 5 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the
department may by rule exempt from the requirements to obtain a solid
waste handling permit any category of solid waste handling facility
that it determines to:
(a) Present little or no environmental risk; and
(b) Meet the environmental protection and performance requirements
required for other similar solid waste facilities.
(2) This section does not apply to any facility or category of
facilities that:
(a) Receives municipal solid waste destined for final disposal,
including but not limited to transfer stations, landfills, and
incinerators;
(b) Applies putrescible solid waste on land for final disposal
purposes;
(c) Handles mixed solid wastes that have not been processed to
segregate solid waste materials destined for disposal from other solid
waste materials destined for a beneficial use or recycling;
(d) Receives or processes organic waste materials into compost in
volumes that generally far exceed those handled by municipal park
departments, master gardening programs, and households; or
(e) Receives solid waste destined for recycling or reuse, the
operation of which is determined by the department to present risks to
human health and the environment.
(3) Rules adopted under this section shall contain such terms and
conditions as the department deems necessary to ensure compliance with
applicable statutes and rules. If a facility does not operate in
compliance with the terms and conditions established for an exemption
under subsection (1) of this section, the facility is subject to the
permitting requirements for solid waste handling under this chapter.
(4) This section shall not be deemed to invalidate the exemptions
or determinations of nonapplicability in the department's solid waste
rules as they exist on June 11, 1998, which exemptions and
determinations are recognized and confirmed subject to the department's
continuing authority to modify or revoke those exemptions or
determinations by rule.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) For the purposes of this section and section 5 of this act,
"transporter" means any person or entity that transports recyclable
materials from commercial or industrial generators over the public
highways of the state of Washington for compensation, and who are
required to possess a permit to operate from the Washington utilities
and transportation commission under chapter 81.80 RCW. "Transporter"
includes commercial recycling operations of certificated solid waste
collection companies as provided in chapter 81.77 RCW. "Transporter"
does not include:
(a) Carriers of commercial recyclable materials, when such
materials are owned or being bought or sold by the entity or person,
and being carried in their own vehicle, when such activity is
incidental to the conduct of an entity or person's primary business;
(b) Entities or persons hauling their own recyclables or hauling
recyclables they generated or purchased and transported in their own
vehicles;
(c) Nonprofit or charitable organizations collecting and
transporting recyclable materials from a buyback center, drop box, or
from a commercial or industrial generator of recyclable materials;
(d) City municipal solid waste departments or city solid waste
contractors; or
(e) Common carriers under chapter 81.80 RCW whose primary business
is not the transportation of recyclable materials.
(2) All transporters shall register with the department prior to
the transportation of recyclable materials. The department shall
supply forms for registration.
(3) A transporter who transports recyclable materials within the
state without a transporter registration required by this section is
subject to a civil penalty in an amount up to one thousand dollars per
violation.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A transporter may not deliver any recyclable materials for
disposal to a transfer station or landfill. A transporter may deliver
recyclable materials to an intermediate solid waste handling facility
that maintains recyclable materials in a source separated state and
further processes and markets the recyclable materials for recycling.
(2) A transporter shall keep records of locations and quantities
specifically identified in relation to a generator's name, service
date, address, and invoice, documenting where recyclables have been
sold, delivered for processing, or otherwise marketed. These records
must be retained for two years from the date of collection, and must be
made accessible for inspection by the department and the local health
department.
(3) A transporter who violates the provisions of this section is
subject to a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars per violation.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW
to read as follows:
Any person damaged by a violation of sections 4 through 8 of this
act may bring a civil action for such a violation by seeking either
injunctive relief or damages, or both, in the superior court of the
county in which the violation took place or in Thurston county. The
prevailing party in such an action is entitled to reasonable costs and
attorneys' fees, including those on appeal.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) All facilities that recycle solid waste, except for those
facilities with a current solid waste handling permit issued under RCW
70.95.170, must notify the department in writing within thirty days
prior to operation, or ninety days from the effective date of this
section for existing recycling operations, of the intent to conduct
recycling in accordance with this section. Notification must be in
writing, and include:
(a) Contact information for the person conducting the recycling
activity;
(b) A general description of the recycling activity;
(c) A description of the types of solid waste being recycled; and
(d) A general explanation of the recycling processes and methods.
(2) Each facility that recycles solid waste, except those
facilities with a current solid waste handling permit issued under RCW
70.95.170, shall prepare and submit an annual report to the department
by April 1st on forms supplied by the department. The annual report
must detail recycling activities during the previous calendar year and
include the following information:
(a) The name and address of the recycling operation;
(b) The calendar year covered by the report;
(c) The annual quantities and types of waste received, recycled,
and disposed, in tons, for purposes of determining progress towards
achieving the goals of waste reduction, waste recycling, and treatment
in accordance with RCW 70.95.010(4); and
(d) Any additional information required by written notification of
the department that is needed to determine progress towards achieving
the goals of waste reduction, waste recycling, and treatment in
accordance with RCW 70.95.010(4).
(3) Any facility, except for product take-back centers, that
recycles solid waste materials within the state without first obtaining
a solid waste handling permit under RCW 70.95.170 or completing a
notification under this section is subject to a civil penalty of up to
one thousand dollars per violation.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The department may adopt rules that establish financial
assurance requirements for recycling facilities that do not already
have financial assurance requirements under this chapter, or are not
already specifically exempted from financial assurance requirements
under this chapter. The financial assurance requirements must take
into consideration the amounts and types of recyclable materials
recycled at the facility, and the potential closure and postclosure
costs associated with the recycling facility; which assurance may
consist of posting of a surety bond in an amount sufficient to meet
these requirements or other financial instrument, but in no case less
than ten thousand dollars.
(2) A recycling facility is required to meet financial assurance
requirements adopted by the department by rule, unless the facility is
already required to provide financial assurance under other provisions
of this chapter.
(3) Facilities that collect, recover, process, or otherwise recycle
scrap metal, processed scrap metal, unprocessed home scrap metal, and
unprocessed prompt scrap metal are exempt from the requirements of this
section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 If any provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected."