Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Environment Committee

HB 2072

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Requires, through a phased approach, all cities and counties that mandate compostable waste collection as part of their level of curbside residential solid waste service to provide for the storage and processing of at least 50 percent of all collected compostable waste in the county where the waste is collected.

Background:

Each county, in cooperation with the cities within the county, must prepare a coordinated, comprehensive solid waste plan that is approved by the Department of Ecology. The plans are required to have minimum contents, and must touch on issues such as current surveys of solid waste collection needs, long-term needs for the county's solid waste handling facilities, and a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling element.

The waste reduction and recycling element must include source separation strategies, programs for the collection of source separated materials, and programs to educate and promote the concepts of waste reduction and recycling. A county may also include in its waste reduction and recycling element a program to collect yard waste if the county or its cities finds that there is an adequate market for composted yard waste within of near the service area of the county.

The waste reduction and recycling element must also define the levels of service that are to be made available to the citizens of the county. These levels of service may differ between residential and nonresidential waste generators and between urban and rural areas of the county.

Summary of Bill:

By July 1, 2015, all cities and counties that mandate compostable waste collection as part of their level of curbside residential solid waste service must provide for the storage and processing of at least 50 percent of all collected compostable waste in the county where the waste was collected. An exception exists for waste that is collected under a contract that specifically provides for the storage and processing of compostable waste in a different county if the performance of the contract has already begun.

The general rule of a county storing and processing up to 50 percent of its collected compostable waste locally is phased in over two steps. The first step allows counties to export up to 70 percent of their compostable waste to a different county until July 1, 2014. The second step lowers the exportable portion to 60 percent until July 1, 2015.