(A) Ninety days after this chapter is effective there shall be established within the department an Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling which shall promote and assist in the development of source separation, recovery, and recycling programs for local governments and for private entities under a contractual agreement with local governments or state-supported institutions. The Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling shall be separate from, and shall not participate in, any of the regulatory functions of the department with regard to solid waste management.

(B) The Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling shall have the following duties and responsibilities:

(1) receive funds for and disburse funds from the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund established in Section 44-96-120;

(2) manage the Solid Waste Management Grant Program established in Section 44-96-130;

(3) promote and assist in the development of solid waste reduction, source separation, recycling, household hazardous materials management programs, and resource recovery programs;

(4) maintain a directory of recycling and resource recovery systems in the State and provide assistance in matching recovered materials with markets;

(5) provide for the education of the general public and the training of solid waste management professionals to encourage recycling and solid waste reduction;

(6) develop descriptive literature to educate local governments on solid waste reduction and recycling issues.

(C) The Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling shall develop guidelines for the establishment and implementation of recycling education grants to school districts and public and private schools to establish waste reduction and recycling education programs. The office shall develop guidelines for the establishment and implementation of recycling education grants to public and private colleges and universities to establish waste reduction and recycling education programs and demonstration projects. The office shall notify the superintendent of each school district and each public and private school and public and private college and university of the existence of the grant programs and provide information on how to apply for the program. Upon request of the school, the office shall provide technical assistance. The office shall determine the number of grant projects that may be feasibly initiated in a single calendar year. The office, in consultation with the Department of Education, also shall develop and make available to public and private schools, upon request, curriculum materials and resource guides for recycling awareness programs for instruction at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 63, Section 1; 2000 Act No. 405, Section 7.