§ 6622. Source separation incentives

(a) Any municipality or solid waste management district that meets the requirements of subsection (d) of this section has met the requirements of subsection 6604(a)(1)(B) of this title for those materials identified in the source separation requirements under subsection (d) of this section.

(b) A municipality or a solid waste management district that wishes to be eligible, on a priority basis, for implementation grants under subdivision 6603c(c)(2)(C)(ii) of this title shall include a source separation plan in its solid waste management plan. At a minimum, that source separation plan shall include the following components:

(1) a recycling awareness component which includes education and public outreach; and

(2) a strategy to require source separation, including enforcement provisions; and

(3) a list of those materials subject to any source separation program, including at least five of the following materials:

(A) cardboard, including corrugated and boxboard;

(B) glass containers;

(C) yard waste, food waste, and other compostables;

(D) newsprint;

(E) office paper, including white, colored, and mixed office paper;

(F) metal food and beverage containers including tin-plated steel bi-metal and aluminum cans; and

(G) plastic containers made from high density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

(c) If necessary, the Secretary of Natural Resources, by rule, shall add or delete materials to the above list, after considering the following:

(1) adequacy of markets;

(2) availability of process facilities; and

(3) the costs of collecting, processing, and transporting the material to market.

(d) Municipalities or districts that have an ordinance in effect that includes enforcement provisions and requires source separation of at least five materials identified in this section shall be eligible to receive priority consideration for implementation grants according to the provisions of subsection 6603c(c) of this title.

(e) [Repealed.]

(f) The deadlines established under subsection (d) of this section may be modified by the Secretary, depending on the availability of funds in the capital budget.

(g) For purposes of this section, "source separation" means systems which separate compostable and recyclable materials from noncompostable, nonrecyclable materials at the point of generation. Recyclable materials may be commingled.

(h) For purposes of this section, "compostable" means that a product, package, or material will safely decompose, in a composting system, into a humus-rich material, containing no persistent synthetic residues, that can be safely used as a beneficial soil amendment. (Added 1989, No. 286 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 1991, No. 202 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. May 27, 1992; 1993, No. 81, § 8, eff. Jan. 1, 1994.)