ASSEMBLY, No. 2055

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED MAY 30, 1996

 

 

By Assemblyman ROONEY

 

 

An Act concerning composting, and amending and supplementing P.L.1987, c.102.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1. Section 2 of P.L.1987, c.102 (C.13:1E-99.12) is amended to read as follows:

    2. As used in sections 1 through 24 and sections 40 and 41 of P.L.1987, c.102 (C.13:1E-99.11 through 13:1E-99.32 and 13:1E-99.33 and 13:1E-99.34):

    "Agricultural or horticultural land" means land deemed actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.);

    "Beverage" means milk, alcoholic beverages, including beer or other malt beverages, liquor, wine, vermouth and sparkling wine, and nonalcoholic beverages, including fruit juice, mineral water and soda water and similar nonalcoholic carbonated and noncarbonated drinks intended for human consumption;

    "Beverage container" means an individual, separate, hermetically sealed, or made airtight with a metal or plastic cap, bottle or can composed of glass, metal, plastic or any combination thereof, containing a beverage;

    "Class A recyclable material" means a source separated nonputrescible recyclable material which is specifically excluded from approval of the department prior to receipt, storage, processing or transfer at a recycling center pursuant to subsection b. of section 41 of P.L.1987, c.102 (C.13:1E-99.34), which material includes source separated nonputrescible metal, glass, paper, plastic, and corrugated and other cardboard;

    "Class B recyclable material" means a source separated recyclable material which is subject to approval of the department prior to receipt, storage, processing or transfer at a recycling center pursuant to subsection b. of section 41 of P.L.1987, c.102 (C.13:1E-99.34) and which shall include, but need not be limited to, tires, wood waste, tree stumps, and certain construction or demolition debris, including asphalt, bricks, cinder blocks and concrete;

    "Class C recyclable material" means a source separated compostable material which is subject to approval of the department prior to the receipt, storage, processing or transfer at a recycling center pursuant to subsection b. of section 41 of P.L.1987, c.102 (C.13:1E-99.34) and which shall include, but need not be limited to, organic materials such as vegetative food waste, waste materials from farms, plants nurseries and greenhouses, and yard trimmings;

    "Compostable" means able to undergo physical, chemical, thermal or biological degradation under aerobic conditions such that the material to be composted enters into and is physically indistinguishable from the finished compost, and which ultimately mineralizes in the environment at a rate similar to known compostabe materials such as paper and yard trimmings;

    "Composting" means the controlled biological degradation of organic matter to make compost;

    "Commingled" means a combining of nonputrescible source separated recyclable materials for the purpose of recycling;

    "Contaminant" means solid waste which adheres to, or which is otherwise contained on or in, source separated recyclable materials;

    "County" means any county of this State of whatever class;

    "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection;

    "Designated recyclable materials" means those recyclable materials, including metal, glass, paper, or plastic, polycoated paperboard packaging, including beverage containers and aseptic packaging, food waste, corrugated and other cardboard, newspaper, magazines, or high-grade office paper designated in a district recycling plan to be source separated in a municipality pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1987, c.102 (C.13:1E-99.13);

    "Disposition" or "disposition of designated recyclable materials" means the transportation, placement, reuse, sale, donation, transfer or temporary storage for a period not exceeding six months of designated recyclable materials for all possible uses except for disposal as solid waste;

    "District" means a solid waste management district as designated by section 10 of P.L.1975, c.326 (C.13:1E-19), except that, as used in the provisions of P.L.1987, c.102 (C.13:1E-99.11 et seq.), "district" shall not include the Hackensack Meadowlands District;

    "District recycling plan" means the plan prepared and adopted by the governing body of a county and approved by the department to implement the State Recycling Plan goals pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1987, c.102 (C.13:1E-99.13);

    "Food material" means edible materials generated from food processing facilities, wholesale and retail food sales establishments and from residential and institutional premises. Food material may include edible materials contaminated or mixed with soiled or unrecyclable paper;

    "Leaf composting facility" means a solid waste facility which is designed and operated solely for the purpose of composting leaves and shall also include leaf mulching operations on land deemed actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use as defined in section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5);

    "Market" or "markets" means the disposition of designated recyclable materials;

    "Municipality" means any city, borough, town, township or village situated within the boundaries of this State;

    "Municipal solid waste stream" means all residential, commercial and institutional solid waste generated within the boundaries of any municipality;

    "Paper" means all paper grades, including but not limited to, newspaper, corrugated and other cardboard, high-grade office paper, fine paper, bond paper, offset paper, xerographic paper, mimeo paper, duplicator paper, and related types of cellulosic material containing not more than 10% by weight or volume of non-cellulosic material such as laminates, binders, coatings, or saturants;

    "Paper product" means any paper items or commodities, including but not limited to, paper napkins, towels, construction material, toilet tissue, paper and related types of cellulosic products containing not more than 10% by weight or volume of non-cellulosic material such as laminates, binders, coatings, or saturants;

    "Plastic container" means any formed or molded and hermetically sealed, or made airtight with a metal or plastic cap, rigid container with a minimum wall thickness of not less than 0.010 inches, and composed primarily of thermoplastic synthetic polymeric material;

    "Post-consumer waste material" means any finished product generated by a business or consumer which has served its intended end use, and which has been separated from solid waste for the purposes of collection, recycling and disposition and which does not include secondary waste material;

    "Recognized academic institution" means any of the following educational or research institutions located in this State: a duly authorized institution of higher education licensed by the Board of Higher Education; a public school operated by a local school district; a private vocational school; or a nonpublic school satisfying the State's compulsory attendance requirements;

    "Recyclable material" means those materials which would otherwise become solid waste, and which may be collected, separated or processed and returned to the economic mainstream in the form of raw materials or products;

    "Recycled paper" means any paper having a total weight consisting of not less than 50% secondary waste paper material and with not less than 10% of its total weight consisting of post-consumer waste material;

    "Recycled paper product" means any paper product consisting of not less than 50% secondary waste paper material and with not less than 10% of its total weight consisting of post-consumer waste material;

    "Recycled product" or "product made from recycled material" means any nonpaper item or commodity which is manufactured or produced in whole or in part from post-consumer waste material;

    "Recycling" means any process by which materials which would otherwise become solid waste are collected, separated or processed and returned to the economic mainstream in the form of raw materials or products;

    "Recycling center" means any facility designed and operated solely for receiving, storing, processing or transferring source separated recyclable materials; except that "recycling center" shall not include a scrap processing facility;

    "Recycling services" means the services provided by persons engaging in the business of recycling, including the collection, transportation, processing, storage, purchase, sale or disposition, or any combination thereof, of recyclable materials;

    "Residue" means any solid waste generated as a result of processing source separated recyclable materials at a recycling center;

    "Scrap processing facility" means a commercial industrial facility designed and operated for receiving, storing, processing and transferring source separated, nonputrescible ferrous and nonferrous metal, which materials are purchased by the owner or operator thereof, and which are altered or reduced in volume or physical characteristics onsite by mechanical methods, including but not limited to baling, cutting, torching, crushing, or shredding, for the purposes of resale for remelting, refining, smelting or remanufacturing into raw materials or products;

    "Secondary waste material" means waste material generated after the completion of a manufacturing process;

    "Secondary waste paper material" means paper waste generated after the completion of a paper making process, such as envelope cuttings, bindery trimmings, printing waste, cutting and other converting waste, butt rolls and mill wrappers; except that secondary waste paper material shall not include fibrous waste generated during the manufacturing process, such as fibers recovered from waste water or trimmings of paper machine rolls, fibrous byproducts of harvesting, extractive or woodcutting processes, or forest residue such as bark, or mill broke;

    "Source separated recyclable materials" means recyclable materials which are separated at the point of generation by the generator thereof from solid waste for the purposes of recycling;

    "Source separation" or "source separated" means the process by which recyclable materials are separated at the point of generation by the generator thereof from solid waste for the purposes of recycling;

    "Vegetative food material" means food waste and food processing waste from materials such as fruits, vegetables, and grains. Vegetative food material may include soiled or unrecyclable paper products;

    "Vegetative waste composting facility" means a solid waste facility which is designed and operated for the purpose of composting leaves, either exclusively or in combination with other vegetative wastes authorized by the department;

    "Yard trimmings" means grass clippings, leaves and brush.

(cf: P.L.1994, c.122, s.1)

 

    2. (New section) The department shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq), regulations concerning the application requirements and the design and operational standards for recycling centers designed and operated to receive, store, process, or transfer Class C recyclable material.

    The regulations shall not require the recycling center to be enclosed or require that the recycling center contain a concrete slab, unless the recycling center is within 300 feet of a permanent residential dwelling unit.

 

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    Current State policy allows for the composting of food waste commingled with soiled or unrecyclable paper. As a result, a significant amount of supermarket waste is being composted. This practice extends the life of the State's dwindling landfills. This bill would codify this State policy concerning food waste composting. Specifically, this bill would define "vegetative food material" to mean food waste and food processing waste from materials such as fruits, vegetables, and grains. As defined, vegetative food material may include soiled or unrecyclable paper products. The bill would further direct the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt regulations concerning the application requirements and the design and operational standards for recycling centers designed and operated to receive, store, process, or transfer Class C recyclable material, which includes vegetative food material.

    Finally, the regulations shall not require the recycling center to be enclosed or require that the recycling center contain a concrete slab,


unless the recycling center is within 300 feet of a permanent residential dwelling unit.

 

 

                             

Provides for food waste composting.