AN ACT CONCERNING RECYCLING, CERTAIN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT REFORMS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR SOLID WASTE AND ASH RESIDUE FACILITIES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 22a-241b of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):

(a) (1) On or before February 1, 1988, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 designating items that are required to be recycled. On or before January 1, 2011, and every ten years thereafter, the commissioner shall review the adequacy of such regulations. The commissioner may designate other items as suitable for recycling and amend said regulations accordingly.

(2) On or before October 1, 2011, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall amend the regulations adopted under subdivision (1) of this subsection to expand the list of designated recyclable items to add (A) containers of three gallons or less made of polyethylene terephthalate plastic and high-density polyethylene plastic, (B) boxboard, and (C) additional types of paper, including, but not limited to, magazines, residential high-grade white paper and colored ledger.

(b) Any designated recyclable item [designated for recycling pursuant to subsection (a) of this section] shall be recycled by a municipality within three months of the establishment of service to such municipality by a regional processing center or local processing system.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2010) (a) Not later than July 1, 2011, each municipality shall offer curbside or backyard collection of designated recyclable items to all residents and businesses for which such municipality provides municipal curbside or backyard collection of solid waste, except that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any municipality that the Commissioner of Environmental Protection determines recycles its solid waste in a percentage that exceeds the state-wide average for the amount of municipal solid waste recycled.

(b) For purposes of this section, "curbside or backyard collection" means the collection, by municipal collection services, of presorted designated recyclable items or solid waste left for such collection by residents and businesses in the front or rear of the property of such residents and on the property of businesses and "designated recyclable items" means the items designated for recycling by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection in accordance with subsection (a) of section 22a-241b of the general statutes, as amended by this act.

Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2011) (a) For purposes of this section:

(1) "Designated recyclable items" means the items designated by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection for recycling in accordance with subsection (a) of section 22a-241b of the general statutes, as amended by this act;

(2) "Generated" means sold or given away at a common gathering venue; and

(3) "Common gathering venue" means any area or building, or portion thereof, that is open to the public during normal business hours, including, but not limited to, any (A) building that provides facilities or shelter for public assembly, (B) inn, hotel, motel, sports arena, supermarket, transportation terminal, retail store, restaurant or other commercial establishment that provides services or retails merchandise, or (C) museum, hospital, auditorium, movie theater or university building.

(b) Each property that has one or more common gathering venues where designated recyclable items may be generated while the public congregates at such venue and that provides for the collection of solid waste shall provide recycling receptacles for the collection of any designated recyclable items generated at such venue. Such recycling receptacles shall be as accessible to the public and at the same locations as trash receptacles. Any existing trash receptacle may be converted to a recycling receptacle by labeling or other means appropriate to identify that such receptacle is dedicated to the collection of designated recyclable items. If beverage containers of twenty-one ounces or less are offered for sale or given away at a common gathering venue, any such recycling receptacle at such venue shall, at a minimum, allow for the collection of such beverage containers.

Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) Not later than June 1, 2011, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, in accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes, shall report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the environment on the costs and benefits to the state, municipalities and waste generators of different methods of removing food waste from the waste stream. Additionally, such report shall identify incentives and guidance the state could provide in order to develop the requisite composting facilities for the removal of such food waste from the waste stream.

Sec. 5. Section 22a-220a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) The legislative body of a municipality may designate the area where solid waste generated within its boundaries by residential, business, commercial or other establishments shall be disposed. The disposal of such solid waste at any other area is prohibited, except that a municipality may approve, in writing, disposal at another area, either within or outside the boundaries of such municipality, prior to disposal. A municipality may refuse to approve disposal at another area if such disposal would adversely affect its solid waste disposal program. The legislative body of a municipality may also designate where the following items generated within its boundaries from residential properties shall be taken for processing or sale: (1) Cardboard, (2) glass, food and beverage containers, (3) leaves, (4) metal food and beverage containers, (5) newspapers, (6) storage batteries, (7) waste oil, and (8) plastic food and beverage containers. The processing or sale of such items at any other area shall be prohibited, except that a municipality may approve, in writing, processing or sale elsewhere, either within or outside the boundaries of such municipality, prior to processing or sale. A municipality may refuse to approve processing or sale elsewhere if such processing or sale would adversely affect its recycling program. For purposes of sections 22a-208e, as amended by this act, 22a-208f, 22a-220, this section, sections 22a-220c, 22a-241b, as amended by this act, 22a-241e, and subsection (c) of section 22a-241g, residential property means real estate containing one or more dwelling units but shall not include hospitals, motels or hotels.

(b) The legislative body shall give not less than sixty days' notice of its intent to designate a disposal area for solid waste or to designate where the items generated from residential property listed in subsection (a) of this section shall be taken for processing or sale to all collectors hauling solid waste or such items of the municipality. At the conclusion of such period, the legislative body shall cause notice of such designation to appear in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality and shall conduct a public hearing thereon. Prior to designating where the items generated from residential property and listed in subsection (a) of this section shall be taken for sale or processing, the municipality shall consider the private recycling occurring within the municipality, the effects of its proposed designation on such recycling, and the policy set forth in subdivision (4) of section 22a-259.

(c) Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, recyclable material, including but not limited to, glass, metal, paper, corrugated paper or plastic, may be removed or segregated at the source of generation or prior to disposal at the designated area and presegregated recyclable material may be transported directly to facilities which accept and process recyclable material.

(d) Any collector hauling solid waste generated by residential, business, commercial or other establishments in a municipality shall register, annually, in such municipality and disclose: (1) The name and address of the collector, the owner of such collector, any principal partner in such collector and any manager or person who has policy or financial decision-making authority for such collector; (2) the name of any subsidiary of such collector; (3) the name of any other municipality or state in which such collector hauls such solid waste; (4) whether the hauling done by such collector is residential, commercial or other; (5) the type of wastes hauled; (6) the location of any disposal area for solid waste that such collector uses or intends to use in the next year; and (7) any additional information that such municipality requires to ensure the health and safety of its residents.

(e) The door of any private vehicle used to haul solid waste shall be clearly marked with the business name and address of the hauler.

(f) Any collector who dumps more than one cubic foot in volume of solid waste at one time in an area not designated for such disposal by a municipality pursuant to the provisions of this section or who knowingly mixes other solid waste with items designated for recycling pursuant to section 22a-241b, as amended by this act, or pursuant to municipal ordinance shall for a first violation be liable for a civil penalty of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars for each violation and not more than ten thousand dollars for a subsequent violation. Any municipality or the Attorney General, at the request of the commissioner, may bring an action under this section. All such actions shall have precedence in the order of trial as provided in section 52-191. Any such action by the Attorney General shall be brought in the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford.

(g) As used in this section, "collector" means any person who holds himself out for hire to collect solid waste from residential, business, commercial or other establishments.

(h) The legislative body of a municipality may prohibit the scavenging of solid waste.

(i) Any person, other than a collector, who: (1) Dumps more than one cubic foot in volume of solid waste at one time in a solid waste or refuse collection container without the authorization of the owner of such container or (2) dumps any material into a recycling collection container used to collect another type of material for purposes of disposal by a collector shall be guilty of an infraction as provided for in chapter 881b. Any owner or lessor of a solid waste or refuse collection container may post signs on or near such container which indicate the penalties provided for in this section for unauthorized disposal of waste in such container. Any municipal police officer may issue a summons for the commission of an infraction for any violation of this subsection.

(j) On or before January 15, 2011, and each year thereafter, each municipality shall provide a list of registered collectors and any information supplied by such collector pursuant to subsection (d) of this section to the Commissioner of Environmental Protection in such format as the commissioner prescribes. Not more than ninety days after receipt of such information, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall post such information on the Department of Environmental Protection's web site. Any municipality that fails to provide such information to the commissioner in a timely manner shall be ineligible for the flexible recycling program pursuant to this chapter.

Sec. 6. Section 22a-208e of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) The owner or operator of each resources recovery facility and each solid waste disposal area shall submit a report to the Commissioner of Environmental Protection quarterly with respect to the calendar quarter beginning on October 1, 1989, and each calendar quarter thereafter, on or before the last day of the month immediately following the end of each quarter. Such report shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner and shall provide such information the commissioner deems necessary, including but not limited to, the amount of solid waste, by weight or other method acceptable to the commissioner, received from each municipal or other customer. Such report shall also include for each Connecticut municipality the total amount of solid waste originating therefrom. The owner or operator shall submit to each such municipality a copy of all such information pertaining to the municipality. If precise data are not available, the owner or operator may use a method of estimating acceptable to the commissioner.

(b) For each load of waste that weighs one ton or more, the commissioner shall require the owner or operator of any solid waste facility that receives such load of waste to report to the commissioner the name and address of the applicable solid waste collector for such load of waste. The commissioner may require the owner or operator of any other solid waste facility and, consistent with the requirements of subsection (c) of this section and section 22a-208f, the owner or operator of any recycling facility to report the information specified in subsection (a) in the manner set forth in said subsection. Such requirement shall be made by written notification to the owner or operator of the facility.

(c) The owner or operator of any recycling facility which receives for processing or sale the following items generated from within the boundaries of a Connecticut municipality: (1) Cardboard, (2) glass, food and beverage containers, (3) leaves, (4) metal food and beverage containers, (5) newspapers, (6) storage batteries, (7) waste oil, (8) plastic food and beverage containers, and (9) office paper, shall report for each such item the information specified in subsection (a) of this section in the manner set forth in said subsection. If a municipality or collector of recyclable items delivers any of the items listed in this subsection to a recycling facility which is not located in this state, such municipality or collector shall notify the commissioner of the name and address of the owner or operator of such facility and shall ensure, by contract, that such facility has notice of and complies with the reporting requirements of this section. As used in this section, "office paper" means used or discarded white or manila paper including, but not limited to, paper utilized for file folders, tab cards, writing, typing, printing, computer printing and photocopying, which paper is suitable for recycling, but does not mean office paper generated by households.

Sec. 7. Subsection (a) of section 16-50k of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of section 16-50z, no person shall exercise any right of eminent domain in contemplation of, commence the preparation of the site for, commence the construction or supplying of a facility, or commence any modification of a facility, that may, as determined by the council, have a substantial adverse environmental effect in the state without having first obtained a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need, hereinafter referred to as a "certificate", issued with respect to such facility or modification by the council. Certificates shall not be required for (1) fuel cells built within the state with a generating capacity of two hundred fifty kilowatts or less, [or] (2) fuel cells built out of state with a generating capacity of ten kilowatts or less, (3) a solid waste facility or resources recovery facility, both as defined in section 22a-207, or (4) an ash residue disposal area, as described in section 22a-285a. Any facility with respect to which a certificate is required shall thereafter be built, maintained and operated in conformity with such certificate and any terms, limitations or conditions contained therein. Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or title 16a, the council shall, in the exercise of its jurisdiction over the siting of generating facilities, approve by declaratory ruling (A) the construction of a facility solely for the purpose of generating electricity, other than an electric generating facility that uses nuclear materials or coal as fuel, at a site where an electric generating facility operated prior to July 1, 2004, (B) the construction or location of any fuel cell, unless the council finds a substantial adverse environmental effect, or of any customer-side distributed resources project or facility or grid-side distributed resources project or facility with a capacity of not more than sixty-five megawatts, as long as such project meets air and water quality standards of the Department of Environmental Protection, and (C) the siting of temporary generation solicited by the Department of Public Utility Control pursuant to section 16-19ss.

Sec. 8. (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, shall study the potential beneficial use of ash residue. Not later than January 1, 2011, the commissioner, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the environment concerning the results of such study.

Statement of Purpose:

To increase recycling, expand certain solid waste management disclosure requirements and facilitate the development of certain solid waste and ash residue facilities.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]