Representative Douglas R. Welton proposes the following substitute bill:


1     
RECYCLING FACILITY TRANSPARENCY AMENDMENTS

2     
2024 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Douglas R. Welton

5     
Senate Sponsor: Curtis S. Bramble

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill requires political subdivisions to publish information about the collection of
10     recyclable materials.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     defines terms;
14          ▸     requires a recyclable material hauler to report data to political subdivisions about
15     the amount of recycling material collected;
16          ▸     requires a recycling facility to submit an annual report on the amount of recycling
17     material collected to the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control;
18          ▸     requires a political subdivision to publish the recycling data; and
19          ▸     makes technical changes.
20     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
21          None
22     Other Special Clauses:
23          None
24     Utah Code Sections Affected:
25     AMENDS:
26          19-6-509, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 206
27     

28     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
29          Section 1. Section 19-6-509 is amended to read:
30          19-6-509. Recycling data.
31          (1) As used in this section:
32          (a) (i) "Municipal solid waste" means nonhazardous solid waste, including garbage,
33     refuse, office waste, or other similar material that results from the operation of residential,
34     municipal, commercial, or institutional establishments or community activities.
35          (ii) "Municipal solid waste" does not include a plastic or material that is converted or
36     held at an advanced recycling facility, including:
37          (A) post-use polymers; or
38          (B) recovered feedstock.
39          (b) "Recyclable material" means municipal solid waste that is suitable for recycling.
40          (c) "Recyclable material hauler" means a person, including a political subdivision,
41     who:
42          (i) for compensation, collects and transports recyclable material; and
43          (ii) uses the billing and collection system of a political subdivision to bill or collect
44     payment from the recyclable material hauler's customers.
45          (d) "Recycle" means to take action to recover recyclable materials from the municipal
46     solid waste stream for the purposes of use or reuse, conversion into raw materials, or use in the
47     production of new products.
48          (e) "Recycling facility" means a facility that:
49          (i) accepts recyclable material collected and paid for through a political subdivision's
50     billing process;
51          (ii) separates the recyclable material by material type;
52          (iii) sells the recyclable material; and
53          (iv) sends the waste stream contaminant to a landfill.
54          (f) "Recycling facility annual report" is a report submitted each year by a recycling
55     facility to the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control.
56          (2) A recyclable material hauler shall [report, in accordance with Subsection (3) and
57     according to the best of the recycler's knowledge,] collect data on the approximate tonnage of
58     recyclable material collected by the recyclable material hauler that the recyclable material
59     hauler delivered directly, or through an intermediary hauler, to:
60          (a) a landfill; [and] or
61          (b) a recycling facility.
62          (3) (a) At least two times each calendar year, a recyclable material hauler shall [provide
63     the information] report the data described in Subsection (2) to [the political subdivision whose
64     billing and collection system the recyclable material hauler uses] each political subdivision that
65     the recyclable material hauler uses for billing and collection.
66          (b) The recyclable material hauler shall provide data under Subsection (3)(a) for the
67     longer of:
68          (i) the time since the recyclable material hauler last provided the data; or
69          (ii) six months before the day on which the data is provided.
70          (4) Within 45 days after the day on which a recyclable material hauler provides data
71     under this section, [a] the political subdivision shall publish the data, as available:
72          (a) in a newsletter produced by the [municipality] political subdivision; and
73          (b) if the political subdivision operates a website, on [a] the website operated by the
74     [municipality] political subdivision.
75          (5) (a) A recycling facility shall submit a recycling facility annual report by March 1.
76          (b) The recycling facility shall complete the recycling facility annual report:
77          (i) using the methods approved by the Division of Waste Management and Radiation
78     Control; and
79          (ii) including data collected during the previous calendar year.
80          (c) The Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control shall compile the data
81     submitted in the recycling facility annual reports described in this Subsection (5) by June 1
82     each year.
83          (6) A political subdivision shall publish the data or an electronic link to the data
84     compiled by the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control from the recycling
85     facility annual reports described in Subsection (5):
86          (a) in a newsletter produced by the political subdivision that is published between June
87     1 and October 1 of each year; and
88          (b) if a political subdivision operates a website, on the website each year beginning on
89     a date that occurs between June 1 and October 1, and ending no earlier than December 31 of
90     the same year.
91          Section 2. Effective date.
92          This bill takes effect on May 1, 2024.