This article is adopted pursuant to § 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law [§ 2047-t(3) of the Public Authorities Law]) and Article
I of this Chapter
256, it being the intent of this Legislature that both local laws should provide a comprehensive regulation of the solid waste stream in the County. Nothing in this article shall be deemed to conflict with or supersede Article
I of this chapter.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
AGENCY
The Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency created under
Chapter 675 of the Laws of 1982 of the State of New York.
ALUMINUM PRODUCTS
Uncontaminated aluminum packaging, such as pie plates and
frozen dinner trays.
CANS
Containers comprised of aluminum, tin, steel, or a combination
thereof, which contain or formerly contained only food and/or beverage
substances.
CARDBOARD
All corrugated cardboard normally used for packing, mailing,
shipping or containerizing goods, merchandise or other material, but
excluding plastic, foam or wax-coated or soiled cardboard.
COMMINGLED
Source-separated, nonputrescible, noncontaminated recyclable
materials that have been placed in the same container.
COMMISSIONER
The Commissioner of Solid Waste Management of the County.
COUNTY
The entire County of Dutchess as constituted and existing
under the laws of the state.
ECONOMIC MARKETS
Instances in which the full avoided costs of proper collection,
transportation and disposal of source-separated materials are equal
to or greater than the cost of collection, transportation and sale
of said materials less the amount received from the sale of said material.
GARBAGE
Putrescible animal, fish, fowl, fruit or vegetable waste
incident to and resulting from the use, preparation, cooking and consumption
of food.
GLASS
All products made from silica or sand, soda ash and limestone,
the product being transparent or translucent and being used for the
packaging or bottling of various matter and all other material commonly
known as "glass," excluding, however, ceramics, light bulbs, blue
and flat glass and glass commonly known as "window glass."
MAJOR APPLIANCES
Large and/or bulky household appliances (refrigerator, washer,
dryer, stove, etc.) ordinarily operated by gas or electric current.
MUNICIPALITY
Any county, city, town, village, improvement district (or
a county, city, town or village acting on behalf of an improvement
district), public benefit corporation, municipal corporation, political
subdivision, government agency, department or bureau of the state
or federal government.
NEWSPAPER
All uncontaminated paper commonly referred to as "newsprint"
and distributed at stated intervals, usually daily or weekly, having
printed thereon news and opinion and containing advertisements and
other matter of public interest, and shall include supplements, comics
and enclosures.
OFFICE PAPER
All bond paper, including computer print-outs, stationery,
photo copy, and ledger from commercial waste generators.
PERSON
Any natural person, individual, partnership, copartnership,
association, owner or manager of a business, commercial or industrial
establishment, joint venture, corporation, trust, estate or any other
legal entity, inclusive of a municipality or any other waste generator.
PLASTIC
All containers made from high-density polyethylene or polyethylene
terephthalate (PET), including, but not limited to, bottles having
contained the following products: milk, water, juice, detergent, bleach,
antifreeze and soda; or other resins that may be designated as a recyclable
material in accordance with this article once economic markets exists.
RECYCLABLE MATERIAL
Office paper, cardboard, newspaper, cans, glass, and plastic,
aluminum products, tires, major appliances and such other materials
as may be designated by the Commissioner and the Recyclables Oversight
Committee in accordance with this article.
RECYCLERS
Those who deal with recyclable material both as collectors,
separators and marketers. This definition shall include not-for-profit
corporations and charitable corporations which collect recyclables
for fund-raising purposes.
RECYCLING
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.
SOLID WASTE
All materials or substances discarded or rejected within
the County of Dutchess as being spent, useless, worthless, or in excess
to the owners at the time of such discard or rejection, including,
but not limited to, garbage, refuse, industrial and commercial waste,
sludges from air or water pollution control facilities or water supply
treatment facilities, rubbish, ashes, contained gaseous material,
incinerator residue, demolition and construction debris and offal,
but not including sewage and other highly diluted water-carried materials
or substances and those in gaseous form, special nuclear or by-product
material within the meaning of the United States Atomic Energy Act
of 1954, as amended, and waste which appears on the list of hazardous
waste promulgated by the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation
pursuant to § 27-0903 of the Environmental Conservation
Law of the state.
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT-RESOURCE RECOVERY FACILITY
Any facility, plant, works, system, building, structure,
improvement, machinery, equipment, fixture or other real or personal
property which is to be used, occupied or employed for the collecting,
receiving, transporting, storage, processing or disposal of solid
waste or the recovery by any means of any material or energy product
or resource therefrom, including, but not limited to, recycling centers,
transfer stations, baling facilities, rail haul or maritime facilities,
collection vehicles, processing systems, resource recovery facilities,
steam and electric generating and transmission facilities, including
auxiliary facilities to supplement or temporarily replace such generating
facilities, steam distribution facilities, sanitary landfills, plants
and facilities for compacting, composting or pyrolization of solid
wastes, incinerators and other solid waste disposal, reduction or
conversion facilities and resource recovery equipment and disposal
equipment as defined in Subdivisions 4 and 5 of § 51-0903
of the Environmental Conservation Law of the State of New York.
SOURCE SEPARATION
The segregation of recyclable materials from the solid waste
stream at the point of generation for separate collection, sale or
other disposition.
STATE
The State of New York.
UNCONTAMINATED
Free of materials that are not recyclable or free of materials
that, if present, either reduce the value of a recyclable material
or render it unrecyclable.
YARD WASTE
Grass clippings, leaves, and cuttings from shrubs, hedges,
trees, brush and garden debris.
A program is hereby established for the mandatory source separation
of recyclable materials within the County. All persons shall separate
recyclable materials from solid waste before either setting out solid
waste for collection pursuant lawful procedure or disposing of it
at an authorized solid waste management-resource recovery facility.
All collectors of recyclables shall be required to keep and
maintain records reflecting the tons of recyclable materials collected
and to report the results of such collection to the Commissioner on
a quarterly basis.
Any waste hauler licensed under the provisions of Article
I of this Chapter
256 and the rules and regulations of the Commissioner of Solid Waste Management shall be subject to the provisions of this article.
The Commissioner is hereby delegated the authority to designate
appropriate solid waste management/resource recovery facilities for
the purposes of recyclable materials processing and disposition. A
person shall deliver recyclable materials only to a solid waste management/resource
recovery facility designated by the Commissioner. However, if no facility
is designated, the collector of a particular recyclable material may
deliver recyclable material to an appropriate facility.
It shall be unlawful for any person to:
A. Other than those persons authorized, collect any recyclable material
which has been placed at the curb or roadside for collection or within
a recycling drop-off pursuant to this article, or to scavenge or remove
any articles from any containers.
B. Violate or to assist in the violation of any provision of this article.
C. Place or to cause to be placed any material other than a recyclable
material in or near a recycling drop-off.
D. Hinder, to obstruct, to prevent or to interfere with the County or
any other authorized persons in the performance of any duty under
this article or in the enforcement of this article.
E. Commingle in a landfill or other solid waste management-resource
recovery facility any designated recyclable with solid waste.
F. Operate a landfill or other solid waste management-resource recovery
facility without adequate provisions for the collection of source-separated
recyclable materials.
G. Dispose of or place tires, yard waste or household appliances (white
goods) in a landfill or other solid waste management-resource recovery
facility.
[Amended 12-10-1990 by L.L. No. 8-1990]
A. All provisions of this article are enforceable by the Dutchess County
Commissioner of Solid Waste or his/her designees.
B. Any person who violates this article shall be guilty of an offense
and subject to a fine. Conviction of a first offense provided by this
article shall be punishable by a warning. Conviction of a second offense
within a year of the first offense shall be punishable by a fine of
$50, and in addition anyone convicted of a second offense hereunder
shall be liable to pay a civil penalty of $50, and in addition anyone
convicted of a subsequent offense hereunder shall be liable to pay
a civil penalty of $500 to $1,000. Where applicable, a person who
violates this article may be subject to suspension or revocation of
collecting, receiving, transporting and/or disposing privileges in
conjunction with solid waste disposed of within the County.
C. Each and every act of disposal committed which is prohibited hereunder
shall be deemed a separate violation of this article.
D. The Commissioner of Solid Waste or his/her designees shall enforce
all the provisions of this article.
E. The following shall be excluded from penalties: those who are infirm,
blind, handicapped or otherwise incapable of physically separating
materials for recycling, such infirmity to be certified by a medical
doctor.
The Commissioner may from time to time by resolution promulgate
rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this article
in order to effect the purposes thereof. The procedure for rule-making
shall be as follows:
A. The proposed rules or synopsis thereof shall be published twice in
the official newspapers of the County. Such publications shall contain
a notice of public hearing, which shall be held by the Commissioner
at a convenient facility open to the public on no less than 30 days'
notice.
B. The Commissioner shall prepare the record of the public hearing and
shall prepare a document responding to the comments received by the
Commissioner at the public hearing. The record of public comment and
the response document shall be made available for public review.
C. The final rules, or synopsis thereof, shall be published in the same
manner as the proposed rules no less than 10 days after the response
document is made available for public review. The final rules shall
take effect 20 days after publication.
[Amended 10-10-1990 by L.L. No. 2-1990; 2-11-1991 by L.L. No. 2-1991]
A. A committee consisting of not more than nine members to be appointed
by the Dutchess County Legislature and the County Executive is hereby
created and established for the purpose of advising the Commissioner
of Solid Waste Management regarding adding or removing materials from
the definition of "recyclable materials"; establishing procedures
and operating standards for municipal recyclable material collection
points; monitoring the progress toward meeting the percent reduction
goals established in the 1988 state law; and such other matters as
the Commissioner or Committee may suggest. Four members shall be appointed
by the County Executive; four members shall be appointed by the Chair
of the County Legislature; one member shall be appointed jointly by
the County Executive and the Chair of the County Legislature. The
members of the Oversight Committee shall consist of an appointee from
the following:
(1) Resource Recovery Agency Ad Hoc Recycling Committee; appointed by
the County Executive.
(2) Town Supervisor's Association; appointed by the Chair of the County
Legislature.
(3) Environmental Committee of the County Legislature; appointed by the
Chair of the County Legislature.
(4) Carting industry; appointed by the County Executive and Chair of
the County Legislature.
(5) Environmental Management Council; appointed by the Chair of the County
Legislature.
(6) County Mayor's Association; appointed by the County Executive.
(7) Group of Local Recycling Coordinators in the County; appointed by
the County Executive.
(8) The County Legislature; appointed by the Chair of the County Legislature.
(9) The general public; appointed by the County Executive.
B. The above-mentioned appointments shall be for a three-year term from
the date of appointment. No member shall serve more than two full
three-year terms. A Chair shall be elected by the members of the oversight
panel at its first regular meeting, and the panel shall adopt operating
bylaws as it deems appropriate. The Committee shall meet at least
quarterly, and a majority of the members shall constitute a quorum.
Any recommendation issued by the Committee shall be approved by a
majority of its membership. The Commissioner shall request and receive
the recommendation and approval of the Committee before he/she orders
the removal or the addition of any material from designation as a
recyclable material; except that if such recommendation and approval
is not received within 30 days after request by the Commissioner,
he/she may act without such recommendation.
Pursuant to Section 1 of Chapter 675 of the Laws of 1982 of
the State of New York,f this article takes precedence over and shall supersede
any inconsistent provisions of any local law enacted by any municipality
within the County.
This article shall be effective throughout the County on January
1, 1991, except that this article shall not be effective with regard
to recyclable materials generated by commercial establishments until
July 1, 1991. For the purposes of this section, the term "commercial
establishments" means businesses which are operated for profit.