HomeMy WebLinkAboutRCW 70A.205.045RCW 70A.205.045 County and city comprehensive solid waste
management plans—Contents. Each county and city comprehensive solid
waste management plan shall include the following:
(1) A detailed inventory and description of all existing solid
waste handling facilities including an inventory of any deficiencies
in meeting current solid waste handling needs.
(2) The estimated long-range needs for solid waste handling
facilities projected 20 years into the future.
(3) A program for the orderly development of solid waste handling
facilities in a manner consistent with the plans for the entire county
which shall:
(a) Meet the minimum functional standards for solid waste
handling adopted by the department and all laws and regulations
relating to air and water pollution, fire prevention, flood control,
and protection of public health;
(b) Take into account the comprehensive land use plan of each
jurisdiction;
(c) Contain a six year construction and capital acquisition
program for solid waste handling facilities; and
(d) Contain a plan for financing both capital costs and
operational expenditures of the proposed solid waste management
system.
(4) A program for surveillance and control.
(5) A current inventory and description of solid waste collection
needs and operations within each respective jurisdiction which shall
include:
(a) Any franchise for solid waste collection granted by the
utilities and transportation commission in the respective
jurisdictions including the name of the holder of the franchise and
the address of his or her place of business and the area covered by
the franchise;
(b) Any city solid waste operation within the county and the
boundaries of such operation;
(c) The population density of each area serviced by a city
operation or by a franchised operation within the respective
jurisdictions;
(d) The projected solid waste collection needs for the respective
jurisdictions for the next six years.
(6) A comprehensive waste reduction and recycling element that,
in accordance with the priorities established in RCW 70A.205.005,
provides programs that (a) reduce the amount of waste generated, (b)
provide incentives and mechanisms for source separation, and (c)
establish recycling opportunities for the source separated waste.
(7) The waste reduction and recycling element shall include the
following:
(a) Waste reduction strategies, which may include strategies to
reduce wasted food and food waste that are designed to achieve the
goals established in RCW 70A.205.715(1) and that are consistent with
the plan developed in RCW 70A.205.715(3);
(b) Source separation strategies, including:
(i) Programs for the collection of source separated materials
from residences.
(A) Until January 1, 2030, these programs shall include
collection of source separated recyclable materials from single and
multiple-family residences, in urban areas, unless the department
approves an alternative program, according to the criteria in the
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planning guidelines. Such criteria shall include: Anticipated recovery
rates and levels of public participation, availability of
environmentally sound disposal capacity, access to markets for
recyclable materials, unreasonable cost impacts on the ratepayer over
the six-year planning period, utilization of environmentally sound
waste reduction and recycling technologies, and other factors as
appropriate. In rural areas, these programs shall include but not be
limited to drop-off boxes, buy-back centers, or a combination of both,
at each solid waste transfer, processing, or disposal site, or at
locations convenient to the residents of the county. The drop-off
boxes and buy-back centers may be owned or operated by public,
nonprofit, or private persons;
(B) Except as provided in (b)(i)(C) of this subsection, beginning
January 1, 2030, these programs shall:
(I) Provide curbside collection of source separated recyclable
materials from single-family and multiple-family residences wherever
curbside garbage collection services are provided to these entities;
(II) Include materials on the statewide collection list
designated for residential collection established by the department;
and
(III) Include service standards for curbside collection
frequency, container size, and method of collection, established under
plans approved by the department under chapter 70A.208 RCW;
(C) A county may, by ordinance, direct that the full list of
materials on the statewide collection list identified as suitable for
residential collection be collected exclusively through drop-off
locations in areas regulated by the utilities and transportation
commission under the provisions of chapter 81.77 RCW if the areas were
designated as rural in the county solid waste management plan and no
curbside recycling collection service was offered within those areas
as of January 1, 2025. Where a county has adopted such an ordinance,
the provisions of (b)(i)(B) of this subsection do not apply;
(D) Comprehensive solid waste management plans may incorporate by
reference programs described in an approved producer responsibility
organization plan under chapter 70A.208 RCW to fulfill the
requirements of this subsection (7)(b)(i) in whole or in part;
(E) Before January 1, 2030, each comprehensive solid waste
management plan must be amended, revised, or updated by a jurisdiction
consistent with the requirements of this subsection (7)(b)(i). If a
comprehensive solid waste management plan has not been amended,
revised, or updated before January 1, 2030, to be consistent with the
requirements of this subsection (7)(b)(i), beginning January 1, 2030,
the model comprehensive solid waste plan amendment provided by the
department under RCW 70A.208.060 applies in the jurisdiction;
(ii) Programs to monitor the collection of source separated waste
at nonresidential sites where there is sufficient density to sustain a
program;
(iii) Programs to collect yard waste and food waste, if the
county or city submitting the plan finds that there are adequate
markets or capacity for composted yard waste and food waste within or
near the service area to consume the majority of the material
collected; and
(iv) Programs to educate and promote the concepts of waste
reduction, refill, reuse, and recycling;
(c) Recycling strategies for materials not covered under chapter
70A.208 RCW, including a description of markets for recyclables, a
review of waste generation trends, a description of waste composition,
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a discussion and description of existing programs and any additional
programs needed to assist public and private sector recycling, and an
implementation schedule for the designation of specific materials to
be collected for recycling, and for the provision of recycling
collection services;
(d) Other information the county or city submitting the plan
determines is necessary.
(8) An assessment of the plan's impact on the costs of solid
waste collection. The assessment shall be prepared in conformance with
guidelines established by the utilities and transportation commission.
The commission shall cooperate with the Washington state association
of counties and the association of Washington cities in establishing
such guidelines.
(9) A review of potential areas that meet the criteria as
outlined in RCW 70A.205.110.
(10) A contamination reduction and outreach plan. The
contamination reduction and outreach plan must address reducing
contamination in recycling. Except for counties with a population of
25,000 or fewer, by July 1, 2021, a contamination reduction and
outreach plan must be included in each solid waste management plan by
a plan amendment or included when revising or updating a solid waste
management plan developed under this chapter. Jurisdictions may adopt
the state's contamination reduction and outreach plan as developed
under RCW 70A.205.070 or participate in a producer responsibility
organization's plan under chapter 70A.208 RCW in lieu of creating
their own plan. A recycling contamination reduction and outreach plan
must include the following:
(a) A list of actions for reducing contamination in recycling
programs for single-family and multiple-family residences, commercial
locations, and drop boxes depending on the jurisdictions system
components;
(b) A list of key contaminants identified by the jurisdiction or
identified by the department;
(c) A discussion of problem contaminants and the contaminants'
impact on the collection system;
(d) An analysis of the costs and other impacts associated with
contaminants to the recycling system; and
(e) An implementation schedule and details of how outreach is to
be conducted. Contamination reduction education methods may include
sharing community-wide messaging through newsletters, articles,
mailers, social media, websites, or community events, informing
recycling drop box customers about contamination, and improving
signage. [2025 c 316 s 201; 2020 c 20 s 1163. Prior: 2019 c 255 s 4;
2019 c 166 s 6; 1991 c 298 s 3; 1989 c 431 s 3; 1984 c 123 s 5; 1971
ex.s. c 293 s 1; 1969 ex.s. c 134 s 9. Formerly RCW 70.95.090.]
Finding—Intent—2019 c 255: See note following RCW 70A.205.715.
Effective date—2019 c 166: See note following RCW 70A.240.010.
Finding—1991 c 298: See note following RCW 70A.205.015.
Certain provisions not to detract from utilities and transportation
commission powers, duties, and functions: RCW 80.01.300.
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