Chico Municipal Code Ch. 8.13 Solid Waste Disposal - Mandatory Solid Waste, Recycling, and Organic…

A. The definitions contained in Section 8.04.010 and of this code apply to the provisions of this chapter.

B. Additional Definitions.

1. Residential premise. A single-family residence or a multifamily residential complex with less than five (5) units.

2. Commercial premise. A business, firm, partnership, proprietorship, joint-stock company, corporation, or association, whether for-profit or nonprofit, strip mall, industrial facility, and a multifamily residential complex with five (5) or more units.

(Ord. 2573 §2)

Organic waste generators, haulers, and all other entities subject to the requirements of SB 1383 shall comply with all applicable requirements, including but not limited to those summarized below, or be subject to the penalties as prescribed in 14 CCR Section 18997.2, or § 8.13.190 of this Chapter.

(Ord. 2573 §2)

SB 1383 requirements that apply to organic waste generators include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

1. All residential premises, except residential premises that meet the self-hauler requirements of SB 1383 and have received a written self-haul waiver from the City, shall subscribe to the City's container collection services for garbage, recyclable materials, and organic waste, including food waste.

2. All commercial premises, except those that have been granted a waiver or an exemption, must make arrangements for the diversion of recyclable materials and organic waste, either through a collection service with a City solid waste franchised hauler, or by self-hauling to a permitted facility meeting the requirements specified in 14 CCR Section 18984.3 and § 8.13.170 of this Chapter. The City shall have the right to review the number and size of a generator's containers and frequency of collection to evaluate adequacy of capacity provided for each type of collection service for proper separation of materials and containment of materials; and commercial premises shall adjust their service level for their collection services as required by the City.

3. All organic waste generators shall place organic waste, including food waste, in the designated organic waste container(s); recyclable materials in the designated recycling container; and garbage in the designated garbage container. Generators shall not place materials designated for the garbage container into the organic waste container or recycling container.

4. Property owners of multifamily residential premises and commercial premises shall be responsible for ensuring and demonstrating its compliance with the following requirements:

a. Supply and allow access to adequate number, size and location of waste, recyclable and organic waste collection containers with sufficient labels or colors (conforming with requirements described below) for employees, contractors, tenants, and customers, consistent with the City's collection service or, if self-hauling in compliance with self-hauling requirements in § 8.13.170 herein.

b. Except for multifamily residential premises, provide containers for organics and recyclable materials in all indoor and outdoor areas where disposal containers are provided for customers. Such containers do not need to be provided in restrooms. If a commercial premise does not generate any of the materials that would be collected in one type of container, then the business does not have to provide that particular container in all areas where disposal containers are provided for customers. Pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18984.9(b), the containers provided by the business shall have either:

i. A body or lid that conforms with the container colors provided through the collection service provided by the City's franchised haulers, with either lids conforming to the color requirements or bodies conforming to the color requirements, or both lids and bodies conforming to color requirements. A commercial premise is not required to replace functional containers, including containers purchased prior to January 1, 2022, that do not comply with the requirements of the subsection prior to the end of the useful life of those containers, or prior to January 1, 2036, whichever comes first.

ii. Container labels that include language or graphic images, or both, indicating the primary material accepted and the primary materials prohibited in that container, or containers with imprinted text or graphic images that indicate the primary materials accepted and primary materials prohibited in the container. Pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18984.8, the container labeling requirements are required on new containers commencing January 1, 2022.

a) Multifamily residential complexes (less than 5 units) are not required to comply with container placement requirements or labeling requirements in this Section pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18984.9(b).

b) Excluding multifamily residential complexes, to the extent practical through education, training, inspection, and/or other measures, prohibit employees from placing materials in a container not designated for those materials per the City's collection service.

c) Excluding multifamily residential complexes, periodically inspect organic waste, recycling, and garbage containers for contamination and inform employees if containers are contaminated and of the requirements to keep contaminants out of those containers pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18984.9(b)(3).

d) Including multifamily residential complexes, annually provide information to employees, contractors, tenants, and customers about organic waste recovery requirements and about proper sorting of source separated organic waste and source separated recyclable materials.

e) Including multifamily residential complexes, provide education information before or within fourteen (14) days of occupation of the premises by new tenants that describes requirements to keep source separated organic waste and source separated recyclable materials separate from garbage and the location of containers and the rules governing their use at each property.

f) Including multifamily residential complexes, provide or arrange access for the City or its representative to their properties during all inspections conducted in accordance with SB 1383 to confirm compliance with the requirements of this Chapter.

g) Nothing in this Chapter prohibits a generator from preventing or reducing waste generation, managing organic waste on site, or using a community composting site pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18984.9(c).

(Ord. 2573 §2)

A. De Minimis waivers: The City may waive a residential and commercial premise's obligation to comply with some or all of the organic waste requirements of SB 1383 if the owner or occupant can demonstrate and certify to the City that waste, recycling, or organic waste collection is not needed because the owner or occupant satisfies any of the following requirements:

1. The owner or occupant requesting a de minimis waiver submits an application specifying the services that they are requesting a waiver from and provides documentation that either:

a. The residential or commercial premises' total solid waste collection service is two cubic yards or more per week and organic waste subject to collection in organic waste container comprises of less than 20 gallons per week of the premises' total waste; or,

b. The residential or commercial premises’ total solid waste collection service is less than two cubic yards per week and organic waste subject to collection in an organic waste container comprises of less than 10 gallons per week of the premises' total waste.

c. The owner or occupant notifies the City if circumstances change such that commercial customer's organic waste exceeds the thresholds required for a waiver, in which case the waiver will be rescinded.

B. Physical Space Waivers: Owners or occupants of commercial and multifamily residential premises may request a physical space waiver through the following process:

1. Submit an application specifying the types of services that they are requesting a waiver for.

2. Provide documentation that the premises lacks adequate space for the organic waste collection container, including documentation from its hauler, licensed architect, or licensed engineer.

C. Waiver Term: Waivers shall apply for up to, but no longer than five (5) years, as determined by the Director and/or his or her designee.

(Ord. 2573 §2)

A. Tier One Commercial Edible Food Generators shall comply with the requirements of 14 CCR Section 18991 commencing January 1, 2022.

B. Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators shall comply with the requirements of 14 CCR Section 18991.3 commencing January 1, 2024.

C. A Large Venue or Large Event operator that does not provide food services, but allows for food to be provided, shall require food facilities operating at the large venue or large event to comply with the requirements of 14 CCR Section 18991.3 commencing January 1, 2024.

D. All Commercial edible food generators shall comply with the following requirements:

1. Arrange to recover the maximum amount of edible food that would otherwise be disposed.

2. Contract with or enter into a written agreement with food recovery organizations or food recovery services for:

a. The collection of edible food for food recovery; or

b. Acceptance of the edible food that the commercial edible food generator self-hauls to the food recovery organization for food recovery.

3. Shall not intentionally spoil edible food that is capable of being recovered by a food recovery organization or a food recovery service.

4. Shall keep records as specified in 14 CCR Section 18991.4.

5. Shall provide to the City a copy of any of the information they are required to track per Section 18991.4 within 30 days of request by the City.

(Ord. 2573 §2)

Food recovery services collecting or receiving edible food directly from commercial edible food generators, via a contract or written agreement established under 14 CCR Section 18991.3(b), shall maintain records as specified in 14 CCR Section 18991.5 and shall provide a copy of those records to the City within 30 days of request by the City.

(Ord. 2573 §2)

A. Any party wishing to self-haul material must apply for and receive written approval from the City.

B. Self-haulers shall source separate all recyclable materials and organic waste generated on-site from solid waste in a manner consistent with 14 CCR Sections 18984.1 and 18984.2 or shall haul organic waste to a high diversion organic waste processing facility as specified in 14 CCR Section 18984.3.

C. Self-haulers shall haul their source separated recyclable materials to a facility that recovers those materials; and haul their source separated green container organic waste to a solid waste facility, operation, activity, or property that processes or recovers source separated organic waste. Alternatively, self-haulers may haul organic waste to a high diversion organic waste processing facility.

1. Self-haulers that are commercial customers (including multifamily residential complexes) shall keep a record of the amount of organic waste delivered to each solid waste facility, operation, activity, or property that processes or recovers organic waste; this record shall be subject to inspection by the City. The records shall include the following information:

a. Delivery receipts and weight tickets from the entity accepting the waste.

b. The amount of material in cubic yards or tons transported by the generator to each entity.

c. If the material is transported to an entity that does not have scales on-site or employs scales incapable of weighing the Self-hauler's vehicle in a manner that allows it to determine the weight of materials received, the self-hauler is not required to record the weight of material but shall keep a record of the entities that received the organic waste.

(Ord. 2573 §2)

A. The City's representatives, its designated entity, and/or designees are authorized to conduct inspections and investigations, at random or otherwise, of any collection container, collection vehicle loads, or transfer, processing, or disposal facility for materials collected from generators, or source separated materials to confirm compliance with this Ordinance by organic waste generators, commercial premises (including multifamily residential complexes), property owners, commercial edible food generators, haulers, self-haulers, food recovery services, and food recovery organizations, subject to applicable laws. This Section does not allow the City to enter the interior of a private residential property for inspection.

B. A regulated entity shall provide or arrange for access to their properties during all inspections and shall cooperate with the City's employee or its designated entity/designee during such inspections and investigations. Such inspections and investigations may include confirmation of proper placement of materials in containers, edible food recovery activities, records, or any other requirement of this Ordinance described herein. Failure to provide or arrange for access to an entity's premises or access to records for any inspection or investigation is a violation of this Chapter and may result in penalties described.

C. Any records obtained by the City during its inspections and other reviews shall be subject to the requirements and applicable disclosure exemptions of the Public Records Act as set forth in Government Code Section 6250 et seq.

D. The City's representatives, its designated entity, and/or designees are authorized to conduct any inspections, remote monitoring, or other investigations as reasonably necessary to further the goals of this Ordinance, subject to applicable laws.

E. The City shall receive written complaints from persons regarding an entity that may be potentially non-compliant with SB 1383 regulations, including receipt of anonymous complaints.

(Ord. 2573 §2)

It shall be the duty of the city manager or designee to enforce the provisions of this Chapter. Violations of the provisions of this chapter may be an infraction punishable by an administrative fine as authorized by Section 1505 of the Charter of the City of Chico.

(Ord. 2573 §2)