Farmersville Municipal Code Ch. 8.06 Home-Generated Sharps Waste Management Program

This chapter may be referred to and cited as the "Home-Generated Sharps Waste Management Ordinance" of the City of Farmersville.

(Ord. No. 466, § 2, 9-8-2014)

The City of Farmersville finds and declares all of the following purposes for this chapter:

A. To safely achieve the mandates imposed by the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (AB-939);

B. To enact a comprehensive and innovative system for the proper and legal management of home-generated sharps waste, as defined in Section 8.06.030 of this ordinance; and in accordance with Section 118286 of the California Health and Safety Code;

C. To enact a law that establishes a program that is convenient for consumers and the public to return and ensure the safe and environmentally sound disposal of home-generated sharps waste, and to provide a "no-cost" system for consumers for the return of home-generated sharps waste;

D. To ensure that the costs associated with the handling and disposal of home-generated sharps waste are the responsibility of the producers and retailers of home-generated sharps waste, and not local governments, their service providers, state government, or taxpayers;

E. To reduce the likelihood of the illegal disposal of home-generated sharps waste;

F. To ensure that all costs associated with the proper management of home-generated sharps waste are internalized by the producers and retailers of sharps waste at or before the point of purchase, and not at the point of discard;

G. To ensure that manufacturers and retailers of sharps, while working to achieve the goals and objectives of this ordinance, have the flexibility to partner with each other, with governmental programs, and with private and nonprofit business enterprises that provide collection and processing services, to develop and promote a safe and effective home-generated sharps waste management system; and

H. To provide for the safe and convenient collection and disposal of one hundred percent of the home generated sharps waste discarded in the City of Farmersville at no cost to the consumer and to facilitate compliance with Health and Safety Code prohibitions on the disposal of home-generated sharps waste in solid waste containers, recycling containers, yard waste containers, or landfills.

(Ord. No. 466, § 2, 9-8-2014)

A. "City" means the City of Farmersville.

B. "City council" means the City Council for the City of Farmersville.

C. "Consumer" means an individual who has purchased sharps for personal use for humans or animals.

D. "Home-generated" means all used sharps, as defined in this section, derived from any household, including a multifamily residence or single-family residence.

E. "Farmersville area" means the geographic area that includes the boundaries of the City of Farmersville, California.

F. "Retailer" means any entity, including but not limited to, a person or business, of whatever form of organization, including a manufacturer of sharps, which sells or provides sharps to the general public.

G. "Distributor" means a person who sells sharps to a retailer.

H. "Sharps" means hypodermic needles, pen needles, intravenous needles, lancets, and other devices that are used to penetrate the skin for the delivery of medications, to humans or animals.

I. "Receptacle" means a rigid puncture-resistant container with a sealable lid approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the purpose of transporting sharps for disposal.

J. "Proper disposal" means the lawful disposal of home-generated sharps waste in compliance with the applicable provisions of the California Health and Safety Code.

K. "This Code" and ("FMC") means and refers to the Farmersville Municipal Code.

L. "This chapter" refers to Chapter 8.06 of the FMC.

(Ord. No. 466, § 2, 9-8-2014)

A. Every retailer of sharps sold in the City of Farmersville must establish and implement within its retail outlet a written system for the acceptance and collection of home-generated sharps waste for proper disposal. A copy of said written system must be provided to any member of the public upon request.

B. Each system established by a retailer for the acceptance and collection of home-generated sharps waste during the retailer's normal hours of operation, for proper disposal shall, at a minimum, include all of the following elements:

1. A convenient location within the retail establishment for the "take-back" from the consumer of home-generated sharps waste at no cost to that consumer.

2. Appropriate signage, prominently displayed within five feet of any entrance to the retail establishment and easily visible to the consumer, indicating that the retail establishment accepts and collects home-generated sharps waste from consumers.

3. An appropriate receptacle or receptacles for the collection of home-generated sharps waste within the retail establishment. The retailer must ensure that all home-generated sharps waste on its premises is placed in the receptacle(s).

4. A procedure which ensures that all collected home-generated sharps waste is properly disposed of within the time limits established by applicable state law, if any.

C. Every retailer who sells sharps within the City of Farmersville must, at a minimum, provide the following take-back services during the retailer's normal business hours:

1. The take-back from the consumer of home-generated sharps waste that the retailer sold or previously sold to the consumer, at no cost to that consumer. In that event, the retailer may require proof of purchase of the prior sales. The retailer shall only be required to accept home-generated sharps waste in an amount equal to the quantity of sharps sold to the consumer.

(Ord. No. 466, § 2, 9-8-2014)

A. Any retailer who violates any provision within this chapter shall be subject to the enforcement remedies provided in FMC Section 1.12.010 and Chapter 1.13 of the FMC.

B. To the extent permitted by California Health and Safety Code § 118325, the city attorney and prosecutor may bring an action to enjoin any violation of Health and Safety Code § 118286.

C. Any violation of this chapter by a retailer shall constitute a public nuisance which may be abated in accordance with any applicable statute and/or the procedures in Chapter 8.08 of the FMC.

D. Except to the extent otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, each enforcement remedy available for a retailer's violation of this chapter shall be cumulative and not mutually exclusive of other available enforcement remedies.

(Ord. No. 466, § 2, 9-8-2014)

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unconstitutional or in any manner unenforceable, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The City Council of the City of Farmersville hereby declares that it would have enacted this chapter and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more portions thereof were declared invalid, unconstitutional or in any manner unenforceable.

(Ord. No. 466, § 2, 9-8-2014)