Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code Art. IV Solid Waste, Recyclable Material, and Organic Waste Generators

A. Single-family generators shall subscribe to a three-container collection service that includes a blue container, green container, and gray container, and shall be solely responsible to the franchisee for the payment of the fees set forth in any such collection agreement the city has entered into with a franchisee for collection service. The city shall not be responsible for payment of any such fees to any franchise. Generators shall comply with the following requirements except single-family generators that meet the self-hauler requirements in section 8.20.370.

B. Single-family generators shall participate in the city's collection services by placing designated materials in designated containers as described below and shall not place prohibited container contaminants in collection containers.

1. Generators shall place organic materials, including food waste, in the green container; source separated recyclable materials in the blue container; and solid waste in the gray container. Generators shall not place materials designated for the gray container into the green container or blue container, nor materials designated for the green or blue containers into the gray container.

2. No person shall interfere in any manner with any green, blue, or gray container or the contents thereof, or remove any blue, green, or gray container or the contents thereof from the location where the same was placed by the owner or occupant of the premises for collection.

(Ord. No. 658, § 4(8.20.340), 3-15-2022)

Every person owning, occupying or operating a commercial premises (including multifamily) in the city, except commercial businesses that meet the self-hauler requirements in section 8.20.370, or that have been granted a waiver by the city pursuant to section 8.20.380, shall:

A. Subscribe and pay for solid waste collection services of the franchisee, and the franchisee shall collect all solid waste, recyclable materials and organic waste placed in the appropriate containers and in the correct location in accordance with the terms of the collection agreement for such services.

B. Participate in the franchisee organic waste collection service by placing designated materials in designated containers. Commercial waste generators shall place organic waste in the green container; source separated recyclable materials in the blue container; and gray container waste in the gray container. Commercial waste generators shall not place materials designated for the gray container into the green container or into the blue container and shall not otherwise place prohibited container contaminants in any container.

C. Ensure that their employees and independent contractors are informed and educated about all recycling services available at the site. Information concerning the types of recyclable materials and organic waste that can be segregated and recycled, the location of containers for recyclable materials and organic waste, and the employees' responsibility to recycle recyclable materials and organic waste shall be distributed to all new employees when hired, to all independent contractors when retained and periodically to all other employees and independent contractors. All employees and independent contractors shall also be given appropriate information and instructions concerning any change in recycling services to the commercial premises.

D. Allow access to an adequate number, size and location of authorized franchisee's containers with sufficient labels or colors for employees, contractors, tenants, and customers, consistent with the authorized franchisee's blue container, green container, and gray container collection service or, if self-hauling, allow access to containers per the commercial businesses' collection practices to support its compliance with its self-haul program, in accordance with section 8.20.370.

E. Provide waste generator-owned containers for the collection of source separated green container organic waste and source separated recyclable materials in all indoor and outdoor areas where internal containers are provided for use by customers to discard materials generated by that business. Such containers do not need to be provided in restrooms. If a commercial business 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. Multifamily premises and full-service restaurants are exempt from this particular requirement. The containers provided by the business shall have either:

1. A body or lid that conforms with the container colors provided through the collection service provided by the authorized hauler, with either lids or bodies conforming to the color requirements or both lids and bodies conforming to color requirements.

2. 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.

F. Prohibit employees from placing prohibited container contaminants in any container to the extent practical through education, training, inspection, and/or other measures. Multifamily premises are exempt from this particular requirement.

G. Inspect blue containers, green containers, and gray containers every month for container contamination and inform employees if contaminated containers are discovered and of the requirements to keep prohibited container contaminants out of those containers. Multifamily premises are exempt from this particular requirement.

H. Provide information to employees, contractors, tenants, and customers each year about organic waste recovery requirements set forth in this chapter and about proper sorting of source separated green container organic waste and source separated recyclable materials.

I. Provide education information prior to or within 14 days of occupation of the premises by new tenants that describes requirements to keep source separated green container organic waste and source separated recyclable materials separate from gray container waste (when applicable) and the location of containers and the rules governing their use at the premises.

J. Provide or arrange access for the city or its agent to the premises during all inspections conducted in accordance with section 8.20.450 to confirm compliance with the requirements of this chapter.

K. Customers shall have only one franchisee to provide all three collection services.

Nothing in this section prohibits an owner or occupant of commercial premises or a commercial business from preventing or reducing waste generation, managing organic waste on site, or using a community composting site.

(Ord. No. 658, § 4(8.20.350), 3-15-2022)

Unless the customer has been granted a waiver by the city from the requirements of this section, the franchisee shall, upon request of the administrator, automatically arrange for the collection of recyclable materials and/or organic waste at premises owned, occupied or operated by any person violating any of the provisions of this section. These services shall be paid for by the person owning, occupying or operating such premises.

At least 30 days prior to submitting such request to the franchisee, the administrator shall provide adequate written notice to the person owning, occupying or operating the premises in violation of this section informing such person of the violation, the actions necessary to correct the violation, and the fact that the services will be automatically provided at their expense if they do not correct the violation within such 30 days. A copy of the notice shall be provided to the franchisee at the same time so that the franchisee is prepared to automatically provide the services if necessary.

Following such 30-day period, the administrator shall notify the franchisee if compliance has not been made, and the contractor shall thereafter, within five business days, deliver to such premises receptacles to be used for the accumulation, segregation and collection of recyclable materials and/or organic waste generated from or at the premises, add such services to the account for such premises, and notify the person owning, occupying or operating such premises that they shall be responsible for the cost of collection services.

(Ord. No. 658, § 4(8.20.360), 3-15-2022)

A. Self-haulers shall source separate all recyclable materials and organic waste generated on-site from solid waste in a manner consistent with section 8.20.340 for single-family waste generators, and section 8.20.350 for commercial businesses or shall haul organic waste to a high diversion organic waste processing facility.

B. Self-haulers shall haul their source separated recyclable materials to a facility that recovers those materials; and haul their organic materials to a solid waste facility, operation, activity, or property that processes or recovers source separated organic waste.

C. Self-haulers that are commercial businesses shall keep a record of the amount of refuse, recyclable materials, and organic waste delivered to each solid waste facility, operation, activity, or property that processes or recovers these materials; this record shall be subject to inspection by the city. The records shall include the following information:

1. Delivery receipts and weight tickets from the entity accepting the materials.

2. The amount of material in cubic yards or tons transported to each entity.

3. 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 number of loads, and the entities that received organic waste.

D. Self-haulers that are commercial businesses shall provide information collected in subsection (C) of this section to the city upon request.

(Ord. No. 658, § 4(8.20.370), 3-15-2022)

A. De minimis waivers. The city may waive a commercial business' obligation to comply with some or all of the organic waste requirements of this chapter if the commercial business provides documentation that the business generates below a certain amount of organic waste as described in subsection (A)(2) of this section. Commercial businesses requesting a de minimis waiver shall:

1. Submit an application specifying the services that they are requesting a waiver from and provide documentation as noted in subsection (A)(2) of this section.

2. Provide documentation that either:

i. The total solid waste collection service from the commercial business is two cubic yards or more per week and organic waste subject to collection in a blue container or green container comprises fewer than 20 gallons per week per applicable container; or

ii. The total solid waste collection from the commercial business is fewer than two cubic yards per week and organic waste subject to collection in a blue container or green container comprises fewer than ten gallons per week per applicable container.

3. Notify the city if circumstances change such that commercial business's organic waste exceeds threshold set forth in subsection (A)(2) of this section, in which case the waiver will be rescinded.

4. Provide written verification of eligibility for de minimis waiver every five years, if the city has approved a de minimis waiver.

B. Physical space waivers. The city may waive a commercial business' (including multifamily dwellings') obligation to comply with some or all of the recyclable materials and/or organic waste collection service requirements of this chapter if the commercial business or property owner provides evidence to the city from an authorized hauler, licensed architect, or licensed engineer demonstrating that the premises lacks adequate space for the collection containers required for compliance with the recyclable materials and/or organic waste collection requirements of this chapter. A commercial business or property owner may request a physical space waiver through the following process:

1. Submit an application form specifying the types of collection services for which they are requesting a physical space waiver.

2. Provide documentation and evidence that the premises lacks adequate space for blue containers and/or green containers including documentation from its hauler, licensed architect, or licensed engineer.

3. Provide written verification and evidence to the city or their designee that it is still eligible for physical space waiver every five years if the city has approved a physical space waiver.

C. Review and approval of waivers by the city. Only the city administrator or designee (and not the franchisee) may grant or approve de minimis waivers, physical space waivers, or collection frequency waivers.

(Ord. No. 658, § 4(8.20.380), 3-15-2022)

A. Persons applying for a permit from the city for new construction, building additions and alterations shall comply with the requirements of this section and all required components of the CALGreen (California Green Building Standards Code, 24 CCR pt. 11), as amended, if its project is covered by the scope of CALGreen. If the requirements of CALGreen are more stringent then the requirements of this section, the CALGreen requirements shall apply. Project applicants shall refer to the city's building and construction code in title 15.

B. For projects covered by CALGreen, the applicants must, as a condition of the city's permit approval, comply with the following:

1. Where five or more multifamily dwelling units are constructed on a building site, provide readily accessible areas that serve occupants of all buildings on the site and are identified for the storage and collection of blue container and green container materials, consistent with the three container collection program offered by the city, or comply with provision of adequate space for recycling for multifamily and commercial premises pursuant to sections 4.408.1, 4.410.2, 5.408.1, and 5.410.1 of the California Green Building Standards Code, 24 CCR pt. 11, as amended, provided amended requirements are more stringent than the CALGreen requirements for adequate recycling space effective January 1, 2020.

2. New commercial construction or additions resulting in more than 30 percent of the floor area shall provide readily accessible areas identified for the storage and collection of blue container and green container materials, consistent with the three container collection program offered by the city, or shall comply with provision of adequate space for recycling for multifamily and commercial premises pursuant to sections 4.408.1, 4.410.2, 5.408.1, and 5.410.1 of the California Green Building Standards Code, 24 CCR pt. 11, as amended, provided amended requirements are more stringent than the CALGreen requirements for adequate recycling space effective January 1, 2020.

3. Comply with CALGreen requirements and applicable law related to management of C&D debris, including diversion of organic waste in C&D debris from disposal. Comply with all written and published policies and/or administrative guidelines regarding the collection, recycling, diversion, tracking, and/or reporting of C&D debris.

(Ord. No. 658, § 4(8.20.390), 3-15-2022)

Property owners or their building or landscape designers, including anyone requiring a building or planning permit, plan check, or landscape design review from the city, who are constructing a new (single-family, multifamily, public, institutional, or commercial) project with a landscape area greater than 500 square feet, or rehabilitating an existing landscape with a total landscape area greater than 2,500 square feet, shall comply with section 492.6(a)(3)(B), (C), (D), and (G) of the MWELO, including sections related to use of compost and mulch as delineated in this section.

A. The following compost and mulch use requirements that are part of the MWELO are now also included as requirements of this chapter. Other requirements of the MWELO are in effect and can be found in 23 CCR div. 2, ch. 2.7.

B. Property owners or their building or landscape designers that meet the threshold for MWELO compliance outlined in subsection (A) of this section shall:

a. Comply with section 492.6(a)(3)(B), (C), (D) and (G) of the MWELO, which requires the submittal of a landscape design plan with a soil preparation, mulch, and amendments section to include the following:

i. For landscape installations, compost at a rate of a minimum of four cubic yards per 1,000 square feet of permeable area shall be incorporated to a depth of six inches into the soil. Soils with greater than six percent organic matter in the top six inches of soil are exempt from adding compost and tilling.

ii. For landscape installations, a minimum three-inch layer of mulch shall be applied on all exposed soil surfaces of planting areas except in turf areas, creeping or rooting groundcovers, or direct seeding applications where mulch is contraindicated. To provide habitat for beneficial insects and other wildlife up to five percent of the landscape area may be left without mulch. Designated insect habitat must be included in the landscape design plan as such.

iii. Organic mulch materials made from recycled or post-consumer materials shall take precedence over inorganic materials or virgin forest products unless the recycled post-consumer organic products are not locally available. Organic mulches are not required where prohibited by local fuel modification plan guidelines or other applicable local ordinances.

b. The MWELO compliance items listed in this section are not an inclusive list of MWELO requirements; therefore, property owners or their building or landscape designers that meet the threshold for MWELO compliance outlined in subsection (A) of this section shall consult the full MWELO for all requirements.

C. If, after the adoption of this chapter, the state department of water resources, or its successor agency, amends 23 CCR div. 2, ch. 2.7, section 492.6(a)(3)(B), (C), (D), and (G) of the MWELO, September 15, 2015, requirements in a manner that requires jurisdictions to incorporate the requirements of an updated MWELO in a local ordinance, and the amended requirements include provisions more stringent than those required in this section, the revised requirements of 23 CCR div. 2, ch. 2.7 shall be enforced.

(Ord. No. 658, § 4(8.20.400), 3-15-2022)