Turlock Municipal Code § 6-3-01 Declaration of purpose and intent

The City, in making adequate provision in this article of this chapter for the handling of solid waste, is doing so as a subdivision of the State and after being authorized and required to do so as a part of the State's comprehensive program for solid waste management and resource recovery and for the preservation, health, safety, and well-being of the public. The Municipal Code provisions regarding solid waste handling, and the actions of the City pursuant to those provisions, are intended to implement State policy and to provide for the City's continuing authorized evaluation, planning, and supervision in the area.

The reduction of solid waste landfilling through waste prevention, reuse, recycling, and composting, is a Statewide mandate (California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989). In addition, reduction of solid waste is a key component of meeting the Statewide climate protection mandate (California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006). Furthermore, AB 341, the Jobs and Recycling Act of 2011, and AB 1826, the Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling Act of 2014, require businesses and multifamily property owners to arrange for recycling and organics services. Additionally, SB 1383, the Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act of 2016, seeks to reduce organics in landfills, as a means to reduce methane emissions and to increase edible food recovery to reduce human food insecurity. To that end, the State of California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) developed regulations that place requirements on multiple entities, many of which are contained herein. Therefore, in order to protect the public peace, health, safety, and general welfare, to reduce the solid waste stream, to reduce methane emissions from landfills, and to comply with state regulations, the City deems it necessary to regulate the separation, collection, disposal, and recovery of recyclable materials, organic waste, and other solid waste as set forth in this chapter.

(1288-CS, Rep&ReEn, 02/10/2022)

For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:

(a)

"Act"

means the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (commencing with Section 40000 of the Public Resources Code), as amended, including but not limited to, the Jobs and Recycling Act of 2011 (AB 341), SB 1016 (Chapter 343, Statutes of 2008 (Wiggins, SB 1016)), the Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling Act of 2014 (AB 1826), and the Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Bill of 2016 (SB 1383), and as implemented by the regulations of CalRecycle.

(b)

"Authorized recycling contractor"

shall mean and include a person or any other entity authorized under and by virtue of a contract with the City of Turlock to collect recyclable material in the City.

(c)

"Bidding"

shall mean a selection process used to choose a contractor or franchisee. Such process shall not necessarily involve the award of a contract or franchise to the lowest bidder but may be based on other additional criteria established by the Council.

(d)

"California Code of Regulations" or "CCR"

means the State of California Code of Regulations. CCR references in this chapter are preceded with a number that refers to the relevant title of the CCR (e.g., "14 CCR" refers to Title 14 of CCR).

(e)

"Commercial business" or "commercial"

means a firm, partnership, proprietorship, joint-stock company, corporation, or association, whether for-profit or nonprofit, strip mall, industrial facility, or a multifamily residential dwelling, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(6). A multifamily residential dwelling that consists of fewer than five (5) units is not a commercial business for purposes of implementing this chapter.

(f)

"Commercial edible food generator"

includes a tier 1 or a tier 2 commercial edible food generator as defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(73) and (a)(74).

(g)

"Compost"

means the product resulting from the managed and controlled biological decomposition of organic solid waste that is source separated from the municipal solid waste stream, or which is separated at a centralized facility.

(h)

"Compost container"

has the same meaning as "green container" in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(29) and shall be used for the purpose of storage and collection of source separated organic waste designated for the compost container, including food waste, landscape, and pruning waste accepted in the City's organic waste collection program, and other organic materials as determined by the City as acceptable for the compost container.

(i)

"Container"

shall mean and include bin, box, cart, and receptacle.

(j)

"Designated recycling collection location"

shall mean and include the place designated in the contract between the City and an authorized recycling contractor from which the authorized recycling contractor has contracted to collect recyclable waste material.

(k)

"Designee"

means a person or entity that the City Manager or Municipal Services Director designates, contracts with or otherwise arranges to carry out any of the jurisdiction's responsibilities of this chapter authorized in 14 CCR Section 18981.2. A designee may be a government employee or entity, a private entity, or a combination of those entities.

(l)

"Disposal charge"

shall mean the cost for removal and disposal of waste and industrial refuse service.

(m)

"Edible food"

means food intended for human consumption, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(18). For the purposes of this chapter or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(18), "edible food" is not solid waste if it is recovered and not discarded. Nothing in this chapter or in 14 CCR Division 7, Chapter 12 requires or authorizes the recovery of edible food that does not meet the food safety requirements of the California Retail Food Code.

(n)

"Electronic waste"

(E-waste) shall mean computers, CRTs, monitors, copiers, fax machines, printers, televisions, and other electronic items.

(o)

"Enforcement action"

means an action of the relevant Enforcement Officer to address noncompliance with this chapter including, but not limited to, issuing abatement notices, administrative citations, fines, penalties, or using other remedies as authorized by TMC Title 1.

(p)

"Enforcement Officer"

means a person or entity the Municipal Services Manager designates to enforce part or all of this chapter. Enforcement Officers may carry out inspections and enforcement activities pursuant to this chapter. The City of Turlock has enforcement responsibility for all sections of this chapter. The City may choose to additionally delegate Enforcement Officer responsibility for certain sections, to other public entities. Nothing in this chapter authorizing an entity to enforce its terms shall require that entity to undertake such enforcement except as agreed to by that entity and the City.

(q)

"Excluded waste"

means hazardous substances, hazardous waste, infectious waste, designated waste, waste that is volatile, corrosive or infectious, medical waste, regulated radioactive waste, and toxic substances or material that facility operator(s), which receive materials from Turlock and its generators, reasonably believe(s) would, as a result of or upon acceptance, transfer, processing, or disposal, be a violation of local, State, or Federal law, regulation, or ordinance, including land use restrictions or conditions, including but not limited to: waste that cannot be disposed of in Class III landfills or accepted at the facility by permit conditions; waste that in the reasonable opinion of Turlock or its designee would present a significant risk to human health or the environment, cause a nuisance or otherwise create or expose Turlock or its designee to potential liability; but not including de minimis volumes or concentrations of waste of a type and amount normally found in single-family or multifamily solid waste after implementation of programs for the safe collection, processing, recycling, treatment, and disposal of batteries and paint in compliance with Sections 41500 and 41802 of the Public Resources Code. Excluded waste does not include used motor oil and filters, or other materials defined as allowable materials for collection through the City's collection programs and the generator or customer has properly placed the materials for collection pursuant to instructions provided by the City or the franchised collector providing service to the generator.

(r)

"Food facility"

has the same meaning as in Section 113789 of the Health and Safety Code.

(s)

"Food recovery organization"

means an entity that engages in the collection or receipt of edible food from commercial edible food generators and distributes that edible food to the public for food recovery either directly or through other entities or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(25), including, but not limited to:

(1)

A food bank as defined in Section 113783 of the Health and Safety Code;

(2)

A nonprofit charitable organization as defined in Section 113841 of the Health and Safety Code; and

(3)

A nonprofit charitable temporary food facility as defined in Section 113842 of the Health and Safety Code.

(t)

"Food recovery service"

means a person or entity that collects and transports edible food from a commercial edible food generator to a food recovery organization or other entities for food recovery, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(26). A food recovery service is not a commercial edible food generator for the purposes of this chapter and implementation of 14 CCR Division 7, Chapter 12 pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(7).

(u)

"Food scraps"

means all edible or inedible food such as, but not limited to, fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, shellfish, bones, rice, beans, pasta, bread, cheese, coffee grounds, and eggshells. Food scraps exclude fats, oils, and grease when such materials are source separated from other food scraps.

(v)

"Food service provider"

is a tier 1 commercial edible food generator and means an entity primarily engaged in providing food services to institutional, governmental, commercial, or industrial locations of others based on contractual arrangements with these types of organizations, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(27).

(w)

"Food waste"

means food scraps and food-soiled paper.

(x)

"Franchised collector"

means such persons, firms or corporations collecting and delivering for disposal, recycling or processing, garbage, recyclable materials or organic waste (other than solid waste generated by a permitted building project) originating in the City and doing so under a franchise agreement with the City.

(y)

"Garbage"

means those elements of the solid waste stream designated for the "garbage container," and excludes hazardous waste, excluded waste, materials designated for the "compost container" or "recycling container," or materials which have been separated for reuse.

(z)

"Garbage container"

has the same meaning as "gray container" in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(28) and shall be used for the purpose of storage and collection of garbage.

(aa)

"Generator"

means a person or entity that is responsible for the initial creation of garbage, organic waste, or recyclable materials.

(bb)

"Grocery store"

is a tier 1 commercial edible food generator and means a store primarily engaged in the retail sale of canned food; dry goods; fresh fruits and vegetables; fresh meats, fish, and poultry; and any area that is not separately owned within the store where the food is prepared and served, including a bakery, deli, and meat and seafood departments, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(30).

(cc)

"High diversion organic waste processing facility"

means a facility that is in compliance with the reporting requirements of 14 CCR Section 18815.5(d) and meets or exceeds an annual average mixed waste organic content recovery rate of fifty (50%) percent between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2024, and seventy-five (75%) percent after January 1, 2025, as calculated pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18815.5(e) for organic waste received from the "mixed waste organic collection stream" as defined in 14 CCR Section 17402(a)(11.5); or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(33).

(dd)

"Industrial refuse"

shall mean refuse produced by a person principally engaged in the business of growing, processing, or manufacturing agricultural, animal, or other products or materials whose principal outlet for such products is wholesale rather than retail; is collected by a licensee from a container whose volume equals or exceeds ten (10) cubic yards; and refuse produced by any person engaged in the business of building construction or demolition.

(ee)

"Inspection"

means a site visit where an Enforcement Officer reviews records, containers, and an entity's collection, handling, recycling, or landfill disposal of organic waste or edible food handling to determine if the entity is complying with requirements set forth in this chapter, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(35)

(ff)

"License"

shall mean a City of Turlock business license, or other such license as required by the City Council.

(gg)

"Multifamily residential dwelling" or "multifamily"

means for the purpose of implementing this chapter, of, from, or pertaining to residential premises with five (5) or more dwelling units. Multifamily premises are considered a distinct type of commercial business for the purposes of implementing SB 1383 requirements. Consistent with SB 1383 regulations, residential premises that consist of fewer than five (5) units are not "multifamily" and instead are "single-family" for the purposes of implementing this chapter. Multifamily premises do not include hotels, motels, or other transient occupancy facilities, which are considered commercial businesses that are not multifamily residential dwellings.

(hh)

"Municipal Services Director"

shall mean the Director of the Department responsible for the implementation of the requirements of this chapter.

(ii)

"Organic waste"

means solid waste containing material originated from living organisms and their metabolic waste products, including but not limited to food scraps, food-soiled paper, landscape and pruning waste, organic textiles and organic carpets, lumber, wood, paper products, printing and writing paper, manure, biosolids, digestate, and sludges or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(46). Organic waste does not include compostable plastic.

(jj)

"Organic waste generator"

means a person or entity that is responsible for the initial creation of organic waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(48).

(kk)

"Person"

shall mean and include any individual, firm, co-partnership, corporation, company, association, joint-stock association, or body politic group, or combination, and the plural as well as the singular; and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or other similar representative thereof.

(ll)

"Premises"

means any real property or estate which may be devised or granted by deed.

(mm)

"Prohibited container contaminants"

includes all of the following: (1) materials placed in the recycling container that are not identified as acceptable source separated recyclable materials for the City's recycling container; (2) materials placed in the compost container that are not identified as acceptable source separated organic waste for the city's compost container; (3) materials placed in the garbage container that are acceptable source separated recyclable materials and/or acceptable source separated organic waste that can be placed in the City's compost container and/or recycling container; and (4) excluded waste placed in any container.

(nn)

"Property owner"

means the owner of real property.

(oo)

"Recycling"

shall mean and include the process of collecting and converting recyclable waste material by reprocessing or other such remanufacturing.

(pp)

"Recycling container"

has the same meaning as "blue container" in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(5) and shall be used for the purpose of storage and collection of source separated recyclable materials.

(qq)

"SB 1383"

means Senate Bill 1383, the Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act of 2016.

(rr)

"SB 1383 regulations"

means or refers to, for the purposes of this chapter, the Short-Lived Climate Pollutants: Organic Waste Reduction regulations developed by CalRecycle and adopted in 2020 that created 14 CCR Division 7, Chapter 12 and amended portions of regulations of 14 and 27 CCR.

(ss)

"Self-hauler"

means a generator who transports its own solid waste by using a vehicle owned by that generator and driven by the generator or the generator's employees, rather than the franchised collector. Self-hauler also includes a person or entity who back-hauls waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(66). "Back-haul" means generating and transporting organic waste to a destination owned and operated by the generator using the generator's own employees and equipment, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(66)(A).

(tt)

"Single-family"

means of, from, or pertaining to any residential premises with fewer than five (5) units for the purposes of implementing this chapter.

(uu)

"Solid waste"

shall mean household waste, construction and demolition debris, sanitation residue, and waste from streets. This refuse is generated mainly from residential and commercial complexes.

(vv)

"Solid waste"

means garbage, recyclable materials, and organic waste and has the same meaning as defined in Public Resources Code Section 40191, which defines "solid waste" as all putrescible and nonputrescible solid, semisolid, and liquid wastes, including garbage, trash, refuse, paper, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, C&D wastes, abandoned vehicles and parts thereof, discarded home and industrial appliances, dewatered, treated, or chemically fixed sewage sludge which is not hazardous waste, manure, vegetable or animal solid and semisolid wastes, and other discarded solid and semisolid wastes, with the exception that solid waste does not include any of the following wastes:

(1)

Hazardous waste, as defined in the Public Resources Code Section 40141.

(2)

Radioactive waste regulated pursuant to the State Radiation Control Law (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 114960) of Part 9 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code).

(3)

Medical waste regulated pursuant to the State Medical Waste Management Act (Part 14 (commencing with Section 117600) of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code). Untreated medical waste shall not be disposed of in a solid waste landfill, as defined in Public Resources Code Section 40195.1. Medical waste that has been treated and deemed to be solid waste shall be regulated pursuant to Division 30 of the Public Resources Code.

(ww)

"Source separated"

means materials that have been kept separate from the solid waste stream, at the point of generation, for the purpose of additional sorting or processing in order to return them to the economic mainstream in the form of raw material for new, reused, or reconstituted products, which meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the marketplace, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 17402.5(b)(4).

(xx)

"Source separated organic waste"

means those organics that can be placed in a compost container including food scraps, food-soiled paper, landscaping and pruning waste, and any other items as determined by the City.

(yy)

"Source separated recyclable materials"

means the same thing as "recyclable materials" and includes those recyclable materials that can be placed in the recycling container including, but not limited to, glass and plastic bottles, aluminum, tin and steel cans, metals, unsoiled paper products, printing and writing paper, cardboard, and any other items as determined by the City.

(zz)

"Special waste"

means a waste which is a hazardous waste only because it contains an inorganic substance or substances which cause it to pose a chronic toxicity hazard to human health or the environment and which meets all of the criteria and requirements of 22 CCR Section 66261.122 and has been classified a special waste pursuant to 22 CCR Section 66261.124.

(aaa)

"Supermarket"

is a tier 1 commercial edible food generator and means a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of Two Million and no/100ths ($2,000,000.00) Dollars, or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(71).

(bbb)

"Tier 1 commercial edible food generator"

means a commercial edible food generator that is one (1) of the following:

(1)

Supermarkets with gross annual sales of Two Million and no/100ths ($2,000,000.00) Dollars or more, or as defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(71).

(2)

Grocery store with a total facility size equal to or greater than ten thousand (10,000) square feet, as defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(30).

(3)

Food service provider which means an entity primarily engaged in providing food services to institutional, governmental, commercial, or industrial locations of others based on contractual arrangements with these types of organizations, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(27).

(4)

Wholesale food vendor which means a business or establishment engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of food, where food (including fruits and vegetables) is received, shipped, stored, and prepared for distribution to a retailer, warehouse, distributor, or other destination, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(76).

(5)

Food distributor which means a company that distributes food to entities including, but not limited to, supermarkets and grocery stores or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(22).

(ccc)

"Tier 2 commercial edible food generator"

means a commercial edible food generator that is one (1) of the following:

(1)

Restaurant which means an establishment primarily engaged in the retail sale of food and drinks for on-premises or immediate consumption, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(64) and which has two hundred fifty (250) or more seats, or a total facility size equal to or greater than five thousand (5,000) square feet.

(2)

Hotel with an on-site food facility and two hundred (200) or more rooms or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(74)(B).

(3)

Health facility with an on-site food facility and one hundred (100) or more beds, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(73)(C).

(4)

Large venue

, which means a permanent venue facility that annually seats or serves an average of more than two thousand (2,000) individuals within the grounds of the facility per day of operation of the venue facility, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(39). For purposes of this chapter and implementation of 14 CCR Division 7, Chapter 12, a venue facility includes, but is not limited to, a public, nonprofit, or privately owned or operated stadium, amphitheater, arena, hall, amusement park, conference or civic center, zoo, aquarium, airport, racetrack, horse track, performing arts center, fairground, museum, theater, or other public attraction facility. For purposes of this chapter and implementation of 14 CCR Division 7, Chapter 12, a site under common ownership or control that includes more than one (1) large venue that is contiguous with other large venues in the site, is a single large venue.

(5)

Large event, as defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(38), means an event that serves an average of more than two thousand (2,000) individuals per day of operation of the event and either: (i) charges an admission price; or (ii) is operated by a local agency.

(6)

A State agency with a cafeteria with two hundred fifty (250) or more seats or total cafeteria facility size equal to or greater than five thousand (5,000) square feet.

(7)

A local education agency

, which means a school district, charter school, or county office of education that is not subject to the control of city or county regulations related to solid waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(40), and which has an on-site food facility.

(ddd)

"Universal waste"

(U-waste) shall mean hazardous wastes that are more common and pose a lower risk to people and the environment than other hazardous waste. Some items considered as universal waste include: mercury thermostats, batteries, lamps, non-aerosol cans, mercury switches, mercury thermometers, pressure or vacuum gauges, dilators and weighted tubing, rubber flooring, consumer electronic devices, cathode ray tubes, and various gauges.

(eee)

"User disposal containers"

are containers inside a business for the collection of source separated organic waste, source separated recyclables and garbage for employees, contractors, tenants, customers, and other users of the business.

(1288-CS, Rep&ReEn, 02/10/2022)