Report Title:

Food Waste Recycling; County Requirements Established

 

Description:

Establishes county requirements for separate collection and recycling of food waste by specified restaurants, food courts, hotels, markets, food manufacturers or processors, catering establishments, hospitals, schools, and businesses; requires inspections and dissemination of information about the requirements; authorizes a county to assess a surcharge; allows a county to request an exemption if DOH determines county recycling service is not available. (SD1)

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2723

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

H.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

S.D. 1


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to counties.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Part . food waste recycling

§46-A Findings and purpose. The legislature finds that waste disposal is an issue of critical importance throughout the islands, particularly for county governments faced with limited landfill capabilities in the face of renewed economic expansion. Section 226-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), declares that "it shall be the policy of this State to . . . promote re-use and recycling to reduce solid and liquid wastes and employ a conservation ethic." Act 324, Session Laws of Hawaii 1991, codified as chapter 342G, Hawaii Revised Statutes, established requirements for county integrated solid waste management planning, including a recycling and bioconversion component, and set solid waste diversion goals of twenty-five per cent by 1995 and fifty per cent by 2000.

The legislature further finds that despite these statewide policies, recycling efforts still reduce only a fraction of the solid and liquid waste generated. Landfills on all islands are approaching or have already reached capacity, and both expansion of current landfills and relocation efforts are meeting widespread community opposition.

The city and county of Honolulu has initiated several successful recycling programs, including food waste recycling, while neighbor island counties have been slower to develop recycling options. The legislature recognizes that funding such programs is a significant issue for neighbor island counties, but finds that in order to achieve statewide recycling goals, current recycling efforts must be encouraged and expanded at the county level.

The purpose of this Act is to require the counties to establish a program for recycling food waste as part of the county integrated solid waste management plans under chapter 342G, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and to authorize the counties to assess a food waste recycling surcharge.

§46-B Definitions. As used in this part unless the context otherwise requires:

"Business" means any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, individual, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or any other private legal entity.

"Catering establishment" means an establishment primarily involved in the preparation and transfer of finished food products for immediate consumption upon delivery to off-premises destinations including, but not necessarily limited to, hotels, restaurants, airlines, and social events.

"Composting facility" means an establishment that conducts either major or minor composting operations through a process in which organic materials are biologically decomposed under controlled conditions to produce a stable humus-like mulch or soil amendment. The composting process includes, but is not necessarily limited to, receipt of materials, primary processing, decomposition activities, and final processing for sale and marketing. This term does not include bioremediation of fuel-contaminated soil.

Major composting operations involve more complex controls to manage odors, vectors, and surface water contamination. For instance, in some cases, on-site odors may not be able to be completely mitigated. Major composting includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the composting of mixed solid waste, including solid waste facility residues (rubbish), sewage sludge, waste from animal food processing operations, and similar materials.

Minor composting operations involve relatively simple management and engineering solutions to control odors, vectors, and surface water contamination. Minor composting includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the composting of clean, source-separated organic materials, including, but not necessarily limited to, greenwaste, animal manure, crop residues, and waste from vegetable food processing operations.

"Department" means the agency in each county responsible for solid and liquid waste management and recycling.

"Food bank" means a facility that receives donations of food for redistribution to needy groups, individuals, or families.

"Food court" means an area within a building or shopping center where five or more food establishments are situated.

"Food establishment" means a business, catering establishment, food court, food manufacturer or processor, hospital, hotel, market, school, or restaurant.

"Food manufacturer or processor" includes an establishment that generates food waste and is primarily involved in the manufacture or processing of food products, including animal products.

"Food waste" means all animal and vegetable solid wastes generated by a food establishment that result from the storage, preparation, cooking, or handling of food.

"Function room" means an area where events are held at which food is served, including but not limited to wedding receptions, business meetings, conferences, banquets, and parties.

"Hospital" means a facility operated, licensed, accredited, or approved as a hospital under a state law.

"Hotel" means an establishment consisting of one or more buildings which contain rooms where sleeping accommodations are provided and offered for adequate pay to transient or permanent guests; and a suitable and adequate kitchen and dining room, where meals are regularly prepared and served to hotel guests and other customers.

"Market" includes establishments where fresh meat, fish, or produce is prepared, handled, and displayed for sale at retail or wholesale.

"Meal" includes any food item or items served as an entree at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but excludes beverages and desserts, if the beverages or desserts are served by themselves and not part of a breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

"Prepared meal" means a meal that has been cleaned, cooked, or otherwise prepared on the premises of the food establishment, and shall exclude prepackaged meals that are cooked or otherwise prepared elsewhere and only sold on the premises of the establishment. Prepared meals includes meals a portion of which have been precooked or prepared off the premises of the establishment.

"Recycling facility" includes a composting facility, waste bioconversion facility, rendering facility, pig farm, or other agricultural facility that uses food waste as animal feed or for other agricultural use, or any other facility that recycles food waste and is approved by the department for that purpose.

"Recycling service" means a service or collection of services that includes the collection and transportation of food waste to a department-approved recycling facility by a refuse hauler or other company that collects the food waste, and the recycling or reuse of that food waste by a department-approved recycling facility, which may or may not be operated by the company that collects and transports the food waste.

"Rendering facility" means an establishment that converts kitchen grease, cooking oils, meat scraps, or other slaughterhouse waste, waste from meat processing plants, or any combination of the foregoing items, for use in the manufacture of such products as cosmetics, detergents, plastics, paints, tires, and animal feed products.

"Restaurant" means a place of business where food is served for compensation and includes the kitchen or food preparation area of that place of business.

"School" means any kindergarten, elementary, secondary, or postsecondary educational institution, public or private.

"Waste bioconversion facility" means a facility where food and other organic waste are converted into useable byproducts.

§46-C Applicability; exceptions. (a) The owners of the following food establishments shall arrange and provide for the separate collection of a minimum of fifty per cent or more of the total food waste generated and for its recycling by a recycling facility in the county; or separate a minimum of fifty per cent or more of the total food waste from all other solid waste generated by the food establishment and deliver the food waste to a recycling facility:

(1) A restaurant; provided that if a restaurant is also a catering establishment, it shall be considered a restaurant for purposes of this part; and provided further that if a restaurant has on its premises a place where the primary method of service, for all mealtimes, is food and drink orders taken and served to customers at an over-the-counter or self-service counter, that portion of the premises devoted to the taking and serving of such food and drink orders, and any dining area serving customers of such self-service counter, shall be counted in determining the total food waste generated;

(2) A food court; provided that the company or entity that manages the shopping center or building where the food court is located shall be required to comply with the requirements of this part unless the owners of the food establishments in the food court are responsible for the disposal of their refuse, in which case the owners of those establishments shall be responsible for complying with this part;

(3) A hotel with a kitchen or kitchens and one or more banquet or function rooms. For the purposes of this paragraph, a "kitchen" means that place that is not part of a restaurant and where food is prepared for hotel employees or functions on the hotel's premises;

(4) A market, food manufacturer, or processor;

(5) A catering establishment that is not also a restaurant or part of a restaurant;

(6) A hospital that serves prepared patient meals;

(7) A school that serves two hundred seventy-five or more prepared meals per day based on an annualized average; provided that if a public school does not meet the requirements of this part, the agency responsible for waste management and recycling in the county where the school is located shall notify the department of health of any violations; or

(8) A business that produces food waste.

(b) For the purposes of this section, for the first year following the effective date of this Act, the annualized average number of prepared meals served or sold per day by a food establishment shall be the average number of meals prepared per day in the year prior to the effective date of this Act, for any food establishment that has been in existence for one year or more prior to the effective date of this Act.

For any establishment that has not been in existence for one year or more prior to the effective date of this Act, the annualized average shall be determined based on the number of prepared meals served or sold per day during the first year that the food establishment has been in existence following the effective date of this Act.

Except as provided above, an establishment shall use the prior year's average number of prepared meals served or sold per day in determining whether it is required to recycle food waste in accordance with this part.

(c) A food establishment otherwise required to recycle food waste under this part shall not be required to do so if the total food waste generated does not exceed fifty gallons per week.

(d) A food establishment otherwise required to recycle food waste under this part shall not be required to do so if the disposal charge for disposing of food waste at a recycling facility, including the cost of transporting the food waste to the facility, exceeds the tipping fee or disposal charge for disposing of waste, plus the cost of transporting refuse to such facility.

§46-D Cooperation with other establishment. A food establishment that is required to recycle food waste under this part may combine the waste with that of other establishments, or may separately collect and recycle its own food waste.

§46-E Suspension of requirement. (a) The owner of a food establishment that is otherwise required to recycle food waste may petition the department to suspend the applicability of this part to the applicant if the applicant demonstrates that recycling service for food waste is unavailable to the applicant.

(b) If the department grants the petition, the requirements of this part shall be suspended until such time as recycling service becomes available to the applicant.

(c) The department shall periodically review the availability of recycling service to food establishments for which the requirements of this part have been suspended.

If after review, the department determines that recycling service is available and that the requirements of this part shall no longer be suspended with regard to a particular food establishment, the department shall notify the owner of the establishment by registered mail and the owner shall be required to recycle food waste in accordance with this part within sixty days of receipt of the notice.

(d) The department may also suspend the requirements of this part as follows:

(1) During the period of a work stoppage or any other interruption of recycling collection service to the food establishments that are subject to this part; or

(2) When the department determines that there are inadequate recycling facilities or that there is inadequate recycling capacity to dispose of the food waste being collected pursuant to this part.

§46-F Rules. The department may adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91.

§46-G Inspection authorized. Upon presentation of proper credentials, the department or the department's duly authorized representative, may enter at reasonable times any building or premises of a food establishment and inspect the books and records of a food establishment to determine compliance with the requirements of this part; provided that the entry and inspection shall be made in such a manner as to cause the least possible inconvenience to the persons in possession of the property and the owners of the food establishment; and provided further that an order of a court authorizing such entry and inspection shall be obtained prior to entry or inspection if the entry or inspection is denied or resisted by the persons in possession or owners of the food establishment.

§46-H Reporting requirements. (a) On the effective date of this Act and quarterly thereafter, each waste recycling facility shall report to the department for the quarter preceding:

(1) The total volume of food waste being recycled, and the average dollar amount the facility is charging per unit of weight or volume, if the facility both collected and disposed of food waste from a food establishment; and

(2) The amount of food waste, per unit of weight or volume, that the facility recycled during the previous quarter.

(b) Within thirty days of receipt of this information, the department shall forward the reports to the director of the state department of health, who shall review them for compliance with this Act.

§46-I Donations of food. Nothing in this part shall preclude a food establishment from donating leftover or unsold food that is safe to consume to a food bank.

§46-J Violation; penalty. Any person violating this part may be subject to a civil fine not to exceed $250; provided that each day that a person violates this part shall constitute a separate violation; and provided further that a person shall have the right to appeal a civil fine under chapter 91. For purposes of this section, "person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, governmental agency, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.

§46-K Dissemination of information. The department shall ensure that a copy of this Act and any rules adopted pursuant to section 46-E are made available to any food establishment as defined in sections 46-A and 46-B through the relevant certificate, permit, or license procedures.

§46-L Food waste recycling surcharge. Each county may assess an annual food waste recycling surcharge based on the partial costs of food waste recycling. Notice of this surcharge shall be included with any notice of assessment.

§46-M County request for exemption. (a) This chapter shall apply to all counties; provided that a county may request an exemption, based on a determination by the state department of health that a county does not have the recycling capacity to meet the requirements of this chapter.

(b) The state department of health shall review annually all county exemptions and shall rescind an exemption if the state department of health determines that the applicable county has achieved a recycling capacity to meet the requirements of this chapter."

SECTION 2. The legislature finds that the food waste recycling program in this Act falls within the program elements of the county integrated solid waste management plans under section 342G, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and additionally, that this Act allows the counties to impose a surcharge to pay for this program. Therefore, the legislature further finds that the food waste recycling program is not a mandated program under Article VIII, section 5, of the state constitution.

SECTION 3. In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.