The Florida Senate

403.714  Duties of state agencies.--

(1)  Each state agency, the judicial branch of state government, and the State University System shall:

(a)  Establish a program, in cooperation with the department and the Department of Management Services, for the collection of all recyclable materials generated in state offices and institutions throughout the state, including, at a minimum, aluminum, high-grade office paper, and corrugated paper.

(b)  Provide procedures for collecting and storing recyclable materials, containers for storing materials, and contractual or other arrangements with buyers of the recyclable materials.

(c)  Evaluate the amount of recyclable material recycled and make all necessary modifications to said recycling program to ensure that all recyclable materials are effectively and practicably recycled.

(d)  Establish and implement, in cooperation with the department and the Department of Management Services, a solid waste reduction program for materials used in the course of agency operations. The program shall be designed and implemented to achieve the maximum feasible reduction of solid waste generated as a result of agency operations.

(2)  The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall investigate the potential markets for composted materials and shall submit its findings to the department for the waste registry informational program administered by the department in order to stimulate absorption of available composted materials into such markets.

(3)  All state agencies, including, but not limited to, the Department of Transportation, the department, and the Department of Management Services and local governments, are required to procure compost products when they can be substituted for, and cost no more than, regular soil amendment products, provided the compost products meet all applicable state standards, specifications, and regulations. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall coordinate the development of uniform product specifications for procurement and use of compost by all state agencies. This product preference shall apply to, but not be limited to, the construction of highway projects, road rights-of-way, highway planting projects, recultivation and erosion control programs, and other projects. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall prepare an annual summary on the use of compost products by any state agency, political subdivision, or agency of a political subdivision which is using state funds, or any person contracting with such agency with respect to work performed under contract. Such summary shall describe the use of compost products in relation to similar products such as top soil, fill dirt, sand, peat, and fertilizer. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall establish a work group of state agency and local government personnel to design an appropriate reporting mechanism. The report shall be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(4)  The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, the ¹Department of Commerce, and the department, and appropriate trade associations, shall undertake to stimulate the development of sustainable state markets for compost through demonstration projects and other approaches the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may develop.

(5)(a)  The Department of Education, in cooperation with the State University System and the department, shall develop, distribute, and encourage the use of guidelines for the collection of recyclable materials and for solid waste reduction in the state system of education. At a minimum, the guidelines shall address solid waste generated in administrative offices, classrooms, dormitories, and cafeterias.

(b)  In order to orient students and their families to the recycling of waste and to encourage the participation of schools, communities, and families in recycling programs, the school board of each school district in the state shall provide a program of student instruction in the recycling of waste materials. The instruction shall be provided at both the elementary and secondary levels of education.

(c)  The Department of Education is directed to develop, from funds appropriated for environmental education, curriculum materials and resource guides for a recycling awareness program for instruction at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

History.--s. 2, ch. 74-342; s. 85, ch. 79-65; s. 21, ch. 88-130; s. 306, ch. 92-279; s. 55, ch. 92-326; s. 24, ch. 93-207; s. 401, ch. 94-356; s. 40, ch. 99-5.

¹Note.--Section 20.17, which created the Department of Commerce, was repealed effective December 31, 1996, by s. 3, ch. 96-320.