Florida Senate - 2025                             CS for SB 1822
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Martin
       
       
       
       
       
       578-03105-25                                          20251822c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to waste management; amending s.
    3         403.703, F.S.; defining the term “auxiliary
    4         container”; conforming cross-references; amending s.
    5         403.7033, F.S.; deleting obsolete provisions that
    6         provide legislative findings and require the
    7         Department of Environmental Protection to review and
    8         update a specified report; prohibiting the local
    9         regulation of auxiliary containers; preempting such
   10         regulation to the state; amending ss. 403.706 and
   11         403.707, F.S.; prohibiting a local government and the
   12         Department of Environmental Protection, respectively,
   13         from issuing a construction permit for certain solid
   14         waste disposal facilities in certain counties;
   15         providing applicability; conforming a provision to
   16         changes made by the act; conforming cross-references;
   17         amending ss. 403.7049 and 403.705, F.S.; conforming
   18         cross-references; providing an effective date.
   19          
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Present subsections (2) through (48) of section
   23  403.703, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as sections (3)
   24  through (49), respectively, a new subsection (2) is added to
   25  that section, and present subsections (6), (7), (21), and (35)
   26  of that section are amended, to read:
   27         403.703 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
   28         (2)“Auxiliary container” means a reusable or single-use
   29  bag, cup, bottle, can, or other packaging that meets both of the
   30  following requirements:
   31         (a)Is made of cloth; paper; plastic, including, but not
   32  limited to, foamed plastic, expanded plastic, or polystyrene;
   33  cardboard; corrugated material; molded fiber; aluminum; glass;
   34  postconsumer recycled material; or similar material or
   35  substrates, including coated, laminated, or multilayer
   36  substrates.
   37         (b)Is designed for transporting, consuming, or protecting
   38  merchandise, food, or beverages from or at a public food service
   39  establishment as defined in s. 509.013(5), a food establishment
   40  as defined in s. 500.03(1), or a retailer as defined in s.
   41  212.02(13).
   42         (7)(6) “Construction and demolition debris” means discarded
   43  materials generally considered to be not water-soluble and
   44  nonhazardous in nature, including, but not limited to, steel,
   45  glass, brick, concrete, asphalt roofing material, pipe, gypsum
   46  wallboard, and lumber, from the construction or destruction of a
   47  structure as part of a construction or demolition project or
   48  from the renovation of a structure, and includes rocks, soils,
   49  tree remains, trees, and other vegetative matter that normally
   50  results from land clearing or land development operations for a
   51  construction project, including such debris from construction of
   52  structures at a site remote from the construction or demolition
   53  project site. Mixing of construction and demolition debris with
   54  other types of solid waste will cause the resulting mixture to
   55  be classified as other than construction and demolition debris.
   56  The term also includes:
   57         (a) Clean cardboard, paper, plastic, wood, and metal scraps
   58  from a construction project;
   59         (b) Except as provided in s. 403.707(10)(j) s.
   60  403.707(9)(j), yard trash and unpainted, nontreated wood scraps
   61  and wood pallets from sources other than construction or
   62  demolition projects;
   63         (c) Scrap from manufacturing facilities which is the type
   64  of material generally used in construction projects and which
   65  would meet the definition of construction and demolition debris
   66  if it were generated as part of a construction or demolition
   67  project. This includes debris from the construction of
   68  manufactured homes and scrap shingles, wallboard, siding
   69  concrete, and similar materials from industrial or commercial
   70  facilities; and
   71         (d) De minimis amounts of other nonhazardous wastes that
   72  are generated at construction or destruction projects, provided
   73  such amounts are consistent with best management practices of
   74  the industry.
   75         (8)(7) “County,” or any like term, means a political
   76  subdivision of the state established pursuant to s. 1, Art. VIII
   77  of the State Constitution and, when s. 403.706(20) s.
   78  403.706(19) applies, means a special district or other entity.
   79         (22)(21) “Municipality,” or any like term, means a
   80  municipality created pursuant to general or special law
   81  authorized or recognized pursuant to s. 2 or s. 6, Art. VIII of
   82  the State Constitution and, when s. 403.706(20) s. 403.706(19)
   83  applies, means a special district or other entity.
   84         (36)(35) “Solid waste” means sludge unregulated under the
   85  federal Clean Water Act or Clean Air Act, sludge from a waste
   86  treatment works, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution
   87  control facility, or garbage, rubbish, refuse, special waste, or
   88  other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or
   89  contained gaseous material resulting from domestic, industrial,
   90  commercial, mining, agricultural, or governmental operations.
   91  Recovered materials as defined in subsection (29) (28) and post
   92  use polymers as defined in subsection (25) (24) are not solid
   93  waste.
   94         Section 2. Section 403.7033, Florida Statutes, is amended
   95  to read:
   96         403.7033 Preemption of regulation for auxiliary containers
   97  Departmental analysis of particular recyclable materials.—The
   98  Legislature finds that prudent regulation of recyclable
   99  materials is crucial to the ongoing welfare of Florida’s ecology
  100  and economy. As such, the Department of Environmental Protection
  101  shall review and update its 2010 report on retail bags analyzing
  102  the need for new or different regulation of auxiliary
  103  containers, wrappings, or disposable plastic bags used by
  104  consumers to carry products from retail establishments. The
  105  updated report must include input from state and local
  106  government agencies, stakeholders, private businesses, and
  107  citizens and must evaluate the efficacy and necessity of both
  108  statewide and local regulation of these materials. To ensure
  109  consistent and effective implementation, the department shall
  110  submit the updated report with conclusions and recommendations
  111  to the Legislature no later than December 31, 2021. Until such
  112  time that the Legislature adopts the recommendations of the
  113  department, A local government, local governmental agency, or
  114  state governmental agency may not enact any rule, regulation, or
  115  ordinance regarding the use, disposition, sale, prohibition,
  116  restriction, or tax of such auxiliary containers. The regulation
  117  of auxiliary containers is expressly preempted to the state,
  118  wrappings, or disposable plastic bags.
  119         Section 3. Present subsections (2) through (23) of section
  120  403.706, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (3)
  121  through (24), respectively, a new subsection (2) is added to
  122  that section, and present subsections (4), (6), (7), and (20) of
  123  that section are amended, to read:
  124         403.706 Local government solid waste responsibilities.—
  125         (2)A local government may not issue a construction permit
  126  pursuant to this section for a new solid waste disposal facility
  127  that uses an ash-producing incinerator or for a waste-to-energy
  128  facility, if the proposed location of such facility is sited
  129  within a one mile radius of any school or any property zoned for
  130  residential use which has a density of one or more dwelling
  131  units per acre. The one-mile radius must be measured from the
  132  stack of the facility. This subsection applies only to a county
  133  as defined in s. 125.011(1).
  134         (5)(a)(4)(a) In order to promote the production of
  135  renewable energy from solid waste, each megawatt-hour produced
  136  by a renewable energy facility using solid waste as a fuel shall
  137  count as 1 ton of recycled material and shall be applied toward
  138  meeting the recycling goals set forth in this section. If a
  139  county creating renewable energy from solid waste implements and
  140  maintains a program to recycle at least 50 percent of municipal
  141  solid waste by a means other than creating renewable energy,
  142  that county shall count 1.25 tons of recycled material for each
  143  megawatt-hour produced. If waste originates from a county other
  144  than the county in which the renewable energy facility resides,
  145  the originating county shall receive such recycling credit. Any
  146  byproduct resulting from the creation of renewable energy that
  147  is recycled shall count towards the county recycling goals in
  148  accordance with the methods and criteria developed pursuant to
  149  paragraph (3)(h) (2)(h).
  150         (b) A county may receive credit for one-half of the
  151  recycling goal set forth in subsection (3) (2) from the use of
  152  yard trash, or other clean wood waste or paper waste, in
  153  innovative programs including, but not limited to, programs that
  154  produce alternative clean-burning fuels such as ethanol or that
  155  provide for the conversion of yard trash or other clean wood
  156  waste or paper waste to clean-burning fuel for the production of
  157  energy for use at facilities other than a waste-to-energy
  158  facility as defined in s. 403.7061. The provisions of this
  159  paragraph apply only if a county can demonstrate that:
  160         1. The county has implemented a yard trash mulching or
  161  composting program, and
  162         2. As part of the program, compost and mulch made from yard
  163  trash is available to the general public and in use at county
  164  owned or maintained and municipally owned or maintained
  165  facilities in the county and state agencies operating in the
  166  county as required by this section.
  167         (c) A county with a population of 100,000 or less may
  168  provide its residents with the opportunity to recycle in lieu of
  169  achieving the goal set forth in this section. For the purposes
  170  of this section, the “opportunity to recycle” means that the
  171  county:
  172         1.a. Provides a system for separating and collecting
  173  recyclable materials prior to disposal that is located at a
  174  solid waste management facility or solid waste disposal area; or
  175         b. Provides a system of places within the county for
  176  collection of source-separated recyclable materials.
  177         2. Provides a public education and promotion program that
  178  is conducted to inform its residents of the opportunity to
  179  recycle, encourages source separation of recyclable materials,
  180  and promotes the benefits of reducing, reusing, recycling, and
  181  composting materials.
  182         (7)(6) The department may reduce or modify the municipal
  183  solid waste recycling goal that a county is required to achieve
  184  pursuant to subsection (3) (2) if the county demonstrates to the
  185  department that:
  186         (a) The achievement of the goal set forth in subsection (3)
  187  (2) would have an adverse effect on the financial obligations of
  188  a county that are directly related to a waste-to-energy facility
  189  owned or operated by or on behalf of the county; and
  190         (b) The county cannot remove normally combustible materials
  191  from solid waste that is to be processed at a waste-to-energy
  192  facility because of the need to maintain a sufficient amount of
  193  solid waste to ensure the financial viability of the facility.
  194  
  195  The goal shall not be waived entirely and may only be reduced or
  196  modified to the extent necessary to alleviate the adverse
  197  effects of achieving the goal on the financial viability of a
  198  county’s waste-to-energy facility. Nothing in this subsection
  199  shall exempt a county from developing and implementing a
  200  recycling program pursuant to this act.
  201         (8)(7) In order to assess the progress in meeting the goal
  202  set forth in subsection (3) (2), each county shall, by April 1
  203  each year, provide information to the department regarding its
  204  annual solid waste management program and recycling activities.
  205         (a) The information submitted to the department by the
  206  county must, at a minimum, include:
  207         1. The amount of municipal solid waste disposed of at solid
  208  waste disposal facilities, by type of waste such as yard trash,
  209  white goods, clean debris, tires, and unseparated solid waste;
  210         2. The amount and type of materials from the municipal
  211  solid waste stream that were recycled; and
  212         3. The percentage of the population participating in
  213  various types of recycling activities instituted.
  214         (b) Beginning with the data for the 2012 calendar year, the
  215  department shall by July 1 each year post on its website the
  216  recycling rates of each county for the prior calendar year.
  217         (21)(20) In addition to any other penalties provided by
  218  law, a local government that does not comply with the
  219  requirements of subsections (3) and (5) is (2) and (4) shall not
  220  be eligible for grants from the Solid Waste Management Trust
  221  Fund, and the department may notify the Chief Financial Officer
  222  to withhold payment of all or a portion of funds payable to the
  223  local government by the department from the General Revenue Fund
  224  or by the department from any other state fund, to the extent
  225  not pledged to retire bonded indebtedness, unless the local
  226  government demonstrates that good faith efforts to meet the
  227  requirements of subsections (3) and (5) (2) and (4) have been
  228  made or that the funds are being or will be used to finance the
  229  correction of a pollution control problem that spans
  230  jurisdictional boundaries.
  231         Section 4. Present subsections (6) through (14) of section
  232  403.707, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (7)
  233  through (15), respectively, a new subsection (6) is added to
  234  that section, and paragraph (j) of present subsection (9) of
  235  that section is amended, to read:
  236         403.707 Permits.—
  237         (6) The department may not issue a construction permit
  238  pursuant to this section for a new solid waste disposal facility
  239  that uses an ash-producing incinerator or for a waste-to-energy
  240  facility, if the proposed location of such facility is sited
  241  within a one mile radius of any school or any property zoned for
  242  residential use which has a density of one or more dwelling
  243  units per acre. The one-mile radius must be measured from the
  244  stack of the facility. This subsection applies only to a county
  245  as defined in s. 125.011(1).
  246         (10)(9) The department shall establish a separate category
  247  for solid waste management facilities that accept only
  248  construction and demolition debris for disposal or recycling.
  249  The department shall establish a reasonable schedule for
  250  existing facilities to comply with this section to avoid undue
  251  hardship to such facilities. However, a permitted solid waste
  252  disposal unit that receives a significant amount of waste prior
  253  to the compliance deadline established in this schedule shall
  254  not be required to be retrofitted with liners or leachate
  255  control systems.
  256         (j) The Legislature recognizes that recycling, waste
  257  reduction, and resource recovery are important aspects of an
  258  integrated solid waste management program and as such are
  259  necessary to protect the public health and the environment. If
  260  necessary to promote such an integrated program, the county may
  261  determine, after providing notice and an opportunity for a
  262  hearing prior to April 30, 2008, that some or all of the
  263  material described in s. 403.703(7)(b) s. 403.703(6)(b) shall be
  264  excluded from the definition of “construction and demolition
  265  debris” in s. 403.703(7) s. 403.703(6) within the jurisdiction
  266  of such county. The county may make such a determination only if
  267  it finds that, prior to June 1, 2007, the county has established
  268  an adequate method for the use or recycling of such wood
  269  material at an existing or proposed solid waste management
  270  facility that is permitted or authorized by the department on
  271  June 1, 2007. The county is not required to hold a hearing if
  272  the county represents that it previously has held a hearing for
  273  such purpose, or if the county represents that it previously has
  274  held a public meeting or hearing that authorized such method for
  275  the use or recycling of trash or other nonputrescible waste
  276  materials and that such materials include those materials
  277  described in s. 403.703(7)(b) s. 403.703(6)(b). The county shall
  278  provide written notice of its determination to the department by
  279  no later than April 30, 2008; thereafter, the materials
  280  described in s. 403.703(7) s. 403.703(6) shall be excluded from
  281  the definition of “construction and demolition debris” in s.
  282  403.703(7) s. 403.703(6) within the jurisdiction of such county.
  283  The county may withdraw or revoke its determination at any time
  284  by providing written notice to the department.
  285         Section 5. Subsection (5) of section 403.7049, Florida
  286  Statutes, is amended to read:
  287         403.7049 Determination of full cost for solid waste
  288  management; local solid waste management fees.—
  289         (5) In order to assist in achieving the municipal solid
  290  waste reduction goal and the recycling provisions of s.
  291  403.706(3) s. 403.706(2), a county or a municipality which owns
  292  or operates a solid waste management facility is hereby
  293  authorized to charge solid waste disposal fees which may vary
  294  based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the
  295  amount, characteristics, and form of recyclable materials
  296  present in the solid waste that is brought to the county’s or
  297  the municipality’s facility for processing or disposal.
  298         Section 6. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) and subsection
  299  (3) of section 403.705, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  300         403.705 State solid waste management program.—
  301         (2) The state solid waste management program shall include,
  302  at a minimum:
  303         (c) Planning guidelines and technical assistance to
  304  counties and municipalities to aid in meeting the municipal
  305  solid waste recycling goals established in s. 403.706(3) s.
  306  403.706(2).
  307         (3) The department shall evaluate and report biennially to
  308  the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
  309  Representatives on the state’s success in meeting the solid
  310  waste recycling goal as described in s. 403.706(3) s.
  311  403.706(2).
  312         Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.