(a) There shall be established a municipal solid waste recycling program. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, in consultation and coordination with the advisory council established under subsection (c) of this section, shall develop a plan for such program. The plan shall (1) be consistent with the state-wide solid waste management plan adopted pursuant to section 22a-228, (2) give priority in all parts of the plan to regional approaches to the recycling of solid waste, (3) provide for grants to municipalities, regional organizations representing municipalities or agencies or political subdivisions of the state representing municipalities for purposes which may include but shall not be limited to (A) the acquisition or lease of land, easements, structures, machinery and equipment, for solid waste recycling facilities, (B) the planning, design, construction and improvement of solid waste recycling facilities, (C) the purchase or lease of collection equipment and materials for municipalities and homeowners to carry out municipal recycling programs, and (D) the support and expansion of municipal solid waste recycling programs, (4) establish standards for municipalities which shall effect the maximum level of recycling and source separation, condition each grant to a municipality under subdivision (3) of this subsection on the adoption of such standards by the municipality and give priority in the making of such grants to municipalities which, on July 17, 1986, require residents and businesses to separate recyclables from solid waste, (5) provide for the development of intermediate centers for the processing of solid waste recyclables, giving priority to sites where waste-to-energy facilities are located or planned to be located, (6) provide for financial assistance from the municipal solid waste recycling trust account for the development of such centers, and (7) review existing contracts entered into by municipalities for the delivery of solid waste to waste-to-energy facilities and provide financial incentives to such municipalities for the coordination of such contracts with the municipal solid waste recycling program.

(b) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, in consultation with such advisory council, shall submit the plan developed under subsection (a) of this section to the Governor and the General Assembly not later than January 1, 1987, and, if the General Assembly adopts a resolution approving such plan, the commissioner shall implement the municipal solid waste recycling program not later than April 1, 1987, in accordance with the provisions of such plan, and the commissioner shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to carry out the purposes of such program. In implementing such program the commissioner shall utilize private recycling markets to the extent feasible.

(c) There is established an advisory council to advise the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection on implementation of the municipal solid waste recycling program. The advisory council may study any issue related to recycling, including composting and packaging. In any such study the advisory council may consult with persons with specific information related to the study. If it deems it appropriate, the advisory council shall recommend a list of materials that should be banned in the state. The advisory council shall consist of: The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or his designee; the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, or his designee; the Commissioner of Administrative Services, or his designee; the Commissioner of Transportation, or his designee; the chairman of the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority, or his designee; one person appointed by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities; one person appointed by the Council of Small Towns; one person representing a municipality having a population of not more than ten thousand to be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one person representing a municipality having a population of more than ten thousand but not more than fifty thousand to be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, one person representing a municipality having a population of more than fifty thousand but not more than one hundred thousand to be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one person representing a municipality having a population of more than one hundred thousand to be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; two members of the public, one of whom shall be appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives and one of whom shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; two persons representing recycling industries, one of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives and one by the minority leader of the House of Representatives; two persons representing the packaging industry, one of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives and one of whom shall be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; a trash hauler to be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; one person representing an industry using recycled material, to be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; one person representing an environmental organization to be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; one person representing business and industry to be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, and a regional recycling coordinator to be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, the cochairmen and ranking members of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the environment and four members of the General Assembly to be appointed as follows: One by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one by the minority leader of the House of Representatives and one by the majority leader of the House of Representatives. The members of the task force shall elect a chairman, who shall be one of the members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives or by the president pro tempore of the Senate.

(June 23, Sp. Sess. II P.A. 86-1, S. 5, 10; P.A. 87-544, S. 10, 13; P.A. 88-231, S. 7, 9, 19; P.A. 89-351, S. 2, 11; 89-385, S. 11; 89-386, S. 21, 24; P.A. 90-179, S. 4; 90-249, S. 4; 90-312, S. 4; P.A. 91-293, S. 7, 9; 91-372, S. 2, 4; P.A. 94-130, S. 4; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-132, S. 2, 5; 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 412; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; P.A. 14-94, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 87-544 replaced task force with advisory council, amended Subsec. (b) to require the commissioner to use private recycling markets to the extent feasible in implementing the program, amended Subsec. (c) to authorize the council to advise the commissioner regarding implementation of the program and added to the membership of the council two persons representing recycling interests, one representing an environmental organization, one representing business and industry and two additional legislative members and added Subsec. (f)(3) and (4) re costs of administering the program and re funds for marketing studies of recycled products and studies of reuse or recycling of ash from resources recovery facilities; P.A. 88-231 amended Subsec. (c) by authorizing the council to study any issue related to recycling and to consult with persons with specific information and added to the membership of the council the commissioners of administrative services and transportation, two representatives of the packaging industry and the cochairmen of the environment committee; and amended Subsec. (f)(4) by increasing the amount authorized from $250,000 to $400,000 and increasing the amount for ash studies from $100,000 to $200,000 and authorizing that $50,000 be spent for the study required pursuant to section 17 of P.A. 88-241 and added Subsec. (f)(5) authorizing $50,000 for development of the recycling industries plan required under Sec. 32-1e; P.A. 89-351 amended Subsec. (f) to increase allocation for expenses of advisory council from $150,000 to $168,000 and to increase annual allocation to department of environmental protection for administrative costs of program from 2.5% of fund's proceeds to $450,000; P.A. 89-385 added Subsec. (f)(6) allocating $1,000,000 for public education on waste reduction and for recovered materials market development; P.A. 89-386 amended Subsec. (c) to authorize appointment of the public members by the majority leaders rather than minority leaders, to authorize appointment of the representative of the environmental organization by the speaker of the house of representatives rather than the minority leader, to authorize appointment of the representative of business and industry by the minority leader of the house of representatives rather than the president pro tempore of the senate and added to the membership a trash hauler, person representing an industry using recycled material and a regional recycling coordinator and reduced the membership of members of the general assembly from six to four members; P.A. 90-179 amended Subsec. (a) to allow grants to regional organizations representing municipalities or agencies or political subdivisions representing municipalities; P.A. 90-249 amended Subsec. (c) by adding to the membership of the council a person appointed by the Connecticut conference of municipalities and a person appointed by the council of small towns; P.A. 90-312 amended Subsec. (f) by increasing the amount allocated for the advisory council from $68,000 to $83,000; P.A. 91-293, in Subsec. (f), increased allocation from fund for administrative costs to department from $450,000 to $600,000 and provided for grants to municipalities for recycling grants; P.A. 91-372 amended Subsec. (f) to increase the authorized expenditures which may be made for the advisory council and for the department for costs incurred in administration of the recycling program, repeating in part changes enacted in P.A. 91-293; P.A. 94-130 changed name of fund from “Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Trust Fund” to “municipal solid waste recycling trust account” and in Subsec. (d) made said account an account of the Environmental Quality Fund and eliminated the requirement that such fund be held separate and apart from other moneys, funds and accounts and that investment earnings be credited to the assets of said fund; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 96-132 amended Subsec. (f) to increase the allocation for administrative costs, effective July 1, 1996; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting provision re municipal solid waste recycling trust account, and deleted former Subsecs. (d) to (f) re said account; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection”, effective July 1, 2011; pursuant to P.A. 14-94, “Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority” in Subsec. (c), effective June 6, 2014.