§ 23-18.8-2. Legislative findings. The general assembly recognizes and declares that:

(1) Any environmentally and economically sound solid waste management system must incorporate recycling;

(2) A sound recycling program will be best achieved by cooperation of the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation, the department of administration, the department of environmental management and the cities and towns of the state;

(3) All solid waste capable of being recycled should be recycled, as a target, no less than thirty-five percent (35%) of the solid waste generated in the state should be disposed of through recycling; every effort should be made to exceed this target;

(4) A recycling facility should be operational at the central landfill;

(5) Upon full implementation of the recycling program, all solid waste management, both from cities and towns, and from commercial establishments, will be separated into recyclable and nonrecyclable components;

(6) Recycling operations should begin at resource recovery plants upon initiation of plant operations;

(7) In order to develop a workable implementation schedule the department of environmental management should develop schedules for the entry of cities and towns into the source separation system;

(8) Private contractor arrangements for recovery of recyclables at the point of origin or at the municipal level should be encouraged and not interfered with;

(9) Recyclable materials recovered at recycling facilities are to be made available to private industry in the first instance, and where cost effective, operation of recycling facilities should be by the private sector;

(10) The corporation should provide, for a period of three (3) years, the reasonable additional allowable costs for implementing this program for the cities and towns;

(11) The definition of recyclable materials should be the responsibility of the department of environmental management; provided, that the definition shall include, but not be limited to, plastic materials that contain the plastic resins used to produce labeled (1) through (7) with the numbers clearly marked on the product and contained in a triangle formed by chasing arrows. The products shall be generated as part of daily, municipal, non-municipal residential, or commercial activities. The corporation shall accept plastic materials labeled (3) through (7) for recycling no later than June 30, 2013. Plastic resin by-products, or products produced for industrial use, shall not be required to be accepted at the recycling facility, unless deemed appropriate for processing by the corporation. The definition should be changed from time to time depending upon new technologies, economic conditions, waste stream characteristics, environmental effects, or other factors;

(12) Telephone directories, five hundred thousand (500,000) of which, at an average weight of five and one-quarter (5.25) pounds, are distributed yearly in the state, contribute significantly to the solid waste stream, which would be greatly reduced if directories were printed on recyclable paper and bound with a binder which will not interfere with recyclability.

(13) Any person who generates commercial solid waste and employs fifty (50) or more employees, shall contract for recycling services as part of any agreement between a private waste hauler and the commercial establishment for the disposal of solid waste. A commercial establishment of any size may work with the city or town where it is located to consider options that would allow the city or town to collect the commercial recyclables generated by the commercial establishment.

History of Section. (P.L. 1986, ch. 522, § 4; P.L. 1990, ch. 518, § 1; P.L. 2008, ch. 93, § 1; P.L. 2008, ch. 122, § 1; P.L. 2008, ch. 260, § 2; P.L. 2008, ch. 420, § 2; P.L. 2010, ch. 23, art. 10, § 1.)