(A) Not later than twelve months after this chapter is effective, the department shall:

(1) promulgate regulations governing the proper management or disposal, or both, of yard trash and land-clearing debris;

(2) promulgate regulations establishing standards for the production of compost, including requirements necessary to produce hygienically safe compost products for varying applications; and

(3) comply with the requirements of the South Carolina Administrative Procedures Act and notify local government officials of the opportunity to provide input prior to issuing proposed regulations for comment under this article.

(B) Twenty-four months after this chapter is effective, no person shall knowingly mix yard trash and land-clearing debris with other municipal solid waste that is intended for collection or disposal at a municipal solid waste landfill or a resource recovery facility.

(C) Twenty-four months after this chapter is effective, no person shall knowingly mix other municipal solid waste with yard trash and land-clearing debris that is intended for collection and disposal at a composting facility. This prohibition does not apply to bags or other containers approved by the operator of the composting facility.

(D) Twenty-four months after this chapter is effective, no owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill shall knowingly accept at the gate loads composed primarily of yard trash or land-clearing debris unless the landfill provides and maintains a separate waste composting facility and composts all yard trash or land-clearing debris before disposal in the landfill or contracts for the composting of such waste at the facility.

(E) Any person violating the provisions of subsections (B) or (C) shall be subject to a fine not to exceed two hundred dollars. This provision may be enforced by a state, county, or municipal law enforcement official or by the department.

(F) All state agencies, all political subdivisions using state funds to procure items, and all persons contracting with such agency or political subdivision where such persons procure items with state funds shall procure composted materials and products where practicable, subject to the provisions of Section 44-96-140(D).

HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 63, Section 1; 1992 Act No. 450, Section 6; 1997 Act No. 131, Section 6.