WAC 173-350-210 - Recycling
Agendas and meeting notes from the advisory committee on section 210 on the WAC 173-350 rulemaking.
WAC 173-350-210 - Recycling
Ecology staff lead: Dawn Marie Maurer, Gary Bleeker, Allison Kingfisher
Focus: Recycling issues are complex and heavily intertwined with the definitions of solid waste, recycling, and recyclable materials. By law, the definition of solid waste includes recyclable materials. Membership on this workgroup will evolve from efforts focused on the definitions of Solid Waste, Recyclable Materials, and Recycling (see above). Some issues that may be addressed include:
- Current solid waste rules exempt recycling facilities from permitting when they meet the criteria in Section 210. However, notification requirements of 210 may not be adequate to address some recycling activities that can pose a risk to human health and the environment.
- When no permit is required, no revenues are generated to support local health department oversight.
- Some stakeholders believe that Section 210 should be merged with the materials recovery portion of Section 310, Intermediate solid waste handling facilities, and permits should be required. Some argue for flexibility where alternative approaches such as limited volumes or restricted feedstocks can still support exemptions from permitting; others do not believe that recycling should be regulated under solid waste rules at all.
- The work group may consider including whether there should be a throughput requirement to sustain an exemption, if there should be a threshold percentage of material that is disposed, and whether a plan of operations should be required for exempt facilities.
Update: This group is also addressing section 310 - Intermediate Solid Waste Handling Facilities. The workgroup met in July 2015, and at that meeting suggested the focus of input should come from local health jurisdictions and regulators. Ecology staff received written comments from local jurisdictions which have informed the current draft. The language will continue to evolve based on input from workgroup members. Please send questions to w2rrulemaking@ecy.wa.gov.
Late Update: In the current rule, recycling and materials recovery facilities (MRFs) are covered in different sections. Both recycling and material recovery can be done under an exemption from permitting if conditions can be met. Some facilities do require a permit to operate, and if an operator does not look in the correct section of the rule, they may not be aware that they do not qualify for an exemption. Also, sometimes a facility does both material recovery and recycling. Operators were confused as to what standards applied.
To alleviate confusion, Ecology has moved the materials recovery facility standards into the same section as recycling, and aligned permit and exemption criteria for both.
Work group meetings and notes
July 7, 2015 meeting 1-5 p.m., Ecology Headquarters, Lacey
- Sections 210 & 310 Work Group Agenda - July 7, 2015
- Sections 210 & 310 Work Group Notes - July 7, 2015
WAC 173-350-230 - Land application
Ecology staff lead: Marni Solheim
Work group members
| Name | Organization |
|---|---|
| Pam Barrow | Northwest Food Processors Association |
| Samantha Fleischner | Washington Organics Recycling Council (WORC) |
| Rick Dawson | Jurisdictional Health Authority - Benton-Franklin County Health |
| Jeff Hegedus | Jurisdictional Health Authority - Whatcom County Health |
Focus: This section concerns the land application of wastes for beneficial purposes. A work group has been formed and will begin meeting in early 2015. Some issues the work group will look at include the number of parameters tested to characterize a waste stream, the relationship to the beneficial use determination process in Section 200, and whether some wastes should be excluded from regulation when returned to the soils at agronomic rates. There may be a need to coordinate revision of this section with other sections, including the new soils and sediment criteria and use section (to be proposed as WAC 173-350-235).
Update: The workgroup responsible for rewriting the land application section has completed its work and Ecology is in the process of reviewing draft language. Please send questions to w2rrulemaking@ecy.wa.gov.
Work group meetings and notes
June 11, 2013 Conference Call 10 a.m. - noon
May 11, 2013 Conference Call 2-3 p.m.