OAR 340-090-0080: Alternative Methods for Providing the Opportunity to Recycle

This rule describes the necessary procedures and requirements that a city, county, metropolitan service district, or disposal site permittee on behalf of an out-of-state person must follow in order to request approval of an alternative program for meeting the requirements of OAR 340-090-0030(1), (7)(a) and (8), 340-090-0040, and 340-090-0042. (1) The city, county or metropolitan service district responsible for solid waste management may apply for and request approval by DEQ of an alternative program for providing the opportunity to recycle. Each request must be made in writing to DEQ on a form DEQ provides. The request for an alternative program must be complete, signed by the appropriate authority for the city, county, metropolitan service district or disposal site permittee for an out-of-state request and address all of the requirements in section (3) of this rule and sections (5) and (6) of this rule if applicable. (2) DEQ will review applications as they are received. DEQ will approve, approve with conditions, or reject each proposed alternative program based on consideration of the criteria described in section (3) of this rule. (3) Each application for approval of an alternative program for providing the opportunity to recycle must include detailed written information and data on the following: (a) A description of the alternative program being proposed and how it is different from the standard method that would be required to be implemented under the opportunity to recycle requirements; (b) The conditions and factors that make the alternative program necessary; (c) How the alternative program is convenient to the commercial and residential generators of solid waste using or receiving the service; (d) How the alternative program is as effective in recovering recyclable materials from solid waste as the requirements in OAR 340-090-0020, 340-090-0030(1), (7)(a) and (8), 340-090-0040, and 340-090-0050 for providing the opportunity to recycle. (e) How the alternative program would achieve at least the lesser of: (A) The local government unit’s wasteshed recovery rate goal specified in OAR 340-090-0050; or (B) Recovery levels comparable to similar communities. For the purposes of this rule, “similar community” means another local government unit that is similar, for the purpose of DEQ’s evaluation of the local government’s alternative program, based on: (i) Population or population density; (ii) Relevant demographics; (iii) Distance to a market for material collected for recycling; (iv) Costs of collection and disposal; and (v) Other criteria DEQ approves. (4) Anytime a city, county, metropolitan service district, or disposal site permittee on behalf of an out-of-state person desires to make changes to the approved alternative program, they must submit an amended application for DEQ’s approval following the same requirements in sections (3), (5) and (6) of this rule. (5) In addition to any other standards or conditions, an alternative program for providing the opportunity to recycle yard debris in the Metro wasteshed must meet the following minimum standards: (a) The alternative program is available to substantially all yard debris generators in the local jurisdiction; (b) The alternative program can be demonstrated to result in the recycling of yard debris from the solid waste stream; (c) There is a promotion campaign that is designed to inform all potential users about the availability and use of the method; (d) The city, county or metropolitan service district must individually or jointly, through intergovernmental agreement, choose from the following yard debris recycling program options as an alternative program: (A) Provide monthly or more often on-route collection of yard debris during the months of April through October with drop-off depots for non-collection service customers available at least monthly; (B) Provide biweekly or more often yard debris collection depots within one mile of yard debris generators, or such that there is at least one conveniently located depot for every 25,000 population; or (C) Provide monthly or more often yard debris collection, supplemented by a weekly or more often yard debris depot during the months of April through October, both within one mile of the yard debris generators, or such that there is at least one conveniently located depot for every 25,000 population. (e) If the alternative program is proposed by a metropolitan service district the alternative program request must include written commitments from the local governments covered by the program to implement the program or a demonstration of the metropolitan service district's authority to implement the program. (6) In addition to the requirements in section (3) of this rule, when a disposal site permittee is requesting approval of an alternative program for an out-of-state person the following criteria must be met: (a) For the purposes of satisfying the requirement in subsection (3)(b) of this rule for a local government unit the alternative program must designate a wasteshed having a common solid waste disposal system or an appropriate area within which to carry out a common recycling program and select and provide justification for an appropriate recovery rate based on similar wasteshed characteristics in Oregon including population density, and distance to recycling markets; (b) For persons other than local government units the request for alternative program approval must provide information explaining how the alternative program provides the opportunity for the person to reduce the amount of waste that would be disposed and a description of how the alternative program is implemented. (7) Instead of a local government implementing a waste prevention and reuse program under OAR 340-090-0042, a local government may apply for DEQ’s approval of an alternative waste prevention and reuse program. To apply, a local government must follow these procedures: (a) Each application for an alternative waste prevention and reuse must be made in writing on a form that DEQ provides. The application must be complete, signed by the local government, and address all of the requirements in section (3) of this rule. (b) DEQ will review applications as they are received. For each application, using the information in subsection (c) of this rule, DEQ must, for the proposed alternative waste prevention and reuse program: (A) Approve the proposed program; (B) Approve the proposed program with conditions; or (C) Reject the proposed program. (c) Each application must include the following detailed information: (A) A description of the proposed alternative waste prevention and reuse program; (B) Explanations of how the proposed alternative waste prevention and reuse program would be different than and designed to achieve similar benefits as the waste prevention and reuse program that would otherwise by required under rule; (C) A written plan describing how the proposed alternative waste prevention and reuse program would provide citywide or countywide education and promotion about the environmental benefits of, and opportunities to reduce the generation of waste through, waste prevention and reuse in the local government unit; (D) An explanation of the conditions and factors that make the proposed alternative waste prevention and reuse program preferable; and (E) A description of waste generating behaviors targeted for change for residential and commercial generators of solid waste in the local government unit and how that change would be measured.