OAR 340-096-0300: Commingled Recycling Processing Facilities and Limited Sort Facilities

(1) Applicability. (a) This rule applies to all commingled recycling processing facilities and limited sort facilities. Such facilities are disposal sites as defined by ORS Chapter 459 and 459A and are also subject to the requirements of OAR chapter 340, divisions 90, 93, 95 and 97 as applicable. (b) Beginning on July 1, 2025, no person may construct or operate a commingled recycling processing or limited sort facility except as provided in this rule. (c) A commingled recycling processing facility must comply with all requirements in this rule. (d) A limited sort facility must comply with all requirements in this rule except (3)(a) capture rate. (e) A commingled recycling processing facility or limited sort facility, possessing an active solid waste disposal site permit and in operation before July 1, 2025, that submitted materials required by OAR 340-093-0050 and OAR 340-093-0070 for a new disposal site permit by February 1, 2025, may continue in operation pending a determination by the department and issuance of a disposal site permit. (2) Permit eligibility (a) A commingled recycling processing facility must: (A) Receive source separated commingled recyclable material that is collected commingled from a collection program providing the opportunity to recycle, per ORS 459A.863(3)(a)(A); (B) Presort bulky recyclable and non-recyclable material, removing such material from the commingled stream being processed; and (C) Separate all remaining materials into two streams, one of which is predominantly fiber and one of which is predominantly non-fiber containers, producing streams of materials that are intended for use or further processing by others; and (D) For materials in the fiber stream, further separate and transport to a responsible end market no less than 95% of the recoverable uniform statewide collection list-related fiber in the stream. (b) A facility that does not meet the requirements of Subsection (a) of this Section is not eligible for a commingled recycling processing permit but may be a limited sort facility provided that it meets the requirements of OAR 340-093-0030(65)(b). (3) Recyclable Material Processing Performance Standards (a) Capture rate (A) A commingled recycling processing facility must sort all Uniform Statewide Collection List material in OAR 340-0090-0630 so that material does not become contaminants in other waste streams. (B) A commingled recycling processing facility must comply with the material capture rates established in the Material Capture Rate table (pdf) A commingled recycling processing facility can achieve a capture rate either by capturing the material at its own facility or directing material to a facility (for secondary processing) that achieves the capture rate, or some combination of the two. (C) The Department will conduct periodic assessments to determine compliance with the capture rates performance standard, as described in Section (3)(a)(B) of this rule. (b) Outbound contamination (A) All Uniform Statewide Collection List material in OAR 340-0090-0630 that is sent to a responsible end market must not contain more than 5% contamination, as defined in ORS 459A.863(4)(b), by weight. (B) The Department may conduct periodic assessments to determine compliance with the outbound contamination rate, as described in Section (3) of this rule. (4) Responsible end market (a) All material listed on the Uniform Statewide Collection List in OAR 340-0090-0630(2) that has been processed, and material handled in accordance with OAR 340-090-0830(4), must be sent to a responsible end market. (b) Commingled recycling processing facilities and limited sort facilities must comply with all responsible end markets requirements established under OAR 340-096-0310. (5) Assessment of Capture Rates and Outbound Contamination (a) For the purposes of this section, “conventional evaluation method assessment” means the manual sorting of material, whether the material to be sorted is in loose or baled form, to determine a facility’s compliance with the capture rate and outbound contamination rate performance standards. (b) For the purposes of this section, “alternative evaluation method assessment” means the use of a method other than manual sorting of material, to determine a facility’s compliance with the capture rate and outbound contamination rate performance standards. An example of such a method is use of artificial intelligence technology. (c) Each permitted commingled recycling processing facility must undergo at least one unannounced conventional evaluation method assessment within the first 2.5-year program plan period, with that assessment sampling material from each of the established capture rate-related commodities categories. For each subsequent five-year program plan period, each processing facility must undergo at least two unannounced conventional evaluation method assessments. A DEQ-approved alternative evaluation method assessment may be used to substitute for one of the conventional evaluation method assessments. If a commingled recycling processing facility utilizes a DEQ-approved alternative evaluation method assessment for data-generation purposes, the facility must still perform at least one unannounced conventional evaluation method assessment within each five-year program plan period, for comparative data purposes. (d) At any point, a commingled recycling processing facility can request the use of an alternative evaluation method. If a facility is to use an alternative evaluation method to provide data to DEQ, the processor must perform a comparison study to demonstrate that the alternative evaluation method produces similar or better data than the conventional evaluation method. The comparison study, including comparison methodology, must be reviewed and approved by DEQ. The commingled recycling processing facility is responsible for covering the costs associated with the undertaking of such a comparison study. (e) For all assessments undertaken, material samples to be assessed will be pulled from the material stream as it enters the commingled recycling processing facility’s balers or from finished bales. (f) DEQ, or a contractor to DEQ, may use one or more sampling events to evaluate compliance with performance standards and to determine a commingled recycling processing facility’s capture rate across all commodities and the average outbound contamination rate. (g) A commingled recycling processing facility must make material available for on-site or off-site assessment. DEQ, or a contractor to DEQ, must be on-site to observe selection of material to be assessed. If baled material from a permitted commingled recycling processing facility is to be assessed, DEQ, or a contractor to DEQ will select the bales to be assessed, not the processor. (h) If multiple site visits are necessary to assess compliance with the capture rate and outbound contamination rate-based performance standards, DEQ will determine the need and schedule for those follow-up sampling assessments. Processing facilities must cover costs associated with any follow-up assessments, in accordance with protocols approved by DEQ. All follow-up assessments will be subject to observation by DEQ. (6) Plans and Specifications (a) Plans and specifications for a commingled recycling processing facility shall include, but not be limited to, the location and physical features of the facility such as contours, surface drainage control, access and on-site roads, traffic routing, landscaping, weigh stations, fences and specifications for solid waste handling equipment, truck and area washing facilities and wash water disposal, and water supply and sanitary waste disposal. (b) Inbound and outbound contamination levels. In addition to describing normal facility operations, the facility operations plan must include, among other things, a description of how the facility will implement the forms and procedures established by the DEQ for evaluating and describing levels of inbound and outbound contamination as required by ORS 459A.955. The facility operations plan must be submitted to the DEQ for approval. (7) Design and Construction: (a) The design and construction of all facilities must be in accordance with standards in this rule and must be approved by the Department. (b) Wastewater Discharges. There must be no discharge of wastewater or leachate to waters of the state except in accordance with a permit from the Department, issued under ORS 468B.050; (c) Groundwater. Commingled recycling processing facilities must not cause an adverse impact to groundwater under OAR 340 Division 40. (d) Access Roads. All weather roads must be provided from the public highways or roads, to and within the disposal site and shall be designed and maintained to prevent traffic congestion, traffic hazards and dust and noise pollution; (e) Drainage. The site must be designed such that surface drainage will be diverted around or away from the operational area of the site; (f) Fire Protection. Fire protection must be provided in accordance with plans approved in writing by the Department and in compliance with state and local fire regulations; (8) Operations: (a) All facilities must be operated to meet the following standards. (b) Storage: (A) All solid waste deposited at the site must be confined to the designated dumping or storage area; (B) Accumulation of solid wastes must be kept to minimum practical quantities. (c) Nuisance Conditions: (A) Blowing debris must be controlled such that the entire disposal site is maintained free of litter; (B) Dust, malodors and noise must be controlled to prevent air pollution or excessive noise as defined by ORS Chapters 467 and 468A and rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto. (d) Health Hazards. Rodent, bird and insect control measures must be provided, sufficient to prevent vector production and sustenance. Any other conditions which may result in transmission of disease to man and animals must be controlled; (e) Recordkeeping and Reporting. (A) All facilities must maintain records and submit reports to the Department as required by the Department demonstrating compliance with conditions of a permit, ORS 459, ORS 459A or OAR Chapter 340, Divisions 90 and 93 through 97. (B) All facilities must maintain records in accordance with Department established procedures and provide reports to the Department as required, including record keeping and reporting for waste acceptance, waste disposal, capture rates, outbound contamination levels and responsible end markets. (C) In the case of a change in ownership of the permitted facility, the new permittee is responsible for ensuring that the records are transferred from the previous permittee and maintained for the number of years required by the department. [NOTE: View a PDF of the Commingled Recycling Processing Facility Permit Material Capture Rates table by clicking on the link below.] [ED. NOTE: To view attachments referenced in rule text, click here to view rule.]