Agenda - 02-16-2010 - 5c - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 Previously, many C &D landfill operators used good judgment and best management practices in allowing construction and demolition type materials and other non- putrescible solid wastes such as some furniture, non - recyclable wood, rigid plastics, etc. The purpose of this informal, landfill- operator- initiated expansion of accepted materials was to preserve valuable lined landfill space, while at the same time maintaining environmental integrity and rigorous oversight of the facility. While most metal, clean wood and cardboard is recycled from our local C &D waste due to Orange County's regulatory prohibition on landfilling these materials, other construction -like material is frequently so heavily commingled with the remaining non - construction site wastes that it will now no longer be technically classified as C &D. In staff's estimation, and that of many solid waste professionals and scientists, a discarded board, water hose or a plastic bucket from a construction site is no different than an identical discarded board, water hose or plastic bucket from a Home Depot dumpster or a citizen's garage. To many solid waste professionals, it seems that the environmental properties of the material itself should determine the most effective and proper disposal rather than the origin of the material, whereas it appears that the regulators have placed origin ahead of the nature of the materials in importance of determining how materials are to be handled. Operational difficulties created for Orange County by this change in enforcement are substantive and adjustments will be required of customers accustomed to long - standing landfill materials acceptance practices. The working face of the lined MSW landfill will become larger, requiring additional daily cover material. Managing this increased traffic from commingling of smaller vehicles like the casual home - hauler in a pickup truck with larger vehicles will create operational and staffing challenges. Orange County has worked diligently for twenty years to reduce waste landfilled, conserve landfill air space and increase recycling in every sector through a combination of programs, regulations, public education and technical innovation. The County's environmental monitoring protocols include on -site inspection of each load dumped and our groundwater monitoring far exceeds State regulatory or general industry standards. Last year, Orange County achieved its highest waste reduction rate ever at 48% per capita. This new enforcement protocol will burden the County and its landfill users unnecessarily, take away daily operational judgments by our on- the - ground waste staff and not necessarily achieve any greater environmental protection, while moving materials out of our C &D waste stream, potentially escaping our C &D recovery efforts and unnecessarily harming the County's waste reduction efforts. While many communities do not have access to C &D landfills and dispose of all wastes into Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfills, others that do utilize C &D facilities may wish to allocate wastes according to their specific properties and preserve landfill space and minimize expenditures. The Solid Waste Management Act of 2007 now requires liners in all new C &D landfills and makes them essentially equal to MSW landfills in their level of protection. This makes the arbitrary distinction of using the source of materials rather than the contamination potential of the waste materials even less understandable. We suggest your consideration in recommending that our legislative leaders consider inquiring about a potential change in the definition of C &D waste.