2009 North Carolina Code
Chapter 130A - Public Health.
§ 130A-309.09A. Local government solid waste responsibilities.

§ 130A‑309.09A.  Local government solid waste responsibilities.

(a)        The governing board of each unit of local government shall assess local solid waste collection services and disposal capacity and shall determine the adequacy of collection services and disposal capacity to meet local needs and to protect human health and the environment. Each unit of local government shall implement programs and take other actions that it determines are necessary to address deficiencies in service or capacity required to meet local needs and to protect human health and the environment. A unit of local government may adopt ordinances governing the disposal, in facilities that it operates, of solid waste generated outside of the area designated to be served by the facility. Such ordinances shall not be construed to apply to privately operated disposal facilities located within the boundaries of the unit of local government.

(b)        Each unit of local government, either individually or in cooperation with other units of local government, shall develop a 10‑year comprehensive solid waste management plan. Units of local government shall make a good‑faith effort to achieve the State's forty percent (40%) municipal solid waste reduction goal and to comply with the State's comprehensive solid waste management plan. Each unit of local government shall develop its solid waste management plan with public participation, including, at a minimum, one advertised public meeting. The Department shall assist units of local government in the preparation of the plan required by this subsection if the unit of local government requests assistance. Each plan shall be updated at least every three years. In order to assure compliance with this subsection, each unit of local government shall provide the Department with a copy of its current plan upon request by the Department. Each plan shall:

(1)        Evaluate the solid waste stream in the geographic area covered by the plan.

(2)        Include a goal for the reduction of municipal solid waste on a per capita basis by 30 June 2001 and a goal for the further reduction of municipal solid waste by 30 June 2006. The solid waste reduction goals shall be determined by the unit or units of local government that prepare the plan, and shall be determined so as to assist the State, to the maximum extent practical, to achieve the State's forty percent (40%) municipal solid waste reduction goal as set out in G.S. 130A‑309.04(c).

(3)        Be designed to achieve the solid waste reduction goals established by the plan.

(4)        Include a description of the process by which the plan was developed, including provisions for public participation in the development of the plan.

(5)        Include an assessment of current programs and a description of intended actions with respect to the following solid waste management methods:

a.         Reduction at the source.

b.         Collection.

c.         Recycling and reuse.

d.         Composting and mulching.

e.         Incineration with energy recovery.

f.          Incineration without energy recovery.

g.         Transfer outside the geographic area covered by the plan.

h.         Disposal.

(6)        Include an assessment of current programs and a description of intended actions with respect to:

a.         Education with the community and through the schools.

b.         Management of special wastes.

c.         Prevention of illegal disposal and management of litter.

d.         Purchase of recycled materials and products manufactured with recycled materials.

e.         (Effective July 1, 2010) For each county and each municipality with a population in excess of 25,000, collection of discarded computer equipment and televisions, as defined in G.S. 130A‑309.91.

(7)        Include a description and assessment of the full cost of solid waste management, including the costs of collection, disposal, waste reduction, and other programs, and of the methods of financing those costs.

(8)        Consider the use of facilities and other resources for management of solid waste that may be available through private enterprise.

(9)        (Expires October 1, 2023) Include as a component a written plan for the management of abandoned manufactured homes as required under G.S. 130A‑309.113(a).

(c)        Repealed by Session Laws 1995 (Regular Session, 1996), c. 594, s. 12.

(d)        In order to assess the progress in meeting the goal set out in G.S. 130A‑309.04, each unit of local government shall report to the Department on the solid waste management programs and waste reduction activities within the unit of local government by 1 September of each year. At a minimum, the report shall include:

(1)        A description of public education programs on recycling.

(2)        The amount of solid waste received at municipal solid waste management facilities, by type of solid waste.

(3)        The amount and type of materials from the solid waste stream that were recycled.

(4)        The percentage of the population participating in various types of recycling activities instituted.

(5)        The annual reduction in municipal solid waste, measured as provided in G.S. 130A‑309.04.

(6)        Information regarding programs and other actions implemented as part of the local comprehensive solid waste management plan.

(7)        A statement of the costs of solid waste management programs implemented by the unit of local government and the methods of financing those costs.

(e)        Repealed by Session Laws 1995 (Regular Session, 1996), c. 594, s. 13.

(f)         Each operator of a municipal solid waste management facility shall weigh all solid waste when it is received.

(g)        A unit of local government that is a collector of municipal solid waste shall not knowingly collect for disposal, and the owner or operator of a municipal solid waste management facility that is owned or operated by a unit of local government shall not knowingly dispose of, any type or form of municipal solid waste that is generated within the boundaries of a unit of local government that by ordinance:

(1)        Prohibits generators or collectors of municipal solid waste from disposing of that type or form of municipal solid waste.

(2)        Requires generators or collectors of municipal solid waste to recycle that type or form of municipal solid waste.  (1989, c. 784, s. 2; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1009, s. 4; 1991, c. 621, s. 7; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 594, s. 13; 2007‑550, s. 16.2; 2008‑136, s. 3; 2008‑198, s. 11.4; 2008‑208, ss. 2, 7; 2009‑484, s. 16(a), (b); 2009‑550, s. 10(a), (b).)