N.Y. General Municipal Law § 120-aa: Source separation and segregation of recyclable or reuseable materials

§ 120-aa. Source separation and segregation of recyclable or reuseable

materials. 1. The legislature hereby finds that it is in the public

interest, in order to further the purposes of the state policy on solid

waste management articulated in section 27-0106 of the environmental

conservation law, for a municipality to adopt a local law or ordinance

to require the source separation and segregation of recyclable or

reuseable materials from solid waste.

2. a. Pursuant to the authority of this section, no later than

September first, nineteen hundred ninety-two, a municipality shall adopt

such a local law or ordinance to require that solid waste which has been

left for collection or which is delivered by the generator of such waste

to a solid waste management facility, shall be separated into

recyclable, reuseable or other components for which economic markets for

alternate uses exist. For purposes of this section, the term "economic

markets" refers to instances in which the full avoided costs of proper

collection, transportation and disposal of source separated materials

are equal to or greater than the cost of collection, transportation and

sale of said material less the amount received from the sale of said

material.

b. For purposes of this section, "components" shall include paper,

glass, metals, plastics, garden and yard waste, and may include other

elements of solid waste.

c. Prior to exercising the authority of this section to enact such a

local law or ordinance, the municipality shall hold a public hearing

relating to its proposed provisions and shall give due consideration to

existing source separation, recycling and other resource recovery

activities in the area, to the adequacy of markets for separated

materials, and to any additional effort and expense to be incurred by

residents in meeting the proposed separation requirements. The authority

provided in this section shall be in addition to and without limitation

upon the authority vested in municipalities under any other statute.

d. In fulfillment of the provisions of this section a municipality may

use public lands or buildings or private lands or buildings, open to the

public, upon written consent of the owner, as a recycling center or

depot for the storage of recyclable materials. The office of general

services and any other agency, authority or commission holding title to

lands or buildings in the name of the people of the state shall fully

cooperate with any person acting under the authority of this section to

establish a recycling program, provided that such use is not

inconsistent with the principle purpose of such lands or buildings,

subject to local zoning restrictions.