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Unless otherwise stated, the terms used in this chapter shall have the same meaning as provided by the definitions set forth in Section 17225 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations and the appropriate subsections of Division 30, Part 1, Chapter 2 of the California Public Resources Code.

(a) “Authorized collection agent” means a person or business that a local governing body or private commercial entity authorizes or contracts with to collect source separated materials. An authorized agent may be a governmental collection service, a private refuse collector, private recycling enterprise, or private nonprofit corporation or association.

(b) “Bin” means a container designed for mechanical emptying with a close-fitting cover and of a design approved by the Department.

(c) “Blue container” means a container or bin used for the purpose of storage and collection of source separated recyclable materials but may include the following types of organic wastes if part of the current recycling program: paper products, printing and writing paper, wood and dry lumber and textiles.

(d) “Board” means the Board of Supervisors of Humboldt County.

(e) “Bulky waste” means and includes, but not by way of limitation, discarded white goods (i.e., major household appliances), furniture, tires, carpets, mattresses and similar large items which cannot be placed in a covered container.

(f) “Centralized drop-off location” means a designated source separated materials collection location used by multiple generators.

(g) “Collection services area” means a portion of the County designated for refuse or recyclable material collection which is served by a franchised hauler.

(h) “Commercial business” or “commercial” means a firm, partnership, proprietorship, joint stock company, corporation, or association, whether for-profit or nonprofit, strip mall, industrial facility, or a multifamily residential dwelling. A multifamily residential dwelling that consists of fewer than two (2) units is not a commercial business for purposes of implementing this chapter. Such definition excludes nonprofit activities such as churches, synagogues, charitable and service organizations, fraternal, and social clubs.

(i) “Commercial premises” means any building or site in the County within one (1) of the franchise areas, other than residential premises, from which any business, service, nonprofit, governmental, institutional, commercial or industrial activity is conducted, including without limitation motels, hotels, recreational vehicle parks, restaurants, professional offices, clubhouses, places of entertainment, manufacturing plants, and private schools. Commercial premises shall also include large multi-unit dwellings containing two (2) or more dwelling units.

(j) “Container” means a plastic or metallic cart, bin, can, or other container expressly approved by the Department to store solid waste, recyclable materials, and/or organic waste.

(k) “County” means the County of Humboldt, State of California.

(l) “County designee” means an entity that the County contracts with or otherwise arranges to carry out any of the County’s responsibilities of this chapter as authorized in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 18981.2. A County designee may be a government entity, a hauler, a private entity, or a combination of those entities.

(m) “Customer” means any person receiving refuse and/or recycling service under the provisions of this chapter.

(n) “Department” means the Division of Solid Waste in the Department of Public Works.

(o) “Designated collection location” means the place where a franchised waste hauler or an authorized recycling entity is to pick up solid waste, segregated recyclable materials, or compostable materials. The location is identified by a franchise agreement between the franchised waste hauler and the County and will customarily be the curbside of a residential neighborhood or the service alley of a commercial or institutional entity.

(p) “Direct service provider” means a person, company, agency, district, or other entity that provides a service or services to the County pursuant to a contract or other written agreement.

(q) “Discarded recyclable materials” means any recyclable materials, as defined in this chapter, which the owner disposes of without selling or donating the materials.

(r) “Disposal site” has the same definition as provided in Public Resources Code Section 40122.

(s) “Drop box” means a container designed for mechanical emptying by a vehicle used for transportation to the disposal site with a minimum capacity of ten (10) cubic yards and of a design approved by the Department.

(t) “Edible food” is food intended for people to eat, including food not sold because of appearance, age, freshness, grade, surplus, etc. Edible food includes, but is not limited to, prepared foods, packaged foods and produce. All edible food must meet the food safety requirements of the California Retail Food Code.

(u) “Enforcement officer” means any officer or employee authorized by ordinance or by resolution of the Board of Supervisors to enforce the Humboldt County Code, or such officer’s or employee’s designee.

(v) “Excluded waste” means hazardous substances, hazardous waste, infectious waste, designated waste, volatile, corrosive, biomedical, infectious, biohazardous, and toxic substances or material. It also includes waste that a franchisee or other authorized collection enterprise reasonably believes would, as a result of or upon disposal, be a violation of local, State or Federal law, regulation or ordinance, including land use restrictions or conditions, waste that cannot be disposed of in Class III landfills, waste that in the opinion of the franchisee or other authorized collection enterprise would present a significant risk to human health or the environment, cause a nuisance or otherwise create or expose such enterprise or County to potential liability. It does not, however, include de minimis volumes or concentrations of waste of a type and amount normally found in residential solid waste after implementation of programs for the safe collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of batteries and paint in compliance with Sections 41500 and 41802 of the California Public Resources Code.

(w) “Food” means a raw, cooked, or processed edible substance, ice, beverage, an ingredient used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in part for human consumption, and chewing gum.

(x) “Food facility” means an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption at the retail level, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) An operation where food is consumed on or off the premises, regardless of whether there is a charge for the food.

(2) A place used in conjunction with the operations described in this subsection, including, but not limited to, storage facilities for food-related utensils, equipment, and materials.

(3) “Food facility” includes permanent and nonpermanent food facilities, including, but not limited to, the following:

(A) Public and private school cafeterias.

(B) Restricted food service facilities.

(C) Licensed health care facilities, except as provided in paragraph (12) of subdivision (c).

(D) Commissaries.

(E) Mobile food facilities.

(F) Mobile support units.

(G) Temporary food facilities.

(H) Vending machines.

(I) Certified farmers’ markets, for purposes of permitting and enforcement pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 114370.

(J) Farm stands, for purposes of permitting and enforcement pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 114375.

(K) Fishermen’s markets.

(L) Microenterprise home kitchen operations. (NOTE: These are not allowed in Humboldt County.)

(M) Catering operation.

(N) Host facility.

(y) “Food recovery organization” means an entity that engages in the collection or receipt of edible food from commercial edible food generators and distributes that edible food to the public for food recovery either directly or through other entities including, but not limited to: (1) a food bank as defined in Section 113783 of the State Health and Safety Code; (2) a nonprofit charitable organization as defined in Section 113841 of the State Health and Safety Code; and (3) a nonprofit charitable temporary food facility as defined in Section 113842 of the State Health and Safety Code. A food recovery organization is not a commercial edible food generator for the purposes of this article and implementation of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, Division 7, Chapter 12, Section 18982(a)(7).

(z) “Food recovery service” means a person or entity that collects and transports edible food from a commercial edible food generator to a food recovery organization or other entities for edible food recovery.

(aa) “Food scraps” means all food such as, but not limited to, fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, shellfish, bones, rice, beans, pasta, bread, cheese, and eggshells. Food scraps excludes fats, oils, and grease when such materials are source separated from other food scraps.

(bb) “Food-soiled paper” is compostable paper material that has come in contact with food or liquid, such as, but not limited to, compostable paper plates, paper coffee cups, napkins, pizza boxes, and milk cartons.

(cc) “Food waste” means food scraps and food-soiled paper.

(dd) “Franchise” as used in this chapter means a written agreement between a refuse or source separated materials collector and the County of Humboldt which grants to the collector the right to provide a specified service and which imposes upon the collector certain responsibilities as specified in the agreement. Such franchises shall be granted by the Board of Supervisors as specified in Section 521-6(a).

(ee) “Franchise Contract Administrator” as used in this chapter means the person(s) or division(s) within the Department of Public Works responsible for the administration of solid waste disposal and/or source separated materials collection contracts.

(ff) “Generator” means any person, as defined below, whose act or process produces solid waste, recyclable materials, yard trimmings, construction and demolition (“C&D”) debris, or bulky waste as defined herein, or whose act first causes any such material to become subject to regulation.

(gg) “Generators subject to SB 1383” means any person not in an area of the County granted a waiver from compliance with SB 1383 requirements from CalRecycle. The Department shall keep a map showing areas of the County that have received waivers from SB 1383 requirements.

(hh) “Gray container waste” has the same definition as provided in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 17402(a)(6.5) and shall be for the collection of nonorganic waste only.

(ii) “Green container” means a container or bin used for the purpose of storage and collection of source separated organic waste. The green container shall be intended for the collection of organic waste only and not nonorganic waste. The green container shall be transported to a facility that recovers or processes source separated organic waste.

(jj) “Group container” means a bin placed in a location, agreeable to the County, and assigned for the use of specified landowners or tenants.

(kk) “Hard-to-handle waste” includes the following wastes that will not fit in a refuse container: household furniture, appliances, tree stumps and large limbs, telephone poles and timbers, Styrofoam, transit pipe, large metal objects, cable, wire, concrete over one thousand (1,000) pounds piece weight, and reinforced concrete.

(ll) “Hazardous waste or materials” means any waste materials or mixture of wastes defined as such pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq., or the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. Section 9601 et seq., and all future amendments to either of them, or as defined by the California Environmental Protection Agency or the California Integrated Waste Management Board, or either of them. Where there is a conflict in the definitions employed by two (2) or more agencies having jurisdiction over hazardous or solid waste, the term “hazardous waste” shall be construed to have the broader, more encompassing definition.

(mm) “Industrial refuse” means refuse in an amount exceeding an average of five hundred (500) pounds per operating day produced by any person principally engaged in the business of processing or manufacturing agricultural, animal or other products or materials whose principal outlet for such products is wholesale rather than retail, and by any person engaged in the business of building construction or demolition.

(nn) “Inert wastes” means waste which includes, but is not limited to, rock, earth, construction rubble and asphalt chunks, and which contains insignificant amounts of decomposable wastes and no soluble pollutants.

(oo) “Institutional entity” means any facility operated by a governmental entity, including City, County, State and/or Federal buildings, local education entities, colleges, and public recreational sites.

(pp) “Institutional location” means the premises or site of an institutional entity.

(qq) “Mulch” means organic material that must meet or exceed the physical contamination, maximum metal concentration, and pathogen density standards for land application specified in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 17852(a)(24.5)(A)(1) through (3) and must be produced at one (1) of the following facilities:

(1) A permitted or authorized compostable material handling operation or facility, as defined in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 17852(a)(12), that is permitted or authorized under Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Division 7, other than a chipping and grinding operation or facility as defined in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 17852(a)(10); or

(2) A permitted or authorized transfer/processing facility or transfer/processing operation as defined in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Section 17402(a)(30) and (31) or that is permitted and authorized under Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations Division 7; or

(3) A permitted solid waste landfill as defined in Public Resources Code Section 40195.1 that is permitted under Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations Division 2.

(rr) “Multifamily residential dwelling” means any residential building, boardinghouse, apartment building, condominium complex, or stock cooperative complex consisting of two (2) or more independent dwelling units. “Multifamily residential dwelling” does not include motel, hotel or automobile court.

(ss) “Nondiscarded recyclable materials” means any recyclable materials, as defined in this chapter, the owner sells or donates.

(tt) “Nonputrescible wastes” are materials not capable of being decomposed by microorganisms with sufficient rapidity so as to create nuisances such as odors, gases or other offensive conditions, and include but are not limited to materials such as ashes, paper, cardboard, cans, wood, glass, bedding, crockery, plastics, or rubber by-products.

(uu) “Notice of violation” means a notice that a violation has occurred that includes a compliance date to avoid an action to seek penalties.

Notice of violation shall contain:

(1) The name(s), or account name(s) if different, of each person or entity to whom it is directed.

(2) A factual description of the violations of this chapter, including the regulatory section(s) being violated.

(3) A compliance date by which the operator is to take specified action(s).

(4) The penalty for not complying within the specified compliance date.

(vv) “Occupant” means the person in possession or control of the premises, including but not limited to persons such as tenant, lessee, licensee, manager, custodian or caretaker.

(ww) “Owner” means the person having dominion of or title to premises.

(xx) “Permit” as used in this chapter means a written approval for operation and/or use of solid waste disposal facilities, or for the collection of source separated materials, as specified in Sections 521-5(a), 521-6(a), and 521-10.

(yy) “Premises” means a parcel of real property to the center of any alley adjacent thereto, located in the unincorporated area of the County, upon which is situated any dwelling house or other place of human habitation, including each unit of a multiple dwelling building, or of a mobile home park; or upon which is conducted any business, occupation, or activity which results in the production or accumulation of refuse.

(zz) “Prohibited container contaminants” means any of the following:

(1) Nonorganic waste placed in a green container that is part of an organic waste collection service provided pursuant to California Code of Regulations Section 18984.1 or 18984.2;

(2) Organic wastes that are carpet, hazardous wood waste, or noncompostable paper placed in the green container that is part of an organic waste collection service provided pursuant to California Code of Regulations Section 18984.1 or 18984.2;

(3) Organic wastes placed in a gray container that pursuant to California Code of Regulations Section 18984.1 or 18984.2 were intended to be collected separately in the green container or blue container;

(4) Organic wastes placed in the blue container shall be considered prohibited container contaminants when those wastes were specifically identified in Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Division 7, Chapter 12 or this chapter for collection in the green container for recovery. Paper products, printing and writing paper, wood and dry lumber may be considered acceptable and not considered prohibited container contaminants if they are placed in the blue container.

(aaa) “Public facility” includes, but is not limited to, buildings, structures, marinas and outdoor recreation areas owned by a local agency.

(bbb) “Putrescible wastes” are wastes that are capable of being decomposed by microorganisms with sufficient rapidity so as to create nuisances such as odors, gases or other offensive conditions, and include but are not limited to materials such as food wastes, offal and dead animals.

(ccc) “Recyclable materials” includes materials which are reused or processed or are in the future reused or processed into a form suitable for reuse through reprocessing or remanufacture, consistent with the requirements of the California Integrated Waste Management Act. The term “recyclables” or “recyclable material” includes but is not limited to paper, newsprint, printed matter, pasteboard, paper containers, cardboard, glass, aluminum, tin cans, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high density polyethylene), and other plastics, beverage containers, compostable materials, used motor oil, automotive batteries, antifreeze, latex paint, brick and stone in reusable size and condition, and such other materials designated by the County’s AB 939 Coordinator, or designated as recyclables by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, or other agency with jurisdiction.

(ddd) “Recycling” means the process of collecting, sorting, cleansing, treating and reconstituting materials that would otherwise become solid waste, and returning them to the economic mainstream in the form of raw material for new, reused or reconstituted products which meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the marketplace. “Recycling” does not include transformation, as defined in Public Resources Code Section 40201.

(eee) “Recycling industry” means a properly zoned and licensed business that receives recyclable material for the purpose of converting or reprocessing said material into a new product.

(fff) “Recycling area” or “areas for recycling” means space allocated for collecting and loading of recyclable materials. Such areas shall have the ability to accommodate receptacles for recyclable materials. Recycling areas shall be accessible and convenient for those who deposit as well as those who collect and load any recyclable materials placed therein.

(ggg) “Refuse” means and includes all bulky waste, hard-to-handle waste, solid waste and recyclable materials that have not been segregated as defined in this chapter.

(hhh) “Residential unit” means any single-family dwelling, duplex, triplex, apartment house or condominium complex. For the purpose of this chapter, each apartment, flat, or dwelling unit of a duplex, triplex, apartment house or condominium complex shall be considered as a separate residential unit.

(3) “SB 1383” means Senate Bill 1383 of 2016 (Chapter 395), which added Sections 39730.5, 39730.6, 39730.7, and 39730.8 to the Health and Safety Code, and added Chapter 13.1 (commencing with Section 42652) to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, establishing methane emissions reduction targets in a Statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants as amended, supplemented, superseded, and replaced from time to time.

(jjj) “Segregated recyclable materials” means those recyclable materials which:

(1) Have been source separated by the person from whom they are being collected; or

(2) Are physically separated from other waste material following collection.

(kkk) “Single-family dwelling” or “single-family residential dwelling” means notwithstanding any contrary definition in the County Code and for the purposes of this chapter only, any detached or attached house or residence designed or used for occupancy by one (1) family; provided, that collection service feasibly can be provided to such premises as an independent unit, and the owner or occupant of such independent unit is billed directly for the collection service.

(lll) “Solid waste” means solid waste as defined in California Public Resources Code Section 40191.

(mmm) “Solid waste collector” means a person who collects or transports refuse under authority granted by the County including his/her agents and employees.

(nnn) “Source separated materials” shall mean any recyclable, reusable, repairable or compostable materials stored by the generator separately from the storage of solid waste.

(ooo) “Source separated materials collector” shall mean any person engaged in the business of collecting or transporting, on a regularly scheduled basis, recyclable or compostable materials which have been separated by the generator for reuse or processing, and diversion from disposal. “Source separated materials collector” does not include nonprofit community service organizations for which the primary function of the organization is neither the collection nor the processing of recyclable or compostable materials.

(ppp) “State” means the State of California.

(qqq) “Tier 1 generator” means a commercial food generator that is one (1) of the following:

(1) Supermarket.

(2) Grocery store with a total facility size equal to or greater than ten thousand (10,000) square feet.

(3) Food service provider.

(4) Food distributor.

(5) Wholesale food vendor.

(rrr) “Tier 2 generator” means a commercial edible food generator that is one (1) of the following:

(1) Restaurant with two hundred fifty (250) or more seats or a total facility size equal or greater than five thousand (5,000) square feet.

(2) Hotel with an on-site food facility and two hundred (200) or more rooms.

(3) Health facility with an on-site food facility and one hundred (100) or more beds.

(4) Large venue.

(5) Large event.

(6) A State agency with a cafeteria with two hundred fifty (250) or more seats or a total cafeteria size equal or greater than five thousand (5,000) square feet.

(7) A local education agency with an on-site food facility. (Repealed and reenacted by Ord. 2696, § 2, 6/14/2022)