New York Laws
Article 6 - Public Health and Safety
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.

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