California Code of Regulations
Title 14 - Natural Resources
Division 7 - Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
Chapter 12 - Short-Lived Climate Pollutants
Article 1 - Definitions
Section 18982 - Definitions
Universal Citation: 14 CA Code of Regs 18982
Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) Except as otherwise provided, the following definitions shall govern the provisions of this chapter:
(1) "Activities that constitute landfill disposal" are activities described in Subdivision (a) of Section 18983.1.
(2) "Alternative daily cover (ADC)" has the same meaning as in Section of Title 2720690 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR).
(3) "Alternative intermediate cover (AIC)" has the same meaning as in Section of Title 2720700 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations.
(3.5) "Biomass conversion" has the same meaning as in Public Resources Code, Section 40106.
(4) "Biosolids" has the same meaning as Section 17852(a)(9) of this division.
(5) "Blue container" means a container where either:
(A) The lid of the container is blue in color.
(B) The body of the container is blue in color and the lid is either blue, gray, or black in color. Hardware such as hinges and wheels on a blue container may be any color.
(5.5) "Brown container" means a container where either:
(A) The lid of the container is brown in color.
(B) The body of the container is brown in color and the lid is either brown, gray, or black in color. Hardware such as hinges and wheels on a brown container may be any color.
(6) "Commercial business" 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) A multifamily residential dwelling that consists of fewer than five units is not a commercial business for the purposes of this chapter.
(7) "Commercial edible food generator" includes a Tier One or a Tier Two commercial edible food generator as defined in Subdivisions (a)(73) and (a)(74) of this section. For the purposes of this chapter, food recovery organizations and food recovery services are not commercial edible food generators.
(8) "Community composting" means any activity that composts green material, agricultural material, food material, and vegetative food material, alone or in combination, and the total amount of feedstock and compost on-site at any one time does not exceed 100 cubic yards and 750 square feet, as specified in Section 17855(a)(4).
(9) "Compliance review" means a review of records by a jurisdiction or the Department to determine compliance with subscribing to an organic waste collection service as required by this chapter.
(10) "Compost" has the same meaning as in Section 17896.2(a)(4).
(11) "Compostable material" has the same meaning as in Section 17852(a)(11).
(12) "Compostable material handling operation" or "facility" has the same meaning as in Section 17852(a)(12).
(13) "Consumer" has the same meaning as in Section 113757 of the Health and Safety Code.
(14) "Container contamination" or "contaminated container" means a container, regardless of color, that contains prohibited container contaminants as defined in Subdivision (a)(55).
(14.5) "Designated source separated organic waste facility" means a solid waste facility that accepts a source separated organic waste collection stream as defined in Section 17402(a) (26.6) and complies with one of the following:
(A) The facility is a "transfer/processor," as defined in Section 18815.2(a)(62), that is in compliance with the reporting requirements of Section 18815.5(d), and meets or exceeds an annual average source separated organic content recovery rate of 50 percent between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024 and 75 percent on and after January 1, 2025 as calculated pursuant to Section 18815.5(f) for organic waste received from the source separated organic waste collection stream.
1. If a transfer/processor has an annual average source separated organic content recovery rate lower than the rate required in paragraph (A) of this section for two (2) consecutive reporting periods, or three (3) reporting periods within three (3) years, the facility shall not qualify as a "Designated source separated organic waste facility."
(B) The facility is a "composting operation" or "composting facility" as defined in Section 18815.2(a)(13) that pursuant to the reports submitted under Section 18815.7 demonstrates that the percent of the material removed for landfill disposal that is organic waste is less than the percent specified in Section 17409.5.8(c)(2) or 17409.5.8(c)(3), whichever is applicable, and, if applicable, complies with the digestate handling requirements specified in Section 17896.57.
1. If the percent of the material removed for landfill disposal that is organic waste is more than the percent specified in Section 17409.5.8(c)(2) or 17409.5.8(c)(3) for two (2) consecutive reporting periods, or three (3) reporting periods within three (3) years, the facility shall not qualify as a "Designated source separated organic waste facility."
(15) "Designee" means an entity that a jurisdiction contracts with or otherwise arranges to carry out any responsibilities of this chapter, as authorized in Section 18981.2 of this chapter. A designee may be a government entity, a hauler, a private entity, or a combination of those entities.
(16) "Diesel gallon equivalent" means the amount of renewable gas transportation fuel that has the equivalent energy content of one gallon of conventional diesel.
(16.5) "Digestate" means the solid and/or liquid material remaining after organic material has been processed in an in-vessel digester.
(17) "Direct service provider" means a person, company, agency, district, or other entity that provides a service or services to a jurisdiction pursuant to a contract or other written agreement.
(18) "Edible food" means food intended for human consumption.
(A) For the purposes of this chapter, "edible food" is not solid waste if it is recovered and not discarded.
(B) Nothing in this chapter requires or authorizes the recovery of edible food that does not meet the food safety requirements of the California Retail Food Code.
(19) "Enforcement action" means an action of a jurisdiction or the Department to ensure compliance with this chapter, including, but not limited to, issuing notices of violation, accusations, or other remedies.
(20) "Facility that recovers source separated organic waste" means a facility that handles source separated organic waste separately from any other wastes as required in Section 17409.5.6.
(21) "Food" has the same meaning as in Section 113781 of the Health and Safety Code.
(22) "Food distributor" means a company that distributes food to entities including, but not limited to, supermarkets and grocery stores.
(23) "Food facility" has the same meaning as in Section 113789 of the Health and Safety Code.
(24) "Food recovery" means actions to collect and distribute food for human consumption which otherwise would be disposed.
(25) "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:
(A) A food bank as defined in Section 113783 of the Health and Safety Code;
(B) A nonprofit charitable organization as defined in Section 113841 of the Health and Safety code; and,
(C) A nonprofit charitable temporary food facility as defined in Section 113842 of the Health and Safety Code.
(26) "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 food recovery.
(27) "Food service provider" means an entity primarily engaged in providing food services to institutional, governmental, commercial, or industrial locations of others based on contractual arrangements with these types of organizations.
(27.5) "Fluorinated greenhouse gas" or "fluorinated GHG" means sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), and any fluorocarbon except for controlled substances as defined at 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart A, (May 1995), which is hereby incorporated by reference, and substances with vapor pressures of less than 1 mm of Hg absolute at 25 ° C. With these exceptions, "fluorinated GHG" includes any hydrofluorocarbon, any perfluorocarbon, any fully fluorinated linear, branched or cyclic alkane, ether, tertiary amine or aminoether, any perfluoropolyether, and any hydrofluoropolyether.
(27.6) "Global warming potential" or "GWP" means the ratio of the time-integrated radiative forcing from the instantaneous release of one kilogram of a trace substance relative to that of one kilogram of a reference gas (i.e., CO2). The GWP values are as specified in the Table A-1 to Subpart A of Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 98 as published in the CFR on 12/11/2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
(28) "Gray container" means a container where either:
(A) The lid of the container is gray or black in color.
(B) The body of the container is entirely gray or black in color and the lid is gray or black in color. Hardware such as hinges and wheels on a gray container may be any color.
(28.5) "Gray container collection stream" has the same meaning as defined in Section 17402.
(29) "Green container" means a container where either:
(A) The lid of the container is green in color.
(B) The body of the container is green in color and the lid is green, gray, or black in color. Hardware such as hinges and wheels on a green container may be any color.
(29.5) "Greenhouse gas" means carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N20), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), and other fluorinated greenhouse gases as defined in this section.
(29.6) "Greenhouse gas emission reduction" or "greenhouse gas reduction" means a calculated decrease in greenhouse gas emissions relative to a project baseline over a specified period of time.
(30) "Grocery store" means a store primarily engaged in the retail sale of canned food; dry goods; fresh fruits and vegetables; fresh meats, fish, and poultry; and any area that is not separately owned within the store where the food is prepared and served, including a bakery, deli, and meat and seafood departments.
(30.5) "Hazardous wood waste" means wood that falls within the definition of "Treated wood" or "Treated wood waste" in Section of Title 2267386.4 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
(31) "Hauler" has the same meaning as in Section 18815.2(a)(32).
(31.5) "Hauler route" means the designated itinerary or sequence of stops for each segment of the jurisdiction's collection service area.
(32) "Health facility" has the same meaning as in Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code.
(33) "High diversion organic waste processing facility" means a facility that is in compliance with the reporting requirements of Section 18815.5(d) and meets or exceeds an annual average mixed waste organic content recovery rate of 50 percent between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024, and 75 percent after January 1, 2025 as calculated pursuant to Section 18815.5(e) for organic waste received from the "Mixed Waste Organic Collection Stream" as defined in Section 17402(a) (11.5).
(34) "Hotel" has the same meaning as in Section 17210 of the Business and Professions code.
(35) "Inspection" means a site visit where a jurisdiction or the Department reviews records, containers, and an entity's collection, handling, recycling, or landfill disposal of organic waste or edible food handling to determine if the entity is complying with requirements set forth in this chapter.
(36) "Jurisdiction" means a city, county, a city and county, or a special district that provides solid waste collection services. A city, county, a city and county, or a special district may utilize a Joint Powers Authority to comply with the requirements of this chapter, except that the individual city, county, city and county, or special district shall remain ultimately responsible for compliance.
(37) "Jurisdiction of residence" means the jurisdiction where a generator who is a self-hauler generated organic waste.
(38) "Large event" means an event, including, but not limited to, a sporting event or a flea market, that charges an admission price, or is operated by a local agency, and serves an average of more than 2,000 individuals per day of operation of the event, at a location that includes, but is not limited to, a public, nonprofit, or privately owned park, parking lot, golf course, street system, or other open space when being used for an event.
(39) "Large venue" means a permanent venue facility that annually seats or serves an average of more than 2,000 individuals within the grounds of the facility per day of operation of the venue facility. For the purposes of this chapter, a venue facility includes, but is not limited to, a public, nonprofit, or privately owned or operated stadium, amphitheater, arena, hall, amusement park, conference or civic center, zoo, aquarium, airport, racetrack, horse track, performing arts center, fairground, museum, theater, or other public attraction facility. For the purposes of this chapter, a site under common ownership or control that includes more than one large venue that is contiguous with other large venues in the site, is a single large venue.
(39.5) "Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions" or "Lifecycle GHG emissions" means the aggregate quantity of greenhouse gas emissions (including direct and indirect emissions), related to the full lifecycle of the technology or process that an applicant wishes to have assessed as a possible means to reduce landfill disposal of organic waste. The lifecycle analysis of emissions includes all stages of organic waste processing and distribution, including collection from a recovery location, waste processing, delivery, use of any finished material by the ultimate consumer, ultimate use of any processing materials. The mass values for all greenhouse gases shall be adjusted to account for their relative global warming potential.
(40) "Local education agency" means a school district, charter school, or county office of education that is not subject to the control of city or county regulations related to solid waste.
(41) "Non-compostable paper" includes, but is not limited, to paper that is coated in a plastic material that will not breakdown in the composting process.
(42) "Non-local entity" means an entity that is an organic waste generator but is not subject to the control of a jurisdiction's regulations related to solid waste. These entities may include, but are not limited to, special districts, federal facilities, prisons, facilities operated by the state parks system, public universities, including community colleges, county fairgrounds, and state agencies.
(43) "Non-organic recyclables" means non-putrescible and non-hazardous recyclable wastes, including, but not limited to, bottles, cans, metals, plastics, and glass.
(44) "Notice and Order to Correct (NOTC)" means a notice that a violation has occurred and that failure to correct the violation may result in a penalty.
(45) "Notice of Violation (NOV)" means a notice that a violation has occurred that includes a compliance date to avoid an action to seek penalties.
(46) "Organic waste" means solid wastes containing material originated from living organisms and their metabolic waste products including, but not limited to, food, green material, landscape and pruning waste, organic textiles and carpets, lumber, wood, paper products, printing and writing paper, manure, biosolids, digestate, and sludges.
(47) "Organic waste disposal reduction target" is the statewide target to reduce the disposal of organic waste by 50 percent by 2020 and 75 percent by 2025, based on the 2014 organic waste disposal baseline, set forth in Section 39730.6 of the Health and Safety Code.
(48) "Organic waste generator" means a person or entity that is responsible for the initial creation of organic waste.
(49) "Organic waste recovery activities" or "recovery" means any activity or process described in Section 18983.1(b).
(50) "Organic Waste Recovery Noncompliance Inventory" means a list of entities that have uncorrected violations of the standards contained in this chapter.
(51) "Paper products" include, but are not limited to, paper janitorial supplies, cartons, wrapping, packaging, file folders, hanging files, corrugated boxes, tissue, and toweling.
(52) Paper purchase" means all purchases by a jurisdiction of items in the following categories:
(A) Paper products.
(B) Printing and writing papers.
(52.5) "Performance-based source separated collection service" means a solid waste collection service that meets the requirements of Section 18998.1(a).
(52.6) "Permanent" means, in the context of the determination of processes or technologies that constitute a reduction in landfill disposal, that greenhouse gas emissions reductions are not reversible, or when these emissions reductions may be reversible, that mechanisms are in place to replace any reversed greenhouse gas emissions reductions to ensure that all reductions endure for at least 100 years.
(53) "Person" has the same meaning as in Section 40170 of the Public Resources Code.
(54) "Printing and writing papers" include, but are not limited to, copy, xerographic, watermark, cotton fiber, offset, forms, computer printout paper, white wove envelopes, manila envelopes, book paper, note pads, writing tablets, newsprint, and other uncoated writing papers, posters, index cards, calendars, brochures, reports, magazines, and publications.
(55) "Prohibited container contaminants" means any of the following, but does not include organic waste specifically allowed for collection in a container that is required to be transported to a high diversion organic waste processing facility if the waste is specifically identified as acceptable for collection in that container in a manner that complies with the requirements of Section 18984.1, 18984.2, or 18984.3.
(A) Non-organic waste placed in a green container that is part of an organic waste collection service provided pursuant to Section 18984.1 or 18984.2.
(B) Organic wastes that are, carpet, hazardous wood waste, or non-compostable paper placed in the green container that is part of an organic waste collection service provided pursuant to Section 18984.1 or 18984.2.
(C) Organic wastes, placed in a gray container, that pursuant to Section 18984.1 or 18984.2 were intended to be collected separately in the green container or blue container.
(D) Organic wastes placed in the blue container shall be considered prohibited container contaminants when those wastes were specifically identified in this chapter or through a local ordinance 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.
(56) "Processing" has the same meaning as in Section 17402(a)(20).
(56.5) "Project baseline" means, in the context of "greenhouse gas emission reduction" or "greenhouse gas reduction," and in the context of an application submitted pursuant to Section 18983.2, a conservative estimate of the business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions that would have occurred if the organic waste proposed for recovery was disposed in an activity that constitutes landfill disposal. This estimate may include greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and use of products replaced by a Section 18983.2 technology or process.
(57) "Property owner" means the owner of real property.
(58) "Publicly owned treatment works" or "POTW" has the same meaning as in Section 403.3(r) of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(59) "Recovered organic waste product procurement target" means the amount of organic waste in the form of a recovered organic waste product which a jurisdiction is required to procure annually.
(60) "Recovered organic waste products" means products made from California, landfill-diverted recovered organic waste processed at a permitted or otherwise authorized operation or facility.
(60.5) "Recovery location" includes the closest aggregating hub used to recover the organic waste after collection. This could include but is not limited to a transfer facility, recycling facility, or recovery facility.
(61) "Recycled content paper" means paper products and printing and writing paper that consists of at least 30 percent, by fiber weight, postconsumer fiber.
(62) "Renewable gas" means gas derived from organic waste that has been diverted from a landfill and processed at an in-vessel digestion facility that is permitted or otherwise authorized by Title 14 to recover organic waste.
(63) "Residual organic waste" means waste that remains after organic waste has been processed which is then sent to landfill disposal.
(64) "Restaurant" means an establishment primarily engaged in the retail sale of food and drinks for on-premises or immediate consumption.
(65) "Route review" means a visual inspection of containers along a hauler route for the purpose of determining container contamination and may include mechanical inspection methods such as the use of cameras.
(66) "Self-hauler" means a person who hauls solid waste, organic waste or recovered material he or she has generated to another person.
Self-hauler also includes a person who back-hauls waste.
(A) "Back-haul" means generating and transporting organic waste to a destination owned and operated by the generator using the generator's own employees and equipment.
(67) "Sewage sludge" means the solid, semisolid, or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a municipal wastewater treatment facility. Sewage sludge includes solids removed or used during primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater treatment processes.
Sewage sludge does not include grit or screening material generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage at a POTW.
(68) "Share table" has the same meaning as in Section 114079 of the Health and Safety Code.
(68.5) "Source sector" has the same meaning as in Section 18815.2(a)(58).
(69) "Source separated organic waste" means organic waste that is placed in a container that is specifically intended for the separate collection of organic waste by the generator.
(70) "Source separated organic waste collection stream" has the same meaning as defined in Section 17402(a) (26.6).
(70.5) "Special district" has the same meaning as Section 41821.2 of the Public Resources Code.
(71) "Supermarket" means a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items.
(72) "The 2014 organic waste disposal baseline" means the total tons of organic waste disposed statewide in 2014 as calculated by the Department.
(73) "Tier one commercial edible food generator" means a commercial edible food generator that is one of the following:
(A) Supermarket.
(B) Grocery store with a total facility size equal to or greater than 10,000 square feet.
(C) Food service provider.
(D) Food distributor.
(E) Wholesale food vendor.
(74) "Tier two commercial edible food generator" means a commercial edible food generator that is one of the following:
(A) Restaurant with 250 or more seats, or a total facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet.
(B) Hotel with an on-site food facility and 200 or more rooms.
(C) Health facility with an on-site food facility and 100 or more beds.
(D) Large venue.
(E) Large event.
(F) A state agency with a cafeteria with 250 or more seats or a total cafeteria facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet.
(G) A local education agency with an on-site food facility.
(75) "Uncontainerized green waste and yard waste collection service" or "uncontainerized service" means a collection service that collects green waste and yard waste that is placed in a pile or bagged for collection on the street in front of a generator's house or place of business for collection and transport to a facility that recovers source separated organic waste.
(76) "Wholesale food vendor" means a business or establishment engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of food, where food (including fruits and vegetables) is received, shipped, stored, prepared for distribution to a retailer, warehouse, distributor, or other destination.
1. New article 1 (section 18982) and section filed 11-3-2020; operative 1-1-2022 pursuant to Public Resources Code section 42652.2(a)(6) (Register 2020, No. 45).
Note: Authority cited: Sections 40502, 43020, 43021 and 42652.5, Public Resources Code. Reference: Sections 42652.5 and 42654, Public Resources Code; and Sections 39730.6 and 39730.8, Health and Safety Code.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. California may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
