California Code of Regulations
Title 14 - Natural Resources
Division 7 - Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
Chapter 9 - Planning Guidelines and Procedures for Preparing and Revising Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plans
Article 3 - Definitions
Section 18720 - Definitions

"Agricultural wastes" means solid wastes of plant and animal origin, which result from the production and processing of farm or agricultural products, including manures, orchard and vineyard prunings, and crop residues, which are removed from the site of generation for solid waste management. Agricultural refers to SIC Codes 011 through 0291.

"Aluminum can" or "aluminum container" means any food or beverage container that is composed of at least 94% aluminum.

"Asbestos" means fibrous forms of various hydrated minerals, including chrysotile (fibrous serpentine), crocidolite (fibrous reibecktite), amosite (fibrous cummingtonite-grunerite), fibrous tremolite, fibrous actinolite, and fibrous anthophyllite.

"Ash" or "ashes" means the residue from the combustion of any solid or liquid material.

"Bi-metal container" means any metal container composed of at least two different types of metals, such as a steel container with an aluminum top.

"Best readily available and applicable data" or "representative data" means information that is available to a jurisdiction from published sources, field sampling, the Board, or other identifiable entities which is the most current data and which addresses the situation being examined.

"Buy-back recycling center" means a facility which pays a fee for the delivery and transfer of ownership to the facility of source separated materials, for the purpose of recycling or composting.

"Capital costs" means those direct costs incurred in order to acquire real property assets such as land, buildings and building additions; site improvements; machinery; and equipment.

"Commercial solid waste" means solid waste originating from stores, business offices, commercial warehouses, hospitals, educational, health care, military, and correctional institutions, non-profit research organizations, and government offices. Commercial solid waste refers to SIC Codes 401 through 4939, 4961, and 4971 (transportation, communications and utilities), 501 through 5999 (wholesale and retail trade), 601 through 679 (finance, insurance and real estate), 701 through 8748 (public and private service industries such as hospitals and hotels), and 911 through 9721 (public administration). Commercial solid wastes do not include construction and demolition waste.

"Commercial unit" means a site zoned for a commercial business and which generates commercial solid wastes.

"Composition" means a set of identified solid waste materials, categorized into waste categories and waste types pursuant to sections 18722(i) and (j) of article 6.1 of this chapter.

"Composting" means a method of waste treatment which produces a product meeting the definition of "compost" in Public Resources Code section 40116.

"Composting facility" means a permitted solid waste facility at which composting is conducted and which produces a product meeting the definition of "compost" in Public Resources Code section 40116.

"Construction and demolition waste" includes solid wastes, such as building materials; and packaging and rubble resulting from construction, remodeling, repair and demolition operations on pavements, houses, commercial buildings, and other structures. Construction refers to SIC Codes 152 through 1794, 1796, and 1799. Demolition refers to SIC Code 1795.

"Corrugated container" means a paperboard container fabricated from two layers of kraft linerboard sandwiched around a corrugating medium. Kraft linerboard means paperboard made from wood pulp produced by a modified sulfate pulping process, with basis weight ranging from 18 to 200 pounds, manufactured for use as facing material for corrugated or solid fiber containers. Linerboard also may mean that material which is made from reclaimed paper stock. Corrugating medium means paperboard made from chemical or semichemical wood pulps, straw or reclaimed paper stock, and folded to form permanent corrugations. Corrugated container refers to SIC Code 2653.

"Cost-effective" means a measurement of cost compared to an unvalued output (e.g., the cost per ton of solid waste collected) such that the lower the cost, the more cost-effective the action.

"Disposal" means the management of solid waste through landfilling or transformation at permitted solid waste facilities.

"Disposal capacity" means the capacity, expressed in either weight in tons or its volumetric equivalent in cubic yards, which is either currently available at a permitted solid waste landfill, or will be needed for the disposal of solid waste generated within the jurisdiction over a specified period of time.

"Diversion alternative" means any activity, existing or occurring in the future, which has been, is, or will be implemented by a jurisdiction which could result in or promote the diversion of solid waste, through source reduction, recycling or composting, from solid waste landfills and transformation facilities.

"Drop-off recycling center" means a facility which accepts delivery or transfer of ownership of source separated materials for the purpose of recycling or composting, without paying a fee. Donation of materials to collection organizations, such as charitable groups, is included in this definition.

"Durability" means the ability of a product to be used for its intended purpose for a period greater than the mean useful product life span of similar products.

"End market" or "end use" means the use or uses of a diverted material or product which has been returned to the economic mainstream, whether or not this return is through sale of the material or product. The material or product can have a value which is less than the solid waste disposal cost.

"Feasible" means that a specified program, method, or other activity can, on the basis of cost, technical requirements and time frame for accomplishment, be undertaken to achieve the objectives and tasks identified by a jurisdiction in a Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan.

"Ferrous metals" means any iron or steel scrap which has an iron content sufficient for magnetic separation.

"Food waste" means all animal and vegetable solid wastes generated by food facilities, as defined in California Health and Safety Code section 27521, or from residences, that result from the storage, preparation, cooking, or handling of food.

"Hazard" means having one or more of the characteristics that cause a substance or combination of substances to qualify as a hazardous material, as defined by section 66084 of title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.

"Household hazardous wastes" are those wastes resulting from products purchased by the general public for household use which, because of their quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics, may pose a substantial known or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, disposed, or otherwise managed.

"Household hazardous waste collection" means a program activity in which household hazardous wastes are brought to a designated collection point where the household hazardous wastes are separated for temporary storage and ultimate recycling, treatment, or disposal.

"Implementation" means the accomplishment of the program tasks as identified in each component required by section 18733 of this chapter.

"Industrial solid waste" means solid waste originating from mechanized manufacturing facilities, factories, refineries, construction and demolition projects, and publicly operated treatment works, and/or solid wastes placed in debris boxes.

"Industrial unit" means a site zoned for an industrial business and which generates industrial solid wastes.

"Inert solids" or "inert waste" means a non-liquid solid waste including, but not limited to, soil and concrete, that does not contain hazardous waste or soluble pollutants at concentrations in excess of water-quality objectives established by a regional water board pursuant to division 7 (commencing with section 13000) of the California Water Code and does not contain significant quantities of decomposable solid waste.

"Jurisdiction" means the city or county responsible for preparing any one or all of the following: the Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan, or the Countywide Siting Element, or the Source Reduction and Recycling Element.

"Marine wastes" means solid wastes generated from marine vessels and ocean work platforms, solid wastes washed onto ocean beaches, and litter discarded on ocean beaches.

"Market development" means a method of increasing the demand for recovered materials so that end markets for the materials are established, improved or stabilized and thereby become more reliable.

"Materials recovery facility" means a permitted solid waste facility where solid wastes or recyclable materials are sorted or separated, by hand or by use of machinery, for the purposes of recycling or composting.

"Medium-term planning period" means a period beginning in the year 1996 and ending in the year 2000.

"Mixed paper" means a waste type which is a mixture, unsegregated by color or quality, of at least two of the following paper wastes: newspaper, corrugated cardboard, office paper, computer paper, white paper, coated paper stock, or other paper wastes.

"Model component format" means that format described in sections 18733.1 through 18733.6 of article 6.2 of this chapter which shall be used for preparation of several of the individual components of a SRR Element.

"Municipal solid waste" or "MSW" means all solid wastes generated by residential, commercial, and industrial sources, and all solid waste generated at construction and demolition sites, at food-processing facilities, and at treatment works for water and waste water, which are collected and transported under the authorization of a jurisdiction or are self-hauled. Municipal solid waste does not include agricultural crop residues (SIC Codes 071 through 0724, 0751), animal manures (SIC Code 0751), mining waste and fuel extraction waste (SIC Codes 101 through 1499), forestry wastes (SIC Codes 081 through 0851, 2411 and 2421), and ash from industrial boilers, furnaces and incinerators.

"Non-Ferrous metals" means any metal scraps that have value, and that are derived from metals other than iron and its alloys in steel, such as aluminum, copper, brass, bronze, lead, zinc and other metals, and to which a magnet will not adhere.

"Non-recyclable paper" means discarded paper which has no market value because of its physical or chemical or biological characteristics or properties.

"Non-renewable resource" means a resource which cannot be replenished, such as those resources derived from fossil fuels.

"Normally disposed of" refers to those waste categories and waste types which:

"Old newspaper" means any newsprint which is separated from other types of solid waste or collected separately from other types of solid waste and made available for reuse and which may be used as a raw material in the manufacture of a new paper product.

"Operational costs" means those direct costs incurred in maintaining the ongoing operation of a program or facility. Operational costs do not include capital costs.

"Organic waste" means solid wastes originated from living organisms and their metabolic waste products, and from petroleum, which contain naturally produced organic compounds, and which are biologically decomposable by microbial and fungal action into the constituent compounds of water, carbon dioxide, and other simpler organic compounds.

"Other plastics" means all waste plastics except polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers, film plastics, and high density polyethylene (HDPE) containers.

"Permitted capacity" means that volume in cubic yards or weight in tons which a solid waste facility is allowed to receive, on a periodic basis, under the terms and conditions of that solid waste facility's current Solid Waste Facilities Permit issued by the local enforcement agency and concurred in by the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

"Permitted landfill" means a solid waste landfill for which there exists a current Solid Waste Facilities Permit issued by the local enforcement agency and concurred in by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, or which is permitted under the regulatory scheme of another state.

"Permitted solid waste facility" means a solid waste facility for which there exists a Solid Waste Facilities Permit issued by the local enforcement agency and concurred in by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, or which is permitted under the regulatory scheme of another state.

"Plan" or "Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan" means the Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan as defined in section 41750 of the Public Resources Code.

"Program" means the full range of source reduction, recycling, composting, special waste, or household hazardous waste activities undertaken by or in the jurisdiction or relating to management of the jurisdiction's waste stream to achieve the objectives identified in the Source Reduction, Recycling, Composting, and Special Waste components, and Household Hazardous Waste Element, respectively.

"Purchase preference" means a preference provided to a wholesale or retail commodity dealer which is based upon the percentage amount that the costs of products made from recycled materials may exceed that of similar non-recycled products and still be deemed the lowest bid.

"Rate structure" means that set of prices established by a jurisdiction, special district (as defined in Government Code section 56036), or other rate setting authority to compensate the jurisdiction, special district or rate setting authority for the partial or full costs of the collection, processing, recycling, composting, and/or transformation or landfill disposal of solid wastes.

"Recovered material" means material which has been retrieved or diverted from disposal or transformation for the purpose of recycling, reuse or composting. "Recovered material" does not include those materials generated from and reused on site for manufacturing purposes.

"Region" means the combined geographic area of two or more incorporated areas; two or more unincorporated areas; or any combination of incorporated and unincorporated areas.

"Repairability" means the ability of a product or package to be restored to a working or usable state at a cost which is less than the replacement cost of the product or package.

"Residential solid waste" means solid waste originating from single-family or multiple family dwellings.

"Residential unit" means a site occupied by a building which is zoned for residential occupation and whose occupants generate residential solid wastes.

"Reusability" means the ability of a product or package to be used more than once in its same form.

"Re-use" means the use, in the same form as it was produced, of a material which might otherwise be discarded.

"Rubber" means an amorphous polymer of isoprene derived from natural latex of certain tropical plants or from petroleum.

"Salvage" means the controlled removal of solid waste materials at a permitted solid waste facility for recycling, re-use, composting, or transformation.

"Seasonal" means those periods of time during the calendar year which are identifiable by distinct cyclical patterns of local climate, demography, trade or commerce.

"Sewage sludge" means residual solids and semi-solids resulting from the treatment of waste water, but does not include waste water effluent discharged from such treatment processes.

"Short-term planning period" means a period beginning in the year 1991 and ending in the year 1995.

"SIC Code" means the standards published in the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification Manual (1987), which is herein incorporated by reference.

"Sludge" means residual solids and semi-solids resulting from the treatment of water, waste water, and/or other liquids. Sludge includes sewage sludge and sludge derived from industrial processes, but does not include effluent discharged from such treatment processes.

"Solid Waste Generation Study" means the study undertaken by a jurisdiction to characterize its solid waste stream and comply with all the requirements of sections 18722, 18724, and 18726 of this chapter.

"Source Reduction and Recycling Element" or "SRR Element" means the source reduction and recycling element required pursuant to Public Resources Code sections 41000 and 41300.

"Source separated" describes the segregation, by the generator, of materials designated for separate collection for some form of materials recovery or special handling.

"Special waste" means any hazardous waste listed in section of title 2266261.120 of title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, or any waste which has been classified as a special waste pursuant to section of title 2266261.122 of title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, or which has been granted a variance for the purpose of storage, transportation, treatment, or disposal by the Department of Health Services pursuant to section of title 2266261.126 of title 22 of the California Code of Regulations. Special waste also includes any solid waste which, because of its source of generation, physical, chemical or biological characteristics or unique disposal practices, is specifically conditioned in a solid waste facilities permit for handling and/or disposal.

"Statistically representative" means those representative and random samples of units that are taken from a population sample, pursuant to the procedures given in appendix 1 of article 6.1 of this chapter. For the purposes of this definition, population sample includes, but is not limited to, a sample from a population of solid waste generation sites, solid waste facilities and recycling facilities, or a population of items of materials and solid wastes in a refuse vehicle load of solid waste.

"Tin can" or "tin container" means any food or beverage container that is composed of steel with a tin coating.

"Ton" means a unit of weight in the U.S. Customary System of Measurement, an avoirdupois unit equal to 2,000 pounds. Also called short ton or net ton.

"Transformation facility" means a facility whose principal function is to convert, combust, or otherwise process solid waste by incineration, pyrolysis, destructive distillation, or gasification, or to chemically or biologically process solid wastes, for the purpose of volume reduction, synthetic fuel production, or energy recovery. Transformation facility does not include a composting facility.

"Volume" means a three dimensional measurement of the capacity of a region of space or a container. Volume is commonly expressed in terms of cubic yards or cubic meters. Volume is not expressed in terms of mass or weight.

"Waste categories" means the grouping of solid wastes with similar properties into major solid waste classes, such as grouping together office, corrugated and newspaper as a paper waste category, as identified by the solid waste classification system contained in section 18722 of article 6.1 of this chapter, except where a component-specific requirement provides alternative means of classification.

"Waste diversion" means to divert solid waste, in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local requirements, from disposal at solid waste landfills or transformation facilities through source reduction, recycling or composting.

"Waste generator" means any person, as defined by section 40170 of the Public Resources Code, whose act or process produces solid waste as defined in Public Resources Code section 40191, or whose act first causes solid waste to become subject to regulation.

"Waste type" means identified wastes having the features of a group or class of wastes which are distinguishable from any other waste type, as identified by the waste classification system contained in section 18722 of article 6.1 of this chapter, except where a component-specific requirement provides alternative means of classification.

"White goods" means discarded, enamel-coated major appliances, such as washing machines, clothes dryers, hot water heaters, stoves and refrigerators.

"Wood waste" means solid waste consisting of wood pieces or particles which are generated from the manufacturing or production of wood products, harvesting, processing or storage of raw wood materials, or construction and demolition activities.

"Yard waste" means any wastes generated from the maintenance or alteration of public, commercial or residential landscapes including, but not limited to, yard clippings, leaves, tree trimmings, prunings, brush, and weeds.