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 9.25 - Recycling and Disposal Reporting System
Section 18815.2 - Definitions

(1) "Alternative daily cover" or "ADC" means a type of beneficial reuse satisfying the requirements set forth in section of Title 2720690 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations.

(2) "Alternative intermediate cover" or "AIC" means a type of beneficial reuse satisfying the requirements set forth in section of Title 2720700 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations.

(3) "Automobile dismantler" has the same meaning as in section 17402.5(c)(1) of this division. This does not include automobile shredders, as defined in section 17402.5(c)(2) of this division.

(4) "Automobile shredder" or "Metal shredder" has the same meaning as in section 17402.5(c)(2) of this division. This does not include automobile dismantlers, which has the same meaning as in section 17402.5(c)(1) of this division.

(5) "Beneficial reuse" has the same meaning as in section of Title 2720686 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations and occurs at disposal facilities. Beneficial reuse does not include the use of clean or contaminated soil. For the purposes of this article, beneficial reuse includes waste-derived materials used for:

(6) "Biosolids" means sewage sludge that has been treated to meet the land application standards for heavy metal concentrations, and pathogen and vector control as specified in Subparts B and D of Part 503 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(7) "Broker" means a person who takes control of material from a reporting entity in California for the purpose of determining the destination of the material. For the purposes of this article, a broker takes control of material by acquiring the authority to determine the destination of the material. When used in this article with respect to a broker, the terms "sent to" and "received by" a broker do not require physical possession or legal ownership of the material, but, rather, that the broker has taken control of the material as described above. Brokers are not haulers, disposal facilities, transfer/processors, recyclers, or composters. A person that arranges or facilitates the sale or transfer of materials, but does not determine the destination of the material, is not a broker.

(8) "Business-to-business post-industrial recycling" means a recycling activity that:

(9) "Carpet" has the same meaning as in section 42971(d) of the Public Resources Code.

(10) "Chipping and grinding facility or operation" means a facility or operation that meets the requirements in section 17862.1 of this division, section 17383.3 of this division for construction and demolition wood debris-related operations, or section 17852(a)(12) of this division.

(10.5) "Collection Method" means the method through which a reporting entity receives materials, as follows:

(11) "Commercial sector" means businesses, industries, institutions, public organizations, school districts and universities, and multifamily residences of five or more units.

(12) "Compost" has the same meaning as in section 17896.2(a)(4) of this division. For the purposes of this article, compost is considered an intermediate product after it has achieved acceptable metal concentrations, pathogen reduction, and physical contamination levels as required by sections 17868.2, 17868.3, and 17868.3.1 of this division.

(13) "Composting operation" or "composting facility" has the same meaning as "compostable material handling operation" or "composting facility" as defined in section 17852(a)(12) of this division, and includes in-vessel digestion as regulated in section 17896 of this division. A person operating a "composting operation" or "composting facility" is referred to as a "composter" in these regulations.

(14) "Construction and demolition/inert debris" or "CDI" means any combination of construction and demolition debris as defined in section 17381(e) of this division and inert debris as defined in section 17381(k) of this division.

(15) "Contact information" means name, mailing address, physical address, phone number, and e-mail address.

(16) "Contract Hauler" means any person, whether through a franchise or private contract, paid to collect and move material from a generator to a destination out of state, a reporting entity, or an end user. Any material delivered by a contract hauler is referred to as "contract-hauled" in this article.

(17) "Conveyance system" means a method designed to move material from one facility or operation to another facility or operation on the same site. Examples of a conveyance system include, but are not limited to, conveyor belts, pipes, tubes, and heavy equipment, such as a front-end loader.

(18) "Department" means the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.

(19) "Designated waste" has the same meaning as in section 13173 of the California Water Code.

(20) "Disaster debris" has the same meaning as in section 17210.1(d) of this division.

(21) "Direct-hauled" means material sent directly to a transfer/processor or disposal facility from either a generator or another reporting entity that is not a transfer/processor.

(22) "Disposal" has the same meaning as section 40192(b) of the Public Resources Code, except that it does not include either of the following:

(23) "Disposal facility" means a facility where the disposal of solid waste occurs, including, but not limited to:

(24) "End user" means a person who uses a material, as defined in this section, within the following categories:

(25) "Engineered municipal solid waste conversion" or "EMSW conversion" has the same meaning as in section 40131.2 of the Public Resources Code. For the purposes of this article, EMSW conversion of solid waste shall be reported pursuant to section 18815.6(a) of this article, with the exception of tires and biomass that have been separated from other solid waste prior to receipt by an EMSW conversion facility.

(25.5) "Export" has the same meaning as in subdivision (c) of section 41781.4 of the Public Resources Code. For purposes of this article, tribal lands within the United States or territorial holdings of the United States shall not be considered outside the United States. When determining whether material has been exported, material shall be considered sent to the location where the material is received by the recipient, regardless of any address or location otherwise associated with the sending or receiving entity.

(26) "Food waste" is organic solid waste and has the same meaning as "food material" in section 17852(a)(20) of this division. "Food waste" excludes "agricultural material" and "agricultural by-product material" as defined in sections 17852(a) (4.5) and 17852(a)(5) of this division. "Food waste" does not include food redirected to edible food recovery organizations, food banks, direct animal feeding, or other applications that meet the definition of "reuse" as defined in subsection (a)(53).

(27) "Food waste self-hauler" means a person who generates and hauls, utilizing their own employees and equipment, an average of one cubic yard or more per week, or 6,500 pounds or more per quarter of their own food waste to a location or facility that is not owned and operated by that person. A person who self-hauls food waste but does not meet the criteria to be considered a "food waste self-hauler" is a "self-hauler," and not a "food waste self-hauler."

(28) "Furniture" means large, bulky objects used to enhance a residence, business, or other space for living or working. This includes, but is not limited to, couches, chairs, dressers, tables, desks, and bed frames. Furniture does not include mattresses, as defined by section 42986(g) of the Public Resources Code.

(29) "Generator" means a person whose activities result in the initial creation of material.

(30) "Glass" means a hard, brittle, usually transparent nonhazardous substance commonly made from sand heated with chemicals. This includes, but is not limited to, whole or crushed materials derived from clear or colored containers with or without California Redemption Value, flat glass, and automotive glass.

(31) "Government entity" has the same meaning as defined in section 41821.5(g)(4) of the Public Resources Code.

(32) "Hauler" means a person who collects material from a generator and delivers it to a reporting entity, end user, or a destination outside of the state. "Hauler" includes public contract haulers, private contract haulers, food waste self-haulers, and self-haulers. A person who transports material from a reporting entity to another person is a transporter, not a hauler.

(33) "Intermediate product" means a material or feedstock derived from organics or recyclables that:

(34) "Jurisdiction of origin" means the place where a material is initially generated. For places located within California, this means a city, county, city and county, or regional agency with responsibility for waste management, formed pursuant to sections 40970 through 40975 of the Public Resources Code. For places located in states or territories of the United States other than the State of California, jurisdiction of origin means the state, territory, or tribal lands in which a material was generated. For places located in a country other than the United States of America, jurisdiction of origin means the country or tribal lands in which a material was generated.

(35) "Land application" has the same meaning as in section 17852(a) (24.5) of this division, and includes biosolids applied under the purview of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the statewide waste discharge requirements, also known as a general order, or individual waste discharge requirements issued by a Regional Water Quality Control Board. A person who applies "compost" as defined in subsection (a)(12) is a "material consumer" end user as defined in subsection (a)(24)(C).

(36) "Maintenance District Yard" means a transfer/processor that has been issued a Solid Waste Identification System (SWIS) number by the Department, and is directly operated by a municipality, sanitation district, county, state, or federal public works or sanitation agency, including the United States Forest Service. A "maintenance district yard" also means an unpermitted facility or operation whose primary purpose is to receive waste collected from road maintenance activities, such as sweeping public thoroughfares, litter abatement, and maintaining street trees.

(37) "Material(s)" means solid waste, recyclables, and organics, as well as intermediate products derived from these materials. "Mixed materials" means a combination of different material types.

(38) "Metal" means iron, steel, tin, aluminum, copper, and their alloys, including scrap metal and products made of these metals, like containers, building materials, and plumbing materials.

(38.4) "Mixed plastic waste" is a mixture of plastics and any other materials, other than solid waste and green material for potential beneficial reuse, where such mixture does not comprise only high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, or a combination of those three resin types.

(38.5) "Mixed waste organic collection stream" has the same meaning as in section 17402(a) (11.5) of this division.

(39) "Organics" means material originated from living organisms and their metabolic waste products. This includes, but is not limited to, food, "agricultural material" as defined in section 17852(a)(5) of this division, "agricultural by-product material" as defined in section 17852(a) (4.5) of this division, green material, landscape and pruning waste, nonhazardous lumber and dimensional wood, manure, compostable paper, digestate, biosolids, and biogenic sludges; and any product manufactured or refined from these materials, including compost and wood chips.

(40) "Paper" means all types of paper products including pulp, corrugated cardboard, newspaper, office paper, magazines, catalogs and directories, and other composite paper products such as food and beverage cartons and containers.

(41) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 40170 of the Public Resources Code.

(42) "Plastic" means a material made from a wide range of polymers, which can be used to make rigid and flexible plastic products. This includes, but is not limited to, packaging, such as bags, bottles, caps, clamshells, containers, cups, films, and lids; household and bulky rigid items, such as buckets, crates, toys, and tubs; agricultural products, such as drip tape, film, and greenhouse covers; and other products, such as electronics housing, carpet fibers, automobile plastics, and bioplastics.

(43) "Recycle" or "recycling" has the same meaning as defined in section 40180 of the Public Resources Code, except that, for purposes of determining facilities' reporting obligations under this article, recycling shall also include all activities considered recycling for purposes of section 41821.5(j) of the Public Resources Code. A person who engages in recycling is referred to as a "recycler" in these regulations. Recycling does not include "reuse" as defined in subsection (a)(53). For the purposes of reporting under this article, persons who are not exempt as set forth in section 18815.3(c) of this article are required to report activities that constitute recycling, as defined in this paragraph, and shall register and report such activities as recyclers, as set forth in sections 18815.3(b)(4) and 18815.7 of this article. The following are examples of activities that may constitute recycling, as defined, for particular materials:

(44) "Recycling and Disposal Reporting System" or "RDRS" means the Department's electronic system for reporting pursuant to this article.

(45) "Recycling and disposal reporting system number" or "RDRS number" means the number assigned to a reporting entity upon registration with the Department's electronic Recycling and Disposal Reporting System.

(46) "Recycling facility or operation" or "Recycler" means any facility or operation that recycles material, as defined in this article. Recycling facilities or operations include entities that meet the definition of "Recycling Center" set forth in section 17402.5(d) of this division. This also includes chipping and grinding operations, and CDI recycling centers as described in section 17381.1 of this division.

(47) "Report" means the quarterly report submitted to the Department by a reporting entity.

(48) "Reporting entity" means a person who engages in reportable activities. A "reporting entity" is required to register and report pursuant to section 18815.3 of this article. A "reporting entity" is required to report on material handling activities pursuant to sections 18815.4 through 18815.8 of this article, as applicable, within the following reporting entity categories:

(49) "Reporting period" or "Quarter" means the time period for which a report must be submitted to the Department. The four reporting periods or four quarters in each calendar year are:

(50) "Residential sector" means single-family residences and multifamily residences of less than 5 units.

(51) "Residual" has the same meaning as in section 17402.5(b)(1) of this division.

(52) "Resale for Reuse" means selling a used object or material again, to a person who will use it either for its original purpose or for a closely-related purpose, not as a raw material, but without significantly altering the physical form of the object or material. This does not include beneficial reuse.

(53) "Reuse" means the utilization of an object or material again by a person for its original purpose or for a closely-related purpose, not as a raw or intermediate material, but without significantly altering the physical form of the object or material.

(54) "Sent" means sold or transferred. "Sent" is further defined as the collection, transportation or delivery of material by a person to or from a generator, reporting entity, or an end user.

(55) "Self-hauler" means a person who hauls material they have generated to another person. "Food waste self-haulers" are a type of self-hauler.

(56) "Site" means one physical address or assessor parcel number, or multiple adjacent addresses or assessor parcel numbers, that contain(s) one or more facilities, operations, or activities.

(57) "Solid waste" has the same meaning as in section 18720(a)(40) of this chapter. Solid waste includes, but is not limited to, material accepted in a mixed waste organic collection stream.

(57.5) "Solid Waste Information System" or "SWIS" means the electronic system through which the Department assigns unique identification numbers to specific solid waste facilities and operations and records information regarding the activities conducted by such facilities and operations.

(58) "Source sector" means one of these sources from which solid waste is generated:

(58.5) "Source separated organic waste collection stream" has the same meaning as in section 17402(a) (26.6) of this division.

(59) "Textiles" means items made of natural or synthetic thread, yarn, fabric, or cloth, including clothing, fabric trimmings, and draperies, but excluding carpet.

(60) "Tire-derived rubber" means rubber from the processing of waste tires as defined in section 42807 of the Public Resources Code.

(61) "Ton," also referred to as "short ton" or "net ton," means 2,000 pounds. Weight of material shall be reported as handled.

(62) "Transfer/processor" has the same meaning as "Transfer/processing facilities" and "transfer/processing operations," as defined in sections 17402(a) (30-31) of this division, as well as CDI processing operations and facilities as defined in sections 17383.5 through 17383.8 of this division, which receive, temporarily store, convert, process, and transfer materials for recycling, composting, or disposal, but do not meet the requirements of a "Recycling Center" set forth in in section 17402.5(d) of this division.

(63) "Transformation Facility" has the same meaning as in section 40201 of the Public Resources Code.

(64) "Transporter" means a person who takes physical possession and control, and determines the destination, of materials or intermediate products from a reporting entity, and transports those materials to another person inside or outside the state. A person who collects and moves materials from a generator is not a transporter. A driver employed or contracted by a reporting entity to deliver materials to a destination specified by the contracting reporting entity is not a transporter.

(65) "Wastewater treatment plant" has the same meaning as in section of Title 233671 of Title 23 of the California Code of Regulations. For the purposes of these regulations, it is a recycling facility.

(66) "White and brown goods" means discarded major appliances and small home appliances of any color, including, but not limited to, washing machines, clothes dryers, water heaters, stoves, refrigerators, microwaves, and toasters.