Solid Waste and Recycling

Bulletin:

 

NEW COMPOSTING LAW 

Effective March 26, 2008, there will be new waste requirements for composting yard clippings per Act 212 of 2007 which amends Part 115, Solid Waste Management, of Act 451 of 1994. Yard clippings includes leaves, grass clippings, vegetable or other garden debris, shrubbery, or brush and tree trimmings less than 4 fee in length and 2 inches in diameter. It does not include stumps, agricultural waste, animal waste, roots, sewage sludge, or garbage.

 

The law identifies several options for managing yard clippings:

• Composted at the property where they came from
• Temporarily accumulated under specific conditions at a site before moving to another location
• Composted at a farm registered with the Department of Agriculture
• Composted at a composting facility registered with the DEQ Waste and Hazardous Materials Division
• Composted and used under specific conditions at a licensed solid waste landfill
• Composted at a processing plant meeting Part 115 requirements
• Composted at a site that has less than 200 cubic yards of yard clippings if no nuisance is created
• Disposed of at a landfill if diseased or infested or the material is an invasive plant collected through an eradication or control program and inappropriate to compost

DEQ registered composting facilities handling 200 or more cubic yards of yard clippings will be subject to a $600 registration fee. The registration is for 3 years. Registered facilities have location restrictions and operating requirements, and are required to submit annual reports containing information about the amount of yard clippings and other compostable materials managed during the previous fiscal year.

 

The Waste and Hazardous Materials Division is developing the registration form and guidance materials at this time. When available, it will be posted at www.michigan.gov/deqwaste “Solid Waste.” In the meantime, the law is available at http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2007-2008/publicact/pdf/2007-PA-0212.pdf. Questions may be directed to Mr. Matt Flechter at (517) 373-8422 or flechtem@michigan.gov.

 

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Townships may opt to provide solid waste management and recycling services. Some townships offer both services, while other townships may only offer one service or none at all.

Solid Waste Management
Under MCL 324.11901, et seq., and other statutes, townships have authority to maintain and operate a garbage and refuse collection and disposal system.

There are several ways townships can finance solid waste disposal and recycling services:

A township may provide garbage collection services for its residents by contracting with a company and paying for the service with general fund money or an extra-voted millage.

A township-wide special assessment district can be established under MCL 41.721, et seq.

A township may contract with a private company to provide garbage collection services within the township and may establish a system of rates or charges payable by the users and beneficiaries of the service. Only those owners of property that uses the garbage collection service should be billed. A township may include in such a contract a provision requiring all residential waste subject to its jurisdiction and police powers to be disposed of through its collection system. The township must enact an ordinance with appropriate penalties to make the requirement effective and to establish the rates or charges. If the township does not have an ordinance requiring township-wide garbage collection services, then it is MTA Legal Counsel’s opinion that residents may choose to opt out of using the township’s contracted-for garbage collection service. Under MCL 324.11904, a township may also provide that if payments are delinquent for more than three months, they may be placed on the tax roll for collection in the same manner as a tax. The rates and charges received for garbage collection can only be used to fund such services, including the township’s administrative costs.

A township may use a pay-as-you-go system where fees are based on the amount of trash brought into a landfill or a "bag-and-tag" system where users pay a fee and receive a number of trash bags.

Under MCL 123.301, et seq., a township may join with other municipalities to incorporate a municipal authority to collect and dispose of garbage and rubbish.

Under MCL 46.171, et seq., a township may join with the county and other municipalities to establish garbage and rubbish collection and disposal facilities and services.

Recycling
There are many good reasons to recycle, including a decreased dependency on solid waste landfills. Many townships operate or jointly operate recycling transfer stations where residents can bring products like plastic, paper, cans, glass, and oil.

Solid Waste Statutes and Rules (from the DEQ Web Site)
List of Solid Waste Facilities