SB 329

Abstract

Compost and other products containing organic soil amendments infrastructure; civil penalty. Allows a locality by ordinance to require certain generators, as defined in the bill, of large quantities of organic waste to separate the organic waste from other solid waste and ensure that the organic waste is diverted from final disposal in a refuse disposal system. The bill allows a locality to establish civil penalties for violations of such ordinance but requires the locality to issue a warning to a generator that violates the ordinance prior to collecting such a civil penalty. Finally, the bill expresses that it is the intent of the General Assembly that new public school buildings and facilities and improvements and renovations to existing public school buildings and facilities include waste disposal infrastructure, as defined in the bill.

Compost and other products containing organic soil amendments infrastructure; civil penalty. Requires the Department of General Services, whenever purchasing compost or other products containing organic soil amendments for use by state agencies, to use competitive sealed bidding and to award the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder offering compost produced in Virginia unless the bid price is more than four percent greater than the bid price of the lowest responsive and responsible bidder offering such products produced elsewhere. The bill allows the governing body of a locality to give preference to compost or other products containing organic soil amendments produced within such locality in the case of a tie bid. The bill also provides that any locality may by ordinance require that certain generators, as defined in the bill, of large quantities of organic waste separate the organic waste from other solid waste and ensure that the organic waste is diverted from final disposal in a refuse disposal system. The ordinance may require that generators divert organic waste from final disposal in a refuse disposal system by any of a variety of specified waste diversion activities. The ordinance may also establish civil penalties for violations of the ordinance, but a locality shall first issue a warning to a generator that violates the ordinance. Finally, the bill expresses that it is the intent of the General Assembly that new public school buildings and facilities and improvements and renovations to existing public school buildings and facilities include waste disposal infrastructure, as defined in the bill.