403.7046 Regulation of recovered materials.—
(1) Any person who handles, purchases, receives, recovers, sells, or is an end user of recovered materials shall annually certify to the department on forms provided by the department. The department may by rule exempt from this requirement generators of recovered materials; persons who handle or sell recovered materials as an activity which is incidental to the normal primary business activities of that person; or persons who handle, purchase, receive, recover, sell, or are end users of recovered materials in small quantities as defined by the department. The department shall adopt rules for the certification of and reporting by such persons and shall establish criteria for revocation of such certification. Such rules shall be designed to elicit, at a minimum, the amount and types of recovered materials handled by registrants, and the amount and disposal site, or name of person with whom such disposal was arranged, of any solid waste generated by such facility. By February 1 of each year, registrants shall report all required information to the department and to all counties from which it received materials. Such rules may provide for the department to conduct periodic inspections. The department may charge a fee of up to $50 for each registration, which shall be deposited into the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund for implementation of the program.
(2) Information reported pursuant to the requirements of this section or any rule adopted pursuant to this section which, if disclosed, would reveal a trade secret, as defined in s. 812.081(1)(c), is confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1). For reporting or information purposes, however, the department may provide this information in such form that the names of the persons reporting such information and the specific information reported are not revealed.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this section or pursuant to a special act in effect on or before January 1, 1993, a local government may not require a commercial establishment that generates source-separated recovered materials to sell or otherwise convey its recovered materials to the local government or to a facility designated by the local government, nor may the local government restrict such a generator’s right to sell or otherwise convey such recovered materials to any properly certified recovered materials dealer who has satisfied the requirements of this section. A local government may not enact any ordinance that prevents such a dealer from entering into a contract with a commercial establishment to purchase, collect, transport, process, or receive source-separated recovered materials.
(a) The local government may require that the recovered materials generated at the commercial establishment be source separated at the premises of the commercial establishment.
(b) Before engaging in business within the jurisdiction of the local government, a recovered materials dealer must provide the local government with a copy of the certification provided for in this section. In addition, the local government may establish a registration process whereby a recovered materials dealer must register with the local government before engaging in business within the jurisdiction of the local government. Such registration process is limited to requiring the dealer to register its name, including the owner or operator of the dealer, and, if the dealer is a business entity, its general or limited partners, its corporate officers and directors, its permanent place of business, evidence of its certification under this section, and a certification that the recovered materials will be processed at a recovered materials processing facility satisfying the requirements of this section. The local government may not use the information provided in the registration application to compete unfairly with the recovered materials dealer until 90 days after receipt of the application. All counties, and municipalities whose population exceeds 35,000 according to the population estimates determined pursuant to s. 186.901, may establish a reporting process which shall be limited to the regulations, reporting format, and reporting frequency established by the department pursuant to this section, which shall, at a minimum, include requiring the dealer to identify the types and approximate amount of recovered materials collected, recycled, or reused during the reporting period; the approximate percentage of recovered materials reused, stored, or delivered to a recovered materials processing facility or disposed of in a solid waste disposal facility; and the locations where any recovered materials were disposed of as solid waste. Information reported under this subsection which, if disclosed, would reveal a trade secret, as defined in s. 812.081(1)(c), is confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and s. 119.07(1). The local government may charge the dealer a registration fee commensurate with and no greater than the cost incurred by the local government in operating its registration program. Registration program costs are limited to those costs associated with the activities described in this paragraph. Any reporting or registration process established by a local government with regard to recovered materials shall be governed by the provisions of this section and department rules adopted pursuant thereto.
(c) A local government may establish a process in which the local government may temporarily or permanently revoke the authority of a recovered materials dealer to do business within the local government if the local government finds the recovered materials dealer, after reasonable notice of the charges and an opportunity to be heard by an impartial party, has consistently and repeatedly violated state or local laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations.
(d) In addition to any other authority provided by law, a local government is hereby expressly authorized to prohibit a person or entity not certified under this section from doing business within the jurisdiction of the local government; to enter into a nonexclusive franchise or to otherwise provide for the collection, transportation, and processing of recovered materials at commercial establishments, provided that a local government may not require a certified recovered materials dealer to enter into such franchise agreement in order to enter into a contract with any commercial establishment located within the local government’s jurisdiction to purchase, collect, transport, process, or receive source-separated recovered materials; and to enter into an exclusive franchise or to otherwise provide for the exclusive collection, transportation, and processing of recovered materials at single-family or multifamily residential properties.
(e) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a local government from enacting ordinances designed to protect the public’s general health, safety, and welfare.
(f) As used in this section:
1. “Commercial establishment” means a property or properties zoned or used for commercial or industrial uses, or used by an entity exempt from taxation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and excludes property or properties zoned or used for single-family residential or multifamily residential uses.
2. “Local government” means a county or municipality.
3. “Certified recovered materials dealer” means a dealer certified under this section.
(4) A recovered materials dealer or an association whose members include recovered materials dealers may initiate an action for injunctive relief or damages for alleged violations of this section. The court may award to the prevailing party or parties reasonable attorney fees and costs.
History.—s. 12, ch. 93-207; s. 5, ch. 95-311; s. 2, ch. 95-366; s. 240, ch. 96-406; s. 17, ch. 2000-211; s. 5, ch. 2000-304; s. 4, ch. 2010-143; s. 20, ch. 2013-92.
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