2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWELVE - Conservation (§§ 1-16 — 8162) › Subtitle 5 - Environment (§§ 1120 — 1436) › Chapter 127A - Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling (§§ 1320 — 1320u) › § 1320b - Powers and functions

(a) Solid Waste Authority.— The Authority shall have the responsibility of implementing and enforcing this chapter. In addition to its other powers and responsibilities, the Authority shall:
(1) Develop and implement a Program for the Reduction and Recycling of Solid Waste as it is defined in § 1320g of this title, in coordination with the municipalities of Puerto Rico, which shall be an integral part of the public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for the management and control of solid waste.
(2) Develop or see to it that the necessary infrastructure for the collection, processing and marketing of recyclable material is developed and ensure that it is cost-effective.
(3) Provide orientation and technical assistance to municipalities, public and private agencies, merchants, manufacturers and the general public with regard to the content and scope of this chapter.
(4) Devise and plan the implementation of reduction, re-use and recycling systems, projects and/or programs that shall preserve and improve the quality of the air, water, soil, and other natural resources of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(5) Promote the establishment of regional systems for the reduction and recycling of solid waste in Puerto Rico, through the development of municipal consortia.
(6) Design mechanisms to reduce the volume of solid waste that is generated in Puerto Rico.
(7) Establish separation at source programs to reduce the volume of waste prior to its disposal in landfills, and stimulate recovery, reuse and recycling activities.
(8) Promote the development and implementation of recycling projects in the agencies of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(9) Design a financing plan for the promotion, implementation and management of the Program.
(10) Establish, through regulations, the fees to be charged for the collection, transportation, processing and storing of recyclable solid waste.
(11) Study the viability of developing composting projects.
(12) Evaluate and recommend the appropriate land to locate solid waste management facilities as well as the procedures to be used by them to achieve an adequate flow of waste to the recovery and recycling facilities.
(13) Construct, reconstruct or make improvements to the management, recovery and recycling facilities as required in the program.
(14) Acquire real property or chattels needed for the operation of the solid waste recovery and recycling facilities by purchase, gift, lease, expropriation under eminent domain or otherwise, as required by the Program.
(15) Receive income for the sale of services, products or materials produced in the recycling facilities owned by it.
(16) Receive, accept and manage funds or gifts donations from public or private entities, from the Commonwealth or federal governments, to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(17) Execute contracts, or take action as needed to implement this chapter.
(18) Adopt, amend or repeal those regulations as needed for the implementation, administration and compliance of this chapter.
(19) Develop and implement an information system on the market for recovered material and design strategies for the development and expansion of said market.
(20) Establish and keep up to date a directory of recycling firms that operate on the island and serve as coordinator between said firms and the market.
(21) Develop a massive educational campaign on the importance of active participation by all sectors in drafting and implementing the Program.
(22) Impose administrative fines on those persons who violate the provisions of this chapter or its regulations. The imposition of such fines shall be governed by the provisions of §§ 1301 et seq. of this title and §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act of Puerto Rico”.
(23) Encourage the participation of private enterprise in reduction, re-use and recycling projects, and promote the support and expansion of those that are in operation.
(24) Issue orders to do or not do, and to cease and desist, to achieve the ends and purposes of this chapter.
(25) Impose the penalties indicated in § 1320 l of this title, on those municipalities, or municipalities that are a part of municipal consortia, that do not submit a Recycling Plan by the date indicated in subsection (b)(2) of this section.
(26) Develop guidelines and standards pursuant to the regulations adopted, to providing requirements for the separation, classification, purchase, use and any other factor deemed necessary by the Authority for the effective implementation of this chapter, and which apply to any industry, business, or public or private entity which uses or produces recyclable materials listed in § 1320e of this title. The Authority shall identify and classify industries, businesses, and public and private entities by category, and shall promulgate the guidelines and standards applicable to each category.
(27) None of the faculties granted herein to the Authority shall repeal, conflict with, or duplicate the powers and faculties that are granted to the Environmental Quality Board through Act No. 9 of June 18. 1970.
(b) Municipalities.—
(1) Each municipality shall designate one or more municipal recycling coordinators on or before May 1, 1995. Said persons shall be responsible for the preparation and periodic revision of the Recycling Plan as described in this section, and for the coordination of the efforts to implement this chapter in the municipality.
(2) Within a period of six (6) months after the approval of this act, each municipality shall establish a Recycling Plan that conforms to this chapter. Said Plan shall be submitted for the consideration of the Authority on or before May of 1995, and the Authority shall issue a final determination on it, within 6 months from the date it was submitted. The Authority shall provide the technical assistance needed to prepare said Recycling Plan.
(3) The recycling plan shall have as a goal the substantial reduction of the volume of waste deposited in landfills. In order to meet the 35% goal by December 31, 2006, the following timetable is hereby proposed: 22 % —2001; 28 % —2003; 25 % —2002; 31 % —2004; 33 % —2005 and 35 % —2006. This timetable shall facilitate that solid waste generated in the jurisdiction be processed through the reduction, reuse and recycling method.
(4) The Recycling Plan shall include at least:
(A) The identification of the components of the flow of waste generated in the jurisdiction.
(B) A description of the existing solid waste management practices.
(C) A twenty (20) -year projection, divided into five (5) -year periods, of the volume of waste that shall be generated in the jurisdiction from residential, commercial, institutional, industrial and agricultural sources.
(D) The management practices recommended in order to comply with the Program, taking into account the population growth, volume of waste, available land and the organizational and financial capacity of the jurisdiction.
(E) Recommendations in terms of who shall provide the collection services, who shall construct the required facilities, and who shall operate said facilities.
(F) A cost estimate, and possible financing sources.
(5) The Recycling Plan shall have an environmentally safe and financially viable operational nature.
(6) The Recycling Plan shall be implemented on or before 24 months after the approval of this act. It shall be revised as established in the Program.
(7) The municipality or municipal consortium shall revise the Recycling Plan and amend it, if necessary, at least every 18 months from the date the original Recycling Plan was approved by the Authority. Said revision shall be submitted to the Authority and shall take into account the results generated by the Recycling Plan and any change in circumstances that has an effect thereon.
(8) The municipalities shall be responsible for the separation of the recyclable material from the flow of waste prior to its collection, by the residents, businesses, industries and institutions in its jurisdiction.
(9) Each municipality shall inform the Authority about the recycling activities carried out during the previous year. The Authority shall determine the date to submit the report. It shall include:
(A) Educational activities that were carried out.
(B) The amount of solid waste processed by facility and type of waste.
(C) Level of the citizen’s participation in recyling activities.
(D) A description of the recycling activities that were carried out, their success and limitations.
(E) On going recycling activities.
(F) In the first report, a description of the recycling activities that were carried out, if any, prior to the approval of this act.
(10) The municipality may establish, through an ordinance, stricter requirements than those established by this chapter for the development and implementation of the recycling activities in its jurisdiction.
(11) The municipalities are hereby empowered to contract the services of private enterprises, if necessary, for the transpiration and collection of recyclable material, as well as for the construction and separation of the required facilities, pursuant to what is established in the Program.
(12) The municipalities shall approve an ordinance for the purpose of prohibiting the removal of recyclable material by unauthorized persons.
(13) The municipalities or municipal consortium may earn income for the sale of recyclable material and for the services they render in compliance with this chapter, provided such action is consistent with the recycling plan approved by the Solid Waste Administration.
(14) Should the municipality or municipal consortium, as the case may be, fail to submit a Recycling Plan to be approved on the date indicated in clause (2) of this subsection, the Authority shall impose the penalties described in § 1320 l of this title.
(15) The municipalities shall recruit an officer of trust with a minimum of academic studies constituting of a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in experience in areas related to science, planning and engineering, as full-time recycling coordinator for the implementation of the municipal public policy in order to effectively comply with the requirements of this chapter.
(16) The municipalities shall render a report stating the achievements and limitations encountered during the implementation process of their recycling plan. This report shall be rendered twice a year during the first two (2) years the plan is implemented; after which it shall be rendered annually. This report shall be filed before the Solid Waste Authority.
(17) Beginning in Fiscal Year 2002-2003, the municipalities shall appropriate an operating and administrative budget for the Municipal Recycling Office.
(18) The municipalities in the regions where there is an infrastructure to process and separate potentially recyclable material shall transport the recyclable material to the recovery facilities that are certified by the Solid Waste Authority for that region, pursuant to the Infrastructure Regional Plan for Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling in Puerto Rico.
(c) Environmental Quality Board.— The Environmental Quality Board shall have the responsibility of regulating the solid waste management facilities as defined in this chapter. In addition to its other powers and responsibilities the Environmental Quality Board shall:
(1) Issue, modify or repeal permits for solid waste management facilities, as they are defined in § 1320h of this title.
(2) Ensure that the facilities that are developed and the services that are rendered meet all applicable laws and regulations.
(3) Impose fines and penalties on those persons or entities that violate the provisions of any permit issued by the Environmental Quality Board pursuant to this chapter.
History —Sept. 18, 1992, No. 70, § 4; Jan. 20, 1995, No. 13, § 3; May 15, 1996, No. 39, § 1; Oct. 8, 2000, No. 411, § 1; Jan. 24, 2006, No. 35, § 1.