Florida Administrative Code › 62 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › 62 - Departmental › Chapter 62-716 - SOLID WASTE GRANTS PROGRAM, ANNUAL REPORTS, AND RECYCLING › Section 62-716.480 - Methods and Criteria for Calculating County Recycling Rates

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) Section
				 403.7032, F.S., establishes a
				statewide goal to recycle at least 75 percent of municipal solid waste by the
				year 2020. Section  403.706, F.S., establishes
				interim recycling goals for counties, and requires the Department to adopt
				rules establishing the method and criteria to be used by counties in
				calculating their recycling rates. This rule section is intended to implement
				this statutory requirement.
(2)
				Methods.
(a) In order to calculate its annual
				recycling rate, a county shall use the following formula: total amount of
				municipal solid waste generated within its boundaries that is recycled, divided
				by the total amount of municipal solid waste generated within its boundaries
				that is recycled, land disposed, or combusted.
(b) Per section
				 403.706(4)(a),
				F.S., each megawatt-hour produced by a renewable energy facility using solid
				waste as a fuel shall count as 1 ton of recycled material. If a county creating
				renewable energy from solid waste implements and maintains a program to recycle
				at least 50 percent of municipal solid waste by means other than creating
				renewable energy, that county shall count 1.25 tons of recycled materials for
				each megawatt-hour produced. If waste originates from a county other than the
				county in which the renewable energy facility resides, the originating county
				shall receive such recycling credit. The above calculations apply equally to
				facilities producing renewable energy from either waste-to-energy or landfill
				gas.
(c) Any byproduct resulting
				from the creation of renewable energy that is recycled shall count towards the
				county recycling goals in accordance with the methods and criteria developed in
				this section.
(d) For Class I
				landfills that collect and beneficially use landfill gas and accept yard trash,
				if the landfill gas is used to generate electricity, the recycled materials
				credit for the yard trash component is included in the recycled materials
				credit calculation for all solid waste in paragraph (b), above. For other
				beneficial uses of landfill gas in Class I landfills, the recycled materials
				credit attributable for yard trash is determined by the following process:
1. Determine the fraction of the municipal
				solid waste that was disposed in the landfill which was attributable to yard
				trash, after subtracting any amounts of yard trash that were used for landfill
				cover or other uses that have already received recycling credit.
2. Determine the megawatt-hours equivalent of
				the landfill gas beneficial use which was attributable to yard trash. Unless
				the owner or operator demonstrates that a different conversion rate is more
				accurate for site-specific conditions, for the purposes of this section, 1,
				000, 000 cubic feet of landfill gas will be considered equivalent to 150
				megawatt-hours of electricity.
3.
				Multiply subparagraph 1., above, by subparagraph 2., above, to determine the
				equivalent electricity generation that would have been attributable to landfill
				gas derived from yard-trash. Each megawatt-hour equivalent derived from yard
				trash will count as one ton of recycled material.
4. For example, assume that a landfill
				receives 1, 000 tons of municipal solid waste in a year, of which 200 tons is
				yard trash. 50 tons of this yard trash was used as cover material and
				separately receives recycling credit for this use, so 150 tons of yard trash
				counts toward the production of landfill gas. This landfill produces 1, 000,
				000 cubic feet of natural gas in a year. Thus, the landfill produces the
				equivalent of 150 megawatt-hours, for which 15% of the waste stream is yard
				trash, so the landfill would get credit for recycling the equivalent of 22.5
				megawatt-hours or 22.5 tons of yard trash associated municipal solid
				waste.
(e) Each ton of
				municipal solid waste used as daily, intermediate, or final cover in solid
				waste disposal facilities in accordance with the permit conditions for such
				facilities shall count as one ton of recycled material. This recycled materials
				credit shall be limited to the amount required for the particular category of
				cover on a given facility. Material used in excess of this amount shall be
				counted as waste disposed. If recycling credit is being claimed for the use of
				municipal solid waste in landfill cover, any landfill gas renewable energy
				recycling credit shall be reduced by the ratio of municipal solid waste used as
				landfill cover (in tons) divided by total municipal solid waste disposed in
				that landfill.