(a)        It is the policy of the State to promote methods of solid waste management that are alternatives to disposal in landfills and to assist units of local government with solid waste management. In furtherance of this State policy, there is established a hierarchy of methods of managing solid waste, in descending order of preference:

(1)        Waste reduction at the source;

(2)        Recycling and reuse;

(3)        Composting;

(4)        Incineration with energy recovery;

(5)        Incineration without energy recovery;

(6)        Disposal in landfills.

(b)        It is the policy of the State to encourage research into innovative solid waste management methods and products and to encourage regional solid waste management projects.

(c)        It is the goal of this State to reduce the municipal solid waste stream, primarily through source reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting, by forty percent (40%) on a per capita basis by 30 June 2001.

(1),       (2) Repealed by Session Laws 1995 (Regular Session, 1996), c. 594, s. 8.

(c1)      To measure progress toward the municipal solid waste reduction goal in a given year, comparison shall be made between the amount by weight of the municipal solid waste that, during the baseline year and the given year, is received at municipal solid waste management facilities and is:

(1)        Disposed of in a landfill;

(2)        Incinerated;

(3)        Converted to tire-derived fuel; or

(4)        Converted to refuse-derived fuel.

(c2)      Comparison shall be between baseline and given years beginning on 1 July and ending on 30 June of the following year. The baseline year shall be the year beginning 1 July 1991 and ending 30 June 1992. However, a unit of local government may use an earlier baseline year if it demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department that it has sufficient data to support the use of the earlier baseline year.

(c3)      Repealed by Session Laws 1995 (Regular Session, 1996), c. 594, s. 8.

(d)       In furtherance of the State’s solid waste management policy, each State agency shall develop a solid waste management plan that is consistent with the solid waste management policy of the State.

(d1)     It is the policy of the State to obtain, to the extent practicable, economic benefits from the recovery from solid waste and reuse of material and energy resources. In furtherance of this policy, it is the goal of the State to foster partnerships between the public and private sectors that strengthen the supply of, and demand for, recyclable and reusable materials and that foster opportunities for economic development from the recovery and reuse of materials.

(e),? (f) Repealed by Session Laws 1995 (Regular Session, 1996), c. 594, s. 8.? (1989, c. 784, s. 2; 1991, c. 621, s. 2; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1013, s. 6; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 594, s. 8.)