(1) The Legislative Assembly finds and declares that:

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(a) The planning, development and operation of recycling programs is a matter of statewide concern.

(b) The opportunity to recycle should be provided to every person in Oregon.

(c) There is a shortage of appropriate sites for landfills in Oregon.

(d) It is in the best interests of the people of Oregon to extend the useful life of solid waste disposal sites by encouraging waste prevention and the recycling and reuse of materials, and by requiring solid waste to undergo volume reduction through recycling and reuse measures to the maximum extent feasible before disposal. Implementation of waste prevention and recycling and reuse measures will not only increase the useful life of solid waste disposal sites, but also decrease the potential public health and safety impacts associated with the operation of disposal sites.

(e) There are limits to Oregon’s natural resources and the capacity of the state’s environment to absorb the impacts of increasing consumption of resources, increasing waste generation and increasing solid waste disposal.

(f) It is in the best interests of the people of Oregon to conserve resources and energy by developing an economy that encourages waste prevention and recycling.

(g) The State of Oregon should make it a priority to support efforts that assist each wasteshed in meeting its recovery goal so the statewide recovery goal may be achieved.

(h) The purpose of waste prevention, reuse, recycling, composting and waste recovery in Oregon is to conserve resources, reduce pollution and optimize environmental benefits, while taking into consideration the impacts of materials and products across the full life cycle, from raw material extraction to end-of-use management.

(i) It is necessary, in order to protect the health and promote the well-being of all residents in Oregon, to acknowledge and align Oregon’s sustainable materials management policy with principles of environmental and social justice across the life cycle of materials consumed in this state.

(j) Producers of materials sold or distributed in Oregon, regardless of their location, are responsible for creating and implementing appropriate actions that ensure their products and packaging designs consistently reduce negative environmental, health and social burdens across the life cycle of their products and packaging. Such actions include incorporating sustainably extracted raw materials, implementing sustainable manufacturing best practices that are more resource-efficient and less environmentally harmful and toxic, minimizing the generation of waste and release of pollution and sharing in the responsibility for appropriate management of discarded materials at the end of their useful life.

(2) In the interest of the public health, safety and welfare, in order to allow all entities in Oregon to produce and use materials responsibly, conserve resources and protect the environment and in order to allow all people of Oregon to live well, it is the policy of the State of Oregon to establish a comprehensive statewide program for materials management that will:

(a) Minimize the net negative impacts of materials, across their life cycle, on human well-being and environmental health, including the quality of land, air, water and ecosystems, with consideration of technical and economic feasibility.

(b) Consistent with paragraph (a) of this subsection, reduce the amount of materials used.

(c) If information on the net negative impacts described in paragraph (a) of this subsection is unavailable or highly uncertain, establish priority in methods of managing solid waste in Oregon as follows:

(A) First, to reduce the amount of solid waste generated.

(B) Second, to reuse material for the purpose for which it was originally intended.

(C) Third, to recycle material that cannot be reused, with preference given to recycling pathways, methods and responsible end markets that result in the greatest reduction of net negative impacts on human well-being and environmental health. When these impacts are not known, preference is given to:

(i) Recycling methods and responsible end markets that displace the production of more impactful materials over recycling methods and responsible end markets that displace the production of less impactful materials.

(ii) Processes that best preserve the value and molecular structure of the material being recycled.

(D) Fourth, to compost material that cannot be reused or recycled, provided that composting or digestion results in net reductions in impacts on human well-being and environmental health relative to the methods described in subparagraphs (E) and (F) of this paragraph.

(E) Fifth, to recover energy from solid waste that cannot be reused, recycled or composted, provided that the emissions and impacts of energy recovery are understood and result in net reductions in impacts on human well-being and environmental health relative to the methods described in subparagraph (F) of this paragraph.

(F) Sixth, to dispose of solid waste by landfilling or other method approved by the Department of Environmental Quality.

(d) Clearly express the Legislative Assembly’s previous delegation of authority to cities and counties for collection service franchising and regulation and the extension of that authority under the provisions of this section and ORS § 459.125 and 459A.005 to 459A.085.

(e) Retain primary responsibility for management of adequate solid waste management programs with cities, counties or metropolitan service districts, reserving to the state those functions necessary to ensure effective programs, cooperation among cities, counties or metropolitan service districts and coordination of solid waste management programs throughout the state.

(f) Promote, encourage and develop markets first for reusable material and then for recyclable material.

(g) Promote research, surveys and demonstration projects to encourage material or energy recovery.

(h) Promote research, surveys and demonstration projects to aid in developing more sanitary, efficient and economical methods of solid waste management.

(i) Provide advisory technical assistance and planning assistance to affected persons, in the planning, development and implementation of solid waste management programs.

(j) Develop, in coordination with federal, state and local agencies and other affected persons, long-range plans including regional approaches to promote reuse, to provide land reclamation in sparsely populated areas, and in urban areas necessary disposal facilities.

(k) Provide for the adoption and enforcement of recycling rates and standards as well as performance standards necessary for safe, economic and proper solid waste management.

(L) Provide authority for counties to establish a coordinated program for solid waste management, to regulate solid waste management and to license or franchise the providing of service in the field of solid waste management.

(m) Encourage utilization of the capabilities and expertise of private industry.

(n) Promote means of preventing or reducing at the source, materials that otherwise would constitute solid waste.

(o) Promote application of material or energy recovery systems that preserve and enhance the quality of air, water and land resources.

(p) Provide for recycling collection and recycling processing systems that have adequate capacity and are operated for the purpose of achieving the policy set forth in this section and providing clean, usable materials to industry.

(q) Ensure that all materials collected for waste disposal or recovery shall be managed responsibly through to their final disposition, minimizing impacts that create pollution or harm the quality of air, land, water and ecosystems, or harm human health and welfare. [1971 c.648 § 1; 1975 c.239 § 2; 1983 c.729 § 15; 1989 c.541 § 1; 1991 c.385 § 7; 1993 c.560 § 3; 1997 c.552 § 2; 2001 c.513 § 1; 2021 c.681 § 46]