South Carolina § 44-96-140 - Recycling programs of state government; state procurement policy; report of the Department of Transportation.

§ 44-96-140. Recycling programs of state government; state procurement policy; report of the Department of Transportation.

(A) Not later than twelve months after the date on which the department submits the state solid waste management plan to the Governor and to the General Assembly, the General Assembly, the Office of the Governor, the Judiciary, each state agency, and each state-supported institution of higher education shall:

(1) establish a source separation and recycling program in cooperation with the department and the Division of General Services of the Department of Administration for the collection of selected recyclable materials generated in state offices throughout the State including, but not limited to, high-grade office paper, corrugated paper, aluminum, glass, tires, composting materials, plastics, batteries, and used oil;

(2) provide procedures for collecting and storing recyclable materials, containers for storing materials, and contractual or other arrangements with collectors or buyers of the recyclable materials, or both;

(3) evaluate the amount of waste paper material recycled and make all necessary modifications to the recycling program to ensure that all waste paper materials are recycled to the maximum extent feasible; and

(4) establish and implement, in cooperation with the department and the Division of General Services of the Department of Administration, a solid waste reduction program for materials used in the course of agency operations. The program shall be designed and implemented to achieve the maximum feasible reduction of solid waste generated as a result of agency operations.

(B) Not later than September fifteen of each year, each state agency and each state-supported institution of higher learning shall submit to the department a report detailing its source separation and recycling program and a review of all goods and products purchased during the previous fiscal year by those agencies and institutions containing recycled materials using the content specifications established by the Division of General Services, Department of Administration.

(C) By November first of each year, the department shall submit a report to the Governor and to the General Assembly reviewing all goods and products purchased by the State and determining what percentage of state purchases contain recycled materials using content specifications established by the Division of General Services, Department of Administration. The report also must review existing procurement regulations for the purchase of products and materials and must identify any portions of such regulations that discriminate against products and materials with recycled content and products and materials which are recyclable.

(D) Not later than one year after this chapter is effective, the Division of General Services, Department of Administration shall amend the procurement regulations to eliminate the portions of the regulations identified in its report as discriminating against products and materials with recycled content and products and materials which are recyclable.

(E) Not later than one year after the effective date of the amendments to the procurement regulations, the General Assembly, the Office of the Governor, the Judiciary, all state agencies, all political subdivisions using state funds to procure items, and all persons contracting with such agency or political subdivision where such persons procure items with state funds shall procure products and materials with recycled content and products and materials which are recyclable where practicable, as determined by the Division of General Services, Department of Administration. The list of recycled content specifications must be updated annually. It is the goal of the General Assembly for state and local governmental agencies to reflect a twenty-five percent goal in their procurement policies. The decision not to procure such items shall be based on a determination that such procurement items:

(1) are not available within a reasonable period of time;

(2) fail to meet the performance standards set forth in the applicable specifications; or

(3) are only available at a price that exceeds by more than seven and one-half percent the price of alternative items.

(F) Not later than six months after this chapter is effective, and annually thereafter, the Department of Transportation shall submit a report to the Governor and to the General Assembly on the use of:

(1) compost as a substitute for regular soil amendment products in all highway projects;

(2) solid waste including, but not limited to, ground rubber from tires and fly ash or mixtures of them from coal-fired electrical facilities in road surfacing of subbase materials;

(3) solid waste including, but not limited to, glass aggregate, plastic, and fly ash in asphalt or concrete; and

(4) recycled mixed-plastic materials for guardrail posts, right-of-way fence posts, and sign supports.

HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 63, SECTION 1; 1993 Act No. 181, SECTION 1153; 2000 Act No. 405, SECTION 11; 2014 Act No. 121 (S.22), Pt V, SECTION 7.DD, eff July 1, 2015.