§ 130A-309.14. Duties of State agencies. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 130A‑309.14.  Dutiesof State agencies.

(a)        Each State agency,including the General Assembly, the General Court of Justice, and TheUniversity of North Carolina shall:

(1)        Establish a programin cooperation with the Department and the Department of Administration for thecollection of all recyclable materials generated in State offices throughoutthe State. The program shall provide that recycling containers are readilyaccessible on each floor where State employees are located in a buildingoccupied by a State agency. Recycling containers required pursuant to thissubdivision shall be clearly labeled to identify the types of recyclablematerials to be deposited in each container and, to the extent practicable,recycling containers for glass, plastic, and aluminum shall be located neartrash receptacles. The program shall provide for the collection of all of thefollowing recyclable materials.

a.         Aluminum.

b.         Newspaper.

c.         Sorted office paper.

d.         Recyclable glass.

e.         Plastic bottles.

As usedin this subdivision, the term "sorted office paper" means paper usedin offices that is of a high quality for purposes of recycling and includescopier paper, computer paper, letterhead, ledger, white envelopes, and bondpaper.

(2)        Provide proceduresfor collecting and storing recyclable materials, containers for storingmaterials, and contractual or other arrangements with buyers of the recyclablematerials.

(3)        The Department ofAdministration and the Department of Transportation shall each provide by 1October of each year to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources adetailed description of the respective Agency's review and revision of bidprocedures and purchase and use of reusable, refillable, repairable, moredurable, and less toxic supplies and products. The information provided by theDepartment of Administration and the Department of Transportation to theDepartment of Environment and Natural Resources shall also be included in thereport required by G.S. 130A‑309.06(c).

(4)        Establish andimplement, in cooperation with the Department and the Department ofAdministration, a solid waste reduction program for materials used in thecourse of agency operations. The program shall be designed and implemented toachieve maximum feasible reduction of solid waste generated as a result ofagency operations.

(5)        Prepare any writtenreport in compliance with the model report under subsection (j) of thissection. The State agency shall, in lieu of distributing the report in mass:

a.         Notify persons towhom each agency is required to report, and any other persons it deemsappropriate, that a report has been published, its subject and title, and thelocations, including State libraries, at which the report is available;

b.         Deliver any reportto only those State libraries that each agency determines is likely to receiverequests for a particular report; and

c.         Distribute a reportto only those who request the report.

            AState library that has received a report shall distribute a report only uponrequest. Any State agency required by law to report to an entity shall be incompliance with that law by notifying that entity under sub‑subdivisiona. of this subdivision.

(a1)      The Department ofAdministration shall review and revise its bid procedures and specificationsset forth in Article 3 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes and theDepartment of Transportation shall review and revise its bid procedures andspecifications set forth in Article 2 of Chapter 136 of the General Statutes toencourage the purchase or use of reusable, refillable, repairable, moredurable, and less toxic supplies and products.

(1)        The Department ofAdministration shall require the procurement of such supplies and products tothe extent that the purchase or use is practicable and cost‑effective.The Department of Administration shall require the purchase or use ofremanufactured toner cartridges for laser printers to the extent practicable.

(2)        The Department ofTransportation shall require the purchase or use of such supplies and productsin the construction and maintenance of highways and bridges to the extent thatthe purchase or use is practicable and cost‑effective.

(3)        The Department ofAdministration and the Department of Transportation shall each provide by 1October of each year to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources adetailed description of the respective Agency's review and revision of bidprocedures and purchase and use of reusable, refillable, repairable, moredurable, and less toxic supplies and products. The information provided by theDepartment of Administration and the Department of Transportation to theDepartment of Environment and Natural Resources shall also be included in thereport required by G.S. 130A‑309.06(c).

(b)        The Department ofCommerce shall assist and encourage the recycling industry in the State.Assistance and encouragement of the recycling industry shall include:

(1)        Assisting theDepartment in the identification and analysis, by the Department pursuant toG.S. 130A‑309.06, of components of the State's recycling industry andpresent and potential markets for recyclable materials in this State, otherstates, and foreign countries;

(2)        Providinginformation on the availability and benefits of using recycled materials tobusinesses and industries in the State; and

(3)        Distributing anymaterial prepared in implementing this section to the public, businesses,industries, units of local government, or other organizations upon request.

(c)        Repealed by SessionLaws 1993, c. 250, s. 2.

(d)        The Department ofCommerce shall investigate the potential markets for composted materials andshall submit its findings to the Department for the waste registryinformational program administered by the Department in order to stimulateabsorption of available composted materials into such markets.

(e)        On or before 1March 1991, the Department of Commerce shall report to the General Assembly itsfindings relative to:

(1)        Potential marketsfor composted materials, including private and public sector markets;

(2)        The types of materialswhich may legally and effectively be used in a successful composting operation;and

(3)        The manner in whichthe composted materials should be marketed for optimum use.

(f)        (1)        AllState agencies, including the Department of Transportation and the Departmentof Administration, and units of local government are required to procurecompost products when they can be substituted for, and cost no more than,regular soil amendment products, provided the compost products meet allapplicable engineering and environmental quality standards, specifications, andrules. This product preference shall apply to, but not be limited to, highwayconstruction and maintenance projects, highway planting and beautificationprojects, recultivation and erosion control programs, and other projects.

(2)        The Department ofTransportation shall, consistent with economic feasibility and applicableengineering and environmental quality standards, use scrap tires, demolitiondebris, and untreated, stabilized, or encapsulated ash from boilers andincinerators in highway construction and maintenance projects.

(g)        The Department ofPublic Instruction, with the assistance of the Department and The University ofNorth Carolina, shall develop, distribute, and encourage the use of guidelinesfor the collection of recyclable materials and for solid waste reduction in theState system of education. At a minimum, the guidelines shall address solidwaste generated in administrative offices, classrooms, dormitories, andcafeterias. The guidelines shall be developed by 1 January 1991.

(h)        In order to orientstudents and their families to the recycling of waste and to encourage theparticipation of schools, communities, and families in recycling programs, theschool board of each school district in the State shall make available anawareness program in the recycling of waste materials. The program shall beprovided at both the elementary and secondary levels of education.

(i)         The Department ofPublic Instruction is directed to develop, from funds appropriated forenvironmental education, curriculum materials and resource guides for arecycling awareness program for instruction at the elementary, middle, and highschool levels.

(j)         The Department ofAdministration shall develop a model report for reports published by any Stateagency, the General Assembly, the General Court of Justice, or The Universityof North Carolina. This model report shall satisfy the following:

(1)        The paper in thereport shall, to the extent economically practicable, be made from recycledpaper and shall be capable of being recycled.

(2)        The otherconstituent elements of the report shall, to the extent economicallypracticable, be made from recycled products and shall be capable of beingrecycled or reused.

(3)        The report shall beprinted on both sides of the paper if no additional time, staff, equipment, orexpense would be required to fulfill this requirement.

(4)        State publicationsthat are of historical and enduring value and importance to the citizens ofNorth Carolina shall be printed on alkaline (acid‑free) paper accordingto G.S. 125‑11.13.

(k)        The Department ofTransportation shall provide and maintain recycling containers at each restarea located in this State on a highway in the Interstate Highway System or inthe State highway system for the collection of each of the following recyclablematerials for which recycling is feasible:

(1)        Aluminum.

(2)        Newspaper.

(3)        Recyclable glass.

(4)        Plastic bottles.

For each rest area that hasrecycling containers, the Department of Transportation shall install signs, ormodify existing signs, that are proximately located to the rest area to notifymotorists that the rest area has recycling containers.

(l)         Any State agencyor agency of a political subdivision of the State that is using State funds, orany person contracting with any agency with respect to work performed undercontract, shall procure products of recycled steel if all of the followingconditions are satisfied:

(1)        The product must beacquired competitively within a reasonable time frame.

(2)        The product mustmeet appropriate performance standards.

(3)        The product must beacquired at a reasonable price.

(m)       The AlcoholicBeverage Control Commission, with the assistance of the Department, shalldevelop a model recycling program for holders of on‑premises maltbeverage permits, on‑premises unfortified wine permits, on‑premisesfortified wine permits, and mixed beverages permits under G.S. 18B‑1001that are required to recycle beverage containers under G.S. 18B‑1006.1.The model program shall provide for the separation, storage, and collection forrecycling of all beverage containers that are required to be recycled underG.S. 18B‑1006.1 and shall provide alternatives that reflect variations inlocal circumstances across the State. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissionmay adopt rules to comply with this section. (1989, c. 784, s. 2; 1991, c. 522, s. 1; 1991 (Reg.Sess., 1992), c. 959, s. 32; 1993, c. 197, s. 1; c. 250, ss. 1, 2; c. 448, ss.1, 2; c. 553, s. 74; 2001‑144, s. 1; 2001‑452, s. 3.3; 2001‑512,ss. 13, 14; 2003‑284, s. 6.10(a); 2003‑340, s. 1.6; 2005‑348,s. 2.)