§ 8–1031.01. Definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter, the term:

(1) "Back-of-house commercial food waste" means commercial food waste separated at the point of discard by employees of a commercial establishment. The term "back-of-house commercial food waste" does not include food waste discarded directly by customers of the establishment, but does include food waste discarded of on behalf of customers by employees.

(1A) "Collector" means a person engaged in the collection or transportation of solid waste in the District.

(1B) "Commercial food waste" means food waste produced by the production, consumption, and preparation of food at a commercial establishment.

(2) "Compost" means a stable, organic substance produced by a controlled decomposition process that can be used as a soil additive, fertilizer, growth media, or other beneficial use.

(3) "Compostable" means made solely of materials that break down into, or otherwise become part of, usable compost in a safe and timely manner in an appropriate programand identified on the list of compostable materials described in § 8-1031.03(b).

(4) "Composting" or "composted" means the series of activities, including separation, collection, and processing, through which materials are recovered or otherwise diverted from the solid waste stream for conversion into compost.

(5) "Compost collection program" means a waste collection program, implemented either directly or through contract, which provides regular collection of separated compostable materials for public collection properties.

(5A) "Covered retail establishment" means:

(A) Grocery stores; and

(B) Large format retail.

(6) "DOEE" means the Department of Energy and Environment.

(6A) "Disposable plastic bags" means grocery and retail bags, newspaper bags, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, food storage bags, and produce bags made of plastic, and all plastic bags labeled #2 or #4. The term "disposable plastic bags" does not include degradable or compostable bags.

(7) "Disposition" means the transport, placement, reuse, sale, donation, transfer, or temporary storage, for a period of no longer than 6 months, of recyclable materials for all possible uses except disposal as trash.

(8) "DPW" means the Department of Public Works.

(8A) "Food service entity" means full-service restaurants, limited-service restaurants, fast food restaurants, cafes, delicatessens, coffee shops, vending trucks or carts, food trucks, food halls and cafeterias, including those operated by or on behalf of District departments and agencies, caterers, and other entities selling or providing food within the District for consumption on or off the premises. The term "food service entity" does not include retail food stores, convenience stores, or pharmacies.

(8B) "Food waste" means material produced from the production, preparation, and consumption of food.

(8C) "Grocery store" means a retail establishment with a primary business of selling grocery products and that has a selling area that is used for a general line of food, including perishable food, and may also include household supplies or prescription pharmacy merchandise.

(8D) "Home composting system" means containers, bins, tumblers, and other equipment, approved by the Department of Public Works, used to facilitate composting or vermicomposting on residential property in the District.

(9) "Incineration" means a form of solid waste disposal through combustion or thermal conversion of solid waste materials into ash, flue gas, fuel, or heat; provided, that recycling, composting, anaerobic digestion of compostable solid waste, and conversion of compostable solid waste into biofuel are not considered incineration.

(10) "Intermediate processing facility" means a facility where solid waste can be separated, processed, stored, assembled, and prepared for sale or other disposition, except incineration or burial.

(10A) "In-vessel composting" means a process in which organic waste is enclosed in a drum, silo, bin, tunnel, reactor, or other container and maintained under controlled conditions of temperature and moisture for the purpose of producing compost.

(10B) "Large format retail" shall have the same meaning as provided in 11-B DCMR § 100.2.

(10C) "Organic waste processing facility" means a facility that processes compostable materials through composting, aerobic digestion, or anaerobic digestion.

(10D) "Organic waste processing system" means a system that processes compostable materials, such as an in-vessel composter or an anaerobic digester.

(10E) "Plastic film" means plastic wraps or films, including wrappings for furniture, electronics, and bulk products that are made of plastic, and all plastic film products labeled #2 or #4. The term "plastic film" does not include degradable or compostable wrap or cling wrap products.

(10F) "Plastic shipping products" means bubble wrap, air pillows, and plastic shipping envelopes.

(11) "Private collection property" means a property that does not receive solid waste collection services from the District.

(12) "Public collection property" means a property that receives solid waste collection from the District either directly or through contract.

(12A) "Public litter container" means a trash receptacle installed by a government agency or private entity, including a Business Improvement District established pursuant to subchapter VIII of Chapter 12 of Title 2, on a public sidewalk, in a park, or other public space.

(13) "Recyclable" means made solely of materials that can be recycled using the District's recycling collection programand identified on the list of recyclable materials described in § 8-1031.03(b).

(14) "Recycle" or "Recycled" or "Recycling" means the series of activities, including separation, collection, and processing, through which materials are recovered or otherwise diverted from the solid waste stream for use as raw materials or in the manufacture of products other than fuel.

(14A) "Retail food store" means any establishment where food and food products offered to the consumer are intended for off-premises consumption, including grocery stores and supermarkets. The term "retail food store" does not include convenience stores, pharmacies, farmers markets, and food service entities.

(15) "Solid waste" means garbage, refuse, trash, or any other waste or waste product, including recyclable, compostable, or otherwise reusable material, whether in solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous state, resulting from an industrial, commercial, residential, or government operation or community activity; provided, that the following are not considered solid waste for the purpose of this chapter:

(A) Hazardous waste, as defined in § 8-901(2A);

(B) Medical waste, as defined in § 8-901(3A); and

(C) Construction and demolition waste subject to sections 406 and 503 of Title 12K of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (12K DCMR §§ 406, 503).

(16) "Solid waste stream" means all solid waste generated within the District.

(17) "Source separation" means the separation of solid waste at the point of discard into the categories required under § 8-1031.03

(18) "Sustainable solid waste management hierarchy" means the prioritization of solid waste diversion and disposal activities in the District set forth in § 8-1031.02

(19) "SWEEP" means DPW's Solid Waste Education and Enforcement Program.

(20) "Trash" means solid waste that is collected for disposal by incineration or landfill.

(20A) "Variable rate pricing model" means a model wherein the Mayor would impose fees for waste collection on public collection property owners proportional to the amount of trash generated at the property.

(20B) "Vermicomposting" means the process of using earthworms and microorganisms to convert organic materials into vermicompost.

(21) "Waste diversion" means activities that result in solid waste source reduction, reuse, recycling, composting, or conversion of compostable solid waste into biofuel.

(22) "Waste diversion rate" means the percentage of the solid waste stream, by weight, successfully diverted from landfilling and incineration through source reduction, reuse, recycling, composting, and conversion of compostable solid waste into biofuel.

(Feb. 26, 2015, D.C. Law 20-154, § 101, 61 DCR 9971; Oct. 8, 2016, D.C. Law 21-160, § 6032(a), 63 DCR 10775; July 17, 2018, D.C. Law 22-146, § 2(a), 65 DCR 5984; Mar. 16, 2021, D.C. Law 23-211, § 2(a), 68 DCR 00068; Feb. 23, 2023, D.C. Law 24-253, § 2(a), 69 DCR 14691.)

Applicability

Section 7203 of D.C. Law 24-45 repealed the applicability provision of section 4 of D.C. Law 23-211 that impacted this section. Therefore the amendment of this section by §2(a) of Law 23-211 has been implemented.

Section 7203 of D.C. Act 24-159 repealed the applicability provision of section 4 of D.C. Law 23-211 that impacted this section. Therefore the amendment of this section by §2(a) of Law 23-211 has been implemented.

Applicability of D.C. Law 23-211: § 6 of D.C. Law 23-211 provided that the change made to this section by § 2(a) of D.C. Law 23-211 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

Section 7036 of D.C. Law 22-168 repealed § 4 of D.C. Law 22-146 removing the applicability restriction impacting this section. Therefore the amendments made to this section by D.C. Law 22-146 have been given effect.

Applicability of D.C. Law 22-146: § 4 of D.C. Law 22-146 provided that the change made to this section by § 2(a) of D.C. Law 22-146 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.