Section 40004.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Solid waste diversion and disposal reduction require the availability of adequate solid waste processing and composting capacity.

(2) The existing network of public and private solid waste processing and composting facilities provides a net environmental benefit to the communities served, and represents a valuable asset and resource of this state, one that must be sustained and expanded to provide the additional solid waste processing capacity that will be required to achieve the additional solid waste diversion targets expressed in Section 41780.01 and the commercial solid waste recycling requirement expressed in Section 42649.

(3) The provisions in existing law that confer broad discretion on local agencies to determine aspects of solid waste handling that are of local concern have significantly contributed to the statewide diversion rate exceeding 50 percent, and further progress toward decreasing solid waste disposal requires that this essential element of local control be preserved.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage the development of the additional solid waste processing and composting capacity that is needed to meet state objectives for decreasing solid waste disposal by identifying incentives for local governments to locate and approve new or expanded facilities that meet and exceed their capacity needs, and to recognize local agencies that make significant contributions to the state's overall solid waste reduction and recycling objectives through the siting of facilities for the processing and composting of materials diverted from the solid waste stream.

(c) By setting new commercial solid waste recycling requirements in Section 42649, the Legislature does not intend to limit a right afforded to local governments pursuant to Section 40059, or to modify or abrogate in any manner the rights of a local government or solid waste enterprise with regard to a solid waste handling franchise or contract.

(Added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 476, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2012.)