§ 50.01 DEFINITIONS.
   (A)   For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
      BOARD. Board of Commissioners of Davidson County.
      BULKY WASTE. Large items of solid waste such as furniture, large auto parts, trees, branches, stumps, and other oversize wastes whose large size precludes or complicates their handling by nonnal solid waste collection, processing, or disposal methods.
      COLLECTION. The act of removing solid waste or materials that have been separated for the purpose of recycling to a transfer station, processing facility, or disposal facility.
      COMMERCIAL SOLID WASTE. All types of solid waste generated by stores, offices, restaurants, warehouses, and other non-manufacturing activities, excluding residential and industrial waste: provided, that this definition is also applicable to places of residence having three or more dwelling units such as apartment buildings and mobile home courts.
      COMMERCIAL SOLID WASTE COLLECTOR. Any person, fm, corporation, or other entity, engaged in whole or part, in the collection, transportation, delivery, or disposal of solid waste generated within Davidson County, (service area), including any such entity engaged in such activities with respect to solid waste generated by others for profit and/or hire.
      COMPOST. A humus-like material resulting from the biological decomposition of organic materials.
      CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE. Solid waste resulting solely from construction, remodeling, repair, or demolition operations on buildings or other structures, but does not include inert debris, land-clearing debris, yard debris, or used asphalt, asphalt mixed with dirt, sand, gravel, rock, concrete, or similar nonhazardous material.
      DEPARTMENT. The Department of Enviroment, Health, and Natural Resources.
      DIRECTOR. The Director of the Davidson County Public Services Department or the Director’s authorized representative.
      DISPOSAL. The discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid waste into or on any land or water so that the solid waste or any constituent part of the solid waste may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including ground waters.
      DIVISION. The Director of the Division of Solid Waste Management of the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, or the Director’s authorized representative.
      GARBAGE. All putrescible waste, including animal offal and carcasses, and recognizable industrial by-products, but excluding sewage and human waste.
      HAZARDOUS WASTE. A solid waste, or combination of solid wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may:
         (a)   Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness; or
         (b)   Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.
      INCINERATION. The process of burning solid, semisolid, or gaseous combustible wastes to an inoffensive gas and a residue containing little or no combustible material.
      INDUSTRIAL PROCESS WASTE. Solid waste resulting from an industrial or manufacturing process which may be disposed of at the county landfill after demonstrating its nonhazardous status through analysis, or by other means. Includes, but is not limited to, sandblasting grit, contaminated food products, ash, and dust.
      INDUSTRIAL SOLID WASTE. Solid waste generated by manufacturing or industrial processes that is not hazardous waste.
      INERT DEBRIS. Solid waste which consists solely of material that is virtually inert and that is likely to retain its physical and chemical structure under expected conditions of disposal.
      INFECTIOUS WASTE. Solid waste capable of producing an infectious disease. The types of waste designated as infectious are microbiological waste, pathological waste, blood products, and sharps. (Included in “medical waste. “)
      INSTITUTIONAL SOLID WASTE. Solid waste generated by educational, health care, correctional, and other institutional facilities. Also, including materials originated from services offered on behalf of the public, e.g. nursing homes, jails, and schools.
      LAND-CLEARING DEBRIS. Solid waste which is generated solely from land-clearing activities.
      LANDFILL. A disposal facility or part of a disposal facility where waste is placed in or on land and which is not a land treatment facility, a surface impoundment, an injection well, a hazardous waste long-term storage facility, or a surface storage facility.
      MEDICAL WASTE. Any solid waste which is generated in the diagnosis, treatment, immunization of human beings, or animals in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or testing of biological materials, but does not include any hazardous waste identified or listed pursuant to this chapter, radioactive waste or household waste as defined in 40 C.F.R. 261/4(b)(1) in effect on I July 1989, or those substances excluded from the definition of SOLID WASTE.
      MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. Any solid waste resulting from the operation of residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, or institutional establishments that would norrnally be collected, processed, and disposed of through a public or private solid waste management service. MUNICIPALSOLID WASTE does not include hazardous waste, sludge, industrial waste managed in a solid waste management facility owned and operated by the generator of the industrial waste from management of that waste, or solid waste from mining or agricultural operations.
      NON PROCESSABLE SOLID WASTE. All solid waste other than hazardous waste, which could impair the operation or capacity of the disposal system or cause potential or actual injury to the county’s employees and/or contractors, but which is capable of being disposed of by sanitary landfill, including, but without being limited to, furniture, bedding, white goods, metal cable, gypsum board, bricks and blocks, concrete industrial process waste, asphalt materials, liquid wastes including sludge from water or waste water treatment plants, petroleum products, metal (other than containers), tree stumps, logs, brush, pallets, and other scrap wood and construction debris.
      OPEN BURNING. Any fire wherein the products of combustion are emitted directly into the outdoor atmosphere and are not directed thereto through a stack or chimney, incinerator, or other similar devices.
      OPEN DUMP. Any facility or site where solid waste is disposed of that is not a sanitary landfill and that is not a facility for the disposal of hazardous waste, i.e. a solid waste disposal site that does not have a permit, and/or does not comply with the rules set forth in the North Carolina Solid Waste Management Rules, 15A NCAC 13b.
      PATHOLOGICAL WASTE. Human tissues, organs, and body parts, and the carcasses and body parts of any animals that were known to have been exposed to pathogens that are potentially dangerous to humans during research, were used in the production of biologicals or in vivo testing of pharmaceuticals, or that died with a known or suspected disease transmissible to humans.
      PERSON. An individual, corporation, company, association, partnership, unit of local government, state agency, federal agency, or other legal entity.
      PLANNING DIRECTOR. The Director of the Davidson County Planning Department or the Director’s authorized representative.
      PLASTIC BAG. A polyethylene or other heavy-duty plastic bag meeting the National Sanitation Foundation standard of 1.5 mils and not exceeding 30 gallons capacity with a securing twist tie.
      PREMISES. A definite portion of real estate including its appurtenance, a building, or part of a building.
      PROCESSING. Any technique designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of any solid waste so as to render it safe for transport; amendable to recovery, storage or recycling; safe for disposal; or reduced in volume or concentration.
      PUTRESCIBLE. Solid waste capable of being decomposed by microorganisms with sufficient rapidity as to cause nuisances from odors and gases, such as kitchen wastes, offal, and animal carcasses.
      RADIOACTIVE WASTE. Waste containing any material, whether solid, liquid, or gas, that emits ionizing radiation spontaneously.
      RECYCLABLE MATERIAL. Those materials which are capable of being recycled and which would otherwise be processed or disposed of as solid waste.
      RECYCLING. Any process by which solid waste, or materials which would otherwise become solid waste, are collected, separated, or processed, and reused or returned to the use in the form of raw materials or products.
      REFUSE. All nonputrescible wastes. Solid waste, other than garbage and ashes, from residence, commercial establishments, and institutions.
      RESIDENTIAL WASTE. Solid waste originating from private households (private single-family homes and apartments, condominiums and the like, not institutional residential facilities). Solid waste from a place of residence having three or more dwelling units is defined as COMMERCIAL SOLID WASTE.
      RESOURCE RECOVERY. The process of obtaining material or energy resources from discarded solid waste that no longer has any useful life in its present form and preparing the solid waste for recycling.
      SANITARY LANDFILL. A facility for disposal of solid waste on land in a sanitary manner in accordance with the Solid Waste Management Rules 15A NCAC 138 adopted by the Division of Solid Waste Management of the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources and Solid Waste Management Law, Article I Part 2 remedies G.S. §§ 130A-17 to 130A-25 and Article 9, G.S. §§ 130A-290 to 130A-390.86, and as amended from time to time.
      SCRAP TIRE. A tire that is no longer suitable for its original, intended purpose because of wear, damage, or defect.
      SEPTAGE. Solid waste that is a fluid mixture of untreated and partially treated sewage solids, liquids, and sludge of human or domestic origin that is removed from a septic tank system.
      SHARPS. Needles, syringes, and scalpel blades.
      SLUDGE. Any solid, semisolid, or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial, institutional, or industrial wastewater treatment plant, air pollution control facility or any other waste having similar characteristics and effects.
      SLURRY WASTE. A waste with high liquid content not easily dewatered.
      SOLID WASTE. Any hazardous or nonhazardous garbage, refuse, or sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility, domestic sewage and sludges generated by the treatment thereof in sanitary sewage collection, treatment, and disposal systems, and other material that is either discarded or is being accumulated, stored, or treated prior to being discarded, or has served its original intended use and is generally discarded, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, institutional, commercial, and agricultural operations, and from community activities. The term does not include:
         (a)   Fecal waste from fowl or animals other than humans;
         (b)   Solid or dissolved material in:
            1.   Domestic sewage and sludges generated by treatment thereof in sanitary sewage collection, treatment, and disposal systems which are designated to discharge effluents to the surface waters;
            2.   Irrigation return flows; and
            3.   Wastewater discharges and the sludges incidental to and generated by treatment which are point sources subject to permits granted under 402 of the Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (P.L. 92-500), and permits granted under G.S. § 143-215.1 by the Environmental Management Commission. However, any sludge that meets the criteria for hazardous waste under RCRA shall also be a SOLID WASTE for the purposes of this chapter.
         (c)   Oils and other liquid hydrocarbons controlled under G.S. Chapter 143, Article 21A. However, any oils or other liquid hydrocarbons that meet the criteria for hazardous waste under RCRA shall also be a SOLID WASTE for the purposes of this chapter;
         (d)   Any source, special nuclear, or byproduct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2011);
         (e)   Mining refuse covered by the North Carolina Mining Act, G.S.§§ 74-46 through 74-68 and regulated by the North Carolina Mining Commission (as defined under G.S. § 143B-290). However, any specific mining waste that meets the criteria for hazardous waste under RCRA shall also be a SOLID WASTE for the purposes of this chapter; and
         (f)   Recovered material.
      SOLID WASTE RECEPTACLES. Container used for the temporary storage of solid waste while awaiting collection.
      SOLID WASTE RULES. The regulations governing solid waste management adopted by the Solid Waste Section of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources in accordance with EPA guidelines and other federal regulations.
      SOURCE SEPARATION. Setting aside recyclable materials at their point of generation by the generator.
      SPECIAL WASTE. Any solid waste that can require special handling and management, including white goods, whole tires, used oils, lead-acid batteries, medical waste, and appliances.
      USED OIL. Any oil which has been refined from crude oil or synthetic oil and, as a result of use, storage, or handling, has become unsuitable for its original purpose due to the presence of impurities or loss of original properties, but which may be suitable for further use and is economically recyclable.
      WASTE REDUCTION. The process of decreasing the quantity of materials and/or products that must be disposed.
      WHITE GOODS. Refrigerators, ranges, water heaters, freezers, unit air conditioners, washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, and other similar domestic and commercial large appliances.
      YARD TRASH. Slid waste consisting solely of vegetative matter resulting from landscaping maintenance.
   (B)   The definitions set forth in G.S. § 130A-290 which are not expressly set forth in this chapter shall apply to and are hereby incorporated herein by reference to this chapter.
(Ord. passed 6-26-01; Ord. passed 2-25-14)