It is found and declared by the County Board of Commissioners, in regular session duly convened:
(A) That the continuing technological progress and improvement in methods of manufacture, packaging, and marketing of consumer products has resulted in an ever-mounting increase in, and in a change in the characteristics of, the mass material discarded by the purchaser of such products;
(B) That the economic and population growth of the county and the improvements in the standard of living enjoyed by the county’s population have required increased industrial production to meet county needs, and have made necessary the demolition of old buildings, the construction of new buildings, and the provision of highways and other avenues of transportation, which, together with related industrial, commercial, and agricultural operations, have resulted in a rising tide of scrap, discarded, and waste materials;
(C) That the continuing concentration of the county’s population in expanding areas has presented communities within the service area with serious financial, management, intergovernmental, and technical problems in the disposal of solid wastes resulting from the industrial, commercial, domestic, and other activities carried on in such areas;
(D) That the receiving and disposal of solid wastes should be primarily the function of the county;
(E) That the problems of waste disposal as set forth above have become a matter regional in scope and in concern and necessitate county action through financial and technical assistance and leadership in the development, demonstration, and application of new and improved methods and processes to reduce the amount of waste and unsalvageable materials and to provide for proper and economical solid waste disposal practices;
(F) That land is too valuable a regional resource to be needlessly polluted by discarded materials, although most solid waste is disposed of on land in open dumps and a sanitary landfill;
(G) That disposal of solid waste in, or on, the land without careful planning and management can present a danger to human health and the environment;
(H) That as a result of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 7401 et seq.), the Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.), and other federal and state laws respecting public health and environment, greater amounts of solid waste (in the form of sludge and other pollution treatment residues) have been created, and that similarly, inadequate and environmentally unsound practices for the disposal or use of solid waste have created greater amounts of air and water pollution and other problems for the environment and for health;
(I) That open dumping is particularly harmful to health, contaminates drinking water from underground and surface supplies, and pollutes the air and the land;
(J) That the placement of inadequate controls on solid waste management will result in substantial risks to human health and the environment;
(K) That if solid waste management is improperly performed in the first instance, corrective action is likely to be expensive, complex, and time consuming;
(L) That certain classes of land disposal facilities are not capable of assuring long-term containment of certain wastes, and to avoid risk to human health and the environment, reliance on land disposal should be minimized or eliminated, and land disposal, particularly landfill and surface impoundment, should be the least favored method for managing hazardous waste;
(M) That tons of recoverable material which could be used are needlessly buried each year;
(N) That methods are available to separate usable materials from solid waste;
(O) That inefficient and improper methods of managing solid waste create hazards to public health, cause pollution to air and water resources, constitute a waste of natural resources, have an adverse effect on land values, and create public nuisances;
(P) That the continuing technological progress and improvements in methods of manufacture, packaging, and marketing of consumer products have resulted in an ever-mounting increase of the mass of material discarded by the purchasers of products;
(Q) That the economic growth and population growth of the service area have required increased industrial production together with related commercial and agricultural operations to meet county needs, resulting in a rising tide of unwanted and discarded materials; and
(R) That the failure or inability to economically recover material and energy resources from solid waste results in the unnecessary waste and depletion of the county’s natural resources, such that maximum resource recovery from solid waste and maximum recycling and reuse of the resources must be considered goals of the county.
(1996 Code, § 50.37) (Ord. passed 1-18-1994)