(Amended by Ord. No. 187,711, Eff. 1/18/23.)
For the purpose of this article, the following words and phrases are defined and shall be construed as set out here, unless it is apparent from the context that they have a different meaning:
1. “Board” means the City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works.
2. “Bureau” means the Bureau of Sanitation of the City or its duly authorized representative.
3. “California Code of Regulations” or “CCR” means the California Code of Regulations. CCR references are preceded with a number that refers to the relevant Title of the CCR (e.g., “14 CCR” refers to Title 14 of the CCR).
4. “City” means the City of Los Angeles.
5. “Collection Services” means the collection, transportation, and delivery for processing or disposal of Solid Waste from Commercial Establishments and Multi-family Dwellings.
6. “Commercial Edible Food Generator” means a Tier One or a Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generator. Food Recovery Organizations and Food Recovery Services are not Commercial Edible Food Generators pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(7).
7. “Commercial Establishment” means all real property in the City, except Residential Premises and premises that receive Solid Waste disposal service from the City, where for-profit or not-for-profit activity is conducted, including, but not limited to, manufacturing, transportation, retail sales, wholesale operations, hotel or motel operations, education, or other commercial services, business, or institutional activity.
8. “Commingled Recyclables” means Recyclables that have been separated or kept separate from other Solid Waste at the point of generation for additional sorting or processing before being recycled or reused. Commingled Recyclables are distinct from Source-Separated Recyclable Material in that they have not been sorted by material type. Commingled Recyclables shall not consist of Construction and Demolition Waste.
9. “Construction and Demolition Waste” means Solid Waste that results directly from construction, remodeling, repair, demolition, or deconstruction of buildings and other structures, does not contain Hazardous Waste, and contains no more than 1% putrescible wastes by volume, calculated on a monthly basis. Construction and Demolition Waste includes, but is not limited to, asphalt, concrete, Portland cement, brick, lumber, wallboard, roofing material, ceramic tile, pipe, glass, carpet, and associated packing.
10. “Director” means the Director of the Bureau.
11. “Dwelling Unit” means a unit for residential occupancy with one or more rooms, one of which is a kitchen.
12. “Edible Food” means food intended for human consumption, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(18). For the purposes of this article or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(18), Edible Food is not Solid Waste if it is recovered and not discarded.
13. “Enforcement Action” means an action of the City to address non-compliance with this article, including, but not limited to, issuing administrative citations, fines, or penalties, or pursuing other remedies.
14. “Enforcement Agency” means the Bureau.
15. “Food Facility” means an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption at the retail level, or as otherwise defined in Section 113789 of the California Health and Safety Code.
16. “Food Material” means material that was acquired for animal or human consumption and source- separated from the municipal Solid Waste stream. Food Material includes, but is not limited to, fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats and fish (including bones), coffee grinds, and tea bags. Food Material also includes Food-Soiled Paper Products.
17. “Food Recovery” means actions to collect and distribute food fit for human consumption that otherwise would be discarded, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(24).
18. “Food Recovery Organization” means an entity that engages in the collection or receipt of Edible Food from Commercial Edible Food Generators and distributes that Edible Food to the public for Food Recovery either directly or through other entities, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(25), including, but not limited to:
(i) A food bank as defined in Section 113783 of the Health and Safety Code;
(ii) A nonprofit charitable organization as defined in Section 113841 of the Health and Safety Code; and
(iii) A nonprofit charitable temporary Food Facility as defined in Section 113842 of the Health and Safety Code.
A Food Recovery Organization is not a Commercial Edible Food Generator for the purposes of this article and implementation of 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12, pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(7). To the extent this definition comes into conflict with 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(25) in the future, Section 14
19. “Food Recovery Service” means a Person who collects and transports Edible Food from a Commercial Edible Food Generator to a Food Recovery Organization or other entity for Food Recovery, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(26). A Food Recovery Service is not a Commercial Edible Food Generator.
20. “Food Service Provider” means an entity primarily engaged in providing food services to others in institutional, governmental, commercial, or industrial locations based on contractual arrangements, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(27).
21. “Food-Soiled Paper Products” means paper that has come into contact with food or liquid where the paper is neither coated nor lined, including, but not limited to, napkins, newspaper, paper plates, paper towels, paper egg cartons, paper bags, pizza boxes, and milk cartons.
22. “Gross Receipts” means those receipts defined as Gross Receipts in Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 21.00(a) generated by the collection of Solid Waste, including, but not limited to, receipts from the collection, disposal, and processing of Solid Waste, and from the rental of Solid Waste containers. For purposes of Sections 66.32.1 through 66.32.5, Gross Receipts shall not include receipts generated by the collection and sale of Source-Separated Recyclable Material or Commingled Recyclables.
23. “Hazardous Waste” means any waste as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 25117.
24. “Inspection” means a site visit where the City or its designee may review an entity’s records and containers, as well as its handling of Edible Food, and its collection, handling, recycling, and landfill disposal of Organic Waste to determine if the entity is complying with the requirements set forth in this article.
25. “Large Event” means an event, including, but not limited to, a sporting event or a flea market, that charges an admission price, or is operated by a local agency, and serves an average of more than 2,000 individuals per event day at a location, such as a park, parking lot, golf course, street system, or other open space when being used for an event. If the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(38) differs from this definition, the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(38) shall govern.
26. “Large Venue” means a permanent venue facility annually seating or serving an average of more than 2,000 individuals within the grounds of the facility per day of operation. A Large Venue includes, but is not limited to, a stadium, amphitheater, arena, hall, amusement park, conference or civic center, zoo, aquarium, airport, racetrack, horse track, performing arts center, fairground, museum, theater, or other public attraction facility. A site under common ownership or control that includes more than one Large Venue that is contiguous with other Large Venues in the site is a single Large Venue. To the extent this definition comes into conflict with 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(39) in the future, Section 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(39), or any successor provision, shall govern.
27. “Multi-family Dwelling” means any building, structure, unit, or location designed for residential occupancy, exclusive of Single Family Dwelling.
28. “Non-Compostable Paper” means paper that will not break down in the composting process and includes, but is not limited to, paper that is coated in a plastic material.
29. “Organic Waste” or “Organics” means Solid Waste containing material originated from living organisms and their metabolic waste products, including, but not limited to, food, green material, landscape and pruning waste, organic textiles and carpets, lumber, wood, paper products, printing and writing paper, manure, biosolids, digestate, and sludges.
30. “Organic Waste Generator” means a Person who is responsible for the initial creation of Organic Waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(48).
31. “Organic Waste Self-Hauler” means a Person who generates and hauls Organic Waste to another Person, for transfer, processing, composting, anaerobic or aerobic digestion, or other Organic Waste recovery activity. Organic Waste Self-Hauler also includes a Person who generates and transports Organic Waste to a destination owned and operated by the Organic Waste Generator, using the Organic Waste Generator’s own employees and equipment. An Organic Waste Self-Hauler is also known as a “back- hauler.”
32. “Person” means a natural person, business, contractor, joint venture, joint stock company, firm, partnership, association, club, company, corporation, business trust, or organization; or the manager, employer, agent, servant, officer, or employee of any of them. Person shall not mean the City or any of its constituent entities, departments, boards, employees, or officers.
33. “Recovered Organic Waste Product” means a product made from landfill-diverted recovered Organic Waste processed in a permitted or otherwise authorized facility, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(60).
34. “Recyclables” means Solid Waste that is capable of being recycled or reused in the marketplace, whether Source-Separated or commingled with other Solid Waste.
35. “Residential Premises” means Single Family Dwellings and Multi-family Dwellings.
36. “Self-Hauler” means a Person who is not primarily engaged in the business of collection, removal, or transportation of Solid Waste, but who in the course of performing the Person’s primary business function incidentally transports Solid Waste. Examples include, but are not limited to, gardeners, landscapers, and household cleanup service firms. A Person who collects, removes, or transports Construction and Demolition Waste is not a Self-Hauler, but is a Solid Waste Hauler.
37. “Single Family Dwelling” means a building designed for residential occupancy and containing one or two Dwelling Units.
38. “Solid Waste” means all putrescible and nonputrescible solid, semisolid, and liquid wastes, including: garbage; trash; refuse; paper; rubbish; ashes; industrial wastes; Construction and Demolition Waste; abandoned vehicles and parts thereof; discarded home and industrial appliances; dewatered, treated, or chemically fixed sewage sludge that is not Hazardous Waste; manure; vegetable or animal solid and semisolid wastes; and other discarded solid and semisolid wastes. Solid Waste does not include any of the following:
(i) Hazardous Waste;
(ii) Radioactive waste regulated pursuant to Part 9 of Division 104 of the California Health and Safety Code;
(iii) Medical waste regulated pursuant to Part 14 of Division 104 of the California Health and Safety Code; or
(iv) Pharmaceutical waste as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 117748.
39. “Solid Waste Disposal Facility” means a facility permitted under applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations to accept and dispose of Solid Waste.
40. “Solid Waste Hauler” means a Person engaged in the business of providing for the collection, removal, or transportation of Solid Waste.
41. “Source-Separate” means to segregate different waste materials, such as Recyclables or Organics, at the point of generation, to be kept apart from Solid Waste or other materials at the waste stream for the purpose of collection and/or recycling.
42. “Source-Separated” means segregation of different waste materials, such as Recyclables or Organics, at the point of generation, to be kept apart from Solid Waste or other materials at the waste stream for the purpose of collection and/or recycling.
43. “Source-Separated Recyclable Material” means Recyclables that have been separated or kept separate from other Solid Waste at the point of generation and sorted by material type, such as wood, metal, glass, concrete, or Organics, without being commingled with other Solid Waste, including Recyclables. To qualify as Source-Separated Recyclable Material, each type of material must be transferred in a separate container to a recycling center.
44. “Source-Separated Organic Waste” means Organic Waste that can be placed in a green container specifically intended for the separate collection of Organic Waste by the generator, including Food Material, wood waste, brush, grass clippings, plant and tree trimmings, leaves, Christmas trees, and other organic material; and excluding organic material containing inorganic material, carpets, Non- Compostable Paper, and textiles, as defined by the Director and approved by the Board.
45. “Tier One Commercial Edible Food Generator” means a supermarket or grocery store with a total facility size equal to or greater than 10,000 square feet, Food Service Provider, food distributor, Wholesale Food Vendor, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(73).
46. “Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generator” means a restaurant with 250 or more seats, or a total facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet; a hotel with an on-site Food Facility and 200 or more rooms; a health facility with an on- site Food Facility and 100 or more beds; a Large Venue; a Large Event; or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(74).
47. “Wholesale Food Vendor” means a Person who sells food to other organizations (rather than to individual consumers), usually in large amounts; or a Person who receives, stores, and prepares food before shipping it to distributors, retailers, or other locations.