In this Chapter, the following words and phrases have the following meanings:
Base solid waste management services means those solid waste management services that benefit all generators of solid waste and all persons who collect, store, transport, or otherwise handle solid waste.
Base systems benefits charge means the portion of the systems benefit charge which covers all or a portion of the costs of base solid waste management services.
Bi-county unit means:
(1) the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission; or
(2) the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.
Collection contractor means a private company under contract with the County to provide solid waste collection services to dwelling units with less than seven units within the Solid Waste Collection Districts.
Collector means any person who contracts to collect and provide services for collection and/or transporting the solid waste of others to its disposal site.
Commercial gain means compensation in money, services, or other consideration.
Department: The Department of Environmental Protection.
Director means the Director of the Department of Environmental Protection, or the Director’s designee.
Director of Finance means the Director of Finance or the Director’s designee.
Disposal refuse means all solid waste which is acceptable for disposal, as designated in executive regulations adopted by the County Executive pursuant to Section 48-6 of this Chapter, which is delivered to a County solid waste acceptable facility for disposal by the County.
Dumpster means a container for solid waste collection or storage with a volume at least 90 gallons or one-half cubic yard.
Dwelling unit means a building or part thereof arranged or designed for occupancy by not more than one family for living purposes and having cooking facilities.
Garbage means all organic waste materials resulting from the preparation, cooking, handling or storage of food.
Generator means the owner or occupant of any dwelling unit where solid waste is generated, and the owner or occupant of any other business, entity or institution at, from, or by which solid waste is generated.
Hauler means any person operating a commercial business or engaged in any enterprise regularly generating solid waste which requires collecting and hauling to an approved point of disposal, when such collecting and hauling is done by the person generating such material in his own vehicles or in vehicles leased for the purpose, in lieu of having a licensed collector perform this service.
Incremental solid waste management services means those solid waste management services that benefit some but not all generators of solid waste or some but not all persons who collect, store, transport, or otherwise handle solid waste.
Integrated solid waste management system means the County’s system of managing solid waste as that system is revised from time to time in the County’s Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan. The system may include all aspects of solid waste management and handling, including any waste reduction program, recycling program or facility, disposal program or facility, and any other program related to the collection, management and disposal of solid waste.
Incremental systems benefit charge means the portion of the systems benefit charge which covers all or a portion of the costs of incremental solid waste management services.
Medical waste means waste, sometimes classified as “special,” “hazardous,” “contaminated,” “infectious,” etc., including utensils, bandages, containers or any other material issuing from all human patient care, diagnosis and surgical areas; animal bedding and feces; disposable laboratory equipment, and their contents; materials resulting from and/or exposed to infectious animal care and laboratory procedures; all disposable needles and syringes; all other disposable materials from out-patient areas for human and animal patients, where presence of pathogenic organisms are diagnosed or suspected.
Medical/pathological waste generator means any hospital, laboratory, clinic, institution, medical building, physicians’s office or any other point of origin where medical/pathological wastes are produced.
Medical/pathological waste incinerator means any incinerator located on the premises of a medical/pathological waste generator which is designed and constructed to be used exclusively for the disposal of medical and/or pathological wastes.
Motor vehicle administration means the motor vehicle administration, Department of Transportation, for the State of Maryland.
Pathological waste means waste, some of which may be considered infectious, including human or animal organs or body parts, carcasses and similar organic waste from hospitals, laboratories, animal pounds, slaughterhouses or other similar sources.
Person means the County or any agency or institution thereof, public or private corporation, individual, partnership or other entity, including any officer or governing or managing body of any public or private corporation.
Public or private property means:
(1) the right-of-way of a road or highway;
(2) a body of water or watercourse or the shores or beaches of a body of water or watercourse;
(3) a park;
(4) a parking facility;
(5) a playground;
(6) public service company property or transmission line right-of-way;
(7) a building;
(8) a refuge or conservation or recreation area;
(9) residential, commercial, industrial, or farm property; or
(10) timberlands or a forest.
Slant-sided refuse container means a metal receptacle with a top surface area greater than the bottom surface area and having an internal volume greater than one cubic yard which temporarily receives and holds refuse for ultimate disposal either by unloading into the body or loading hopper of a refuse collection vehicle or by other means.
Sludge means residual materials, usually in a highly concentrated form, which result from the treatment of sewage and/or water, including industrial and domestic wastewater; such residue may include but is not limited to digested, undigested, dewatered and underwatered residuals.
Solid waste means all waste materials and debris, including any garbage, sludge, medical/pathological waste, debris from building construction, ashes, junk, industrial waste, deal animal, salvable waste, deal or felled tree, uprooted tree stump, slash, tree limb, bush, plant, leaves, grass, garden trimmings, street refuse, abandoned vehicle, machinery, bottle, can, waste paper, cardboard, sawdust and slash from sawmill operations, and any other waste materials. Solid waste also includes any automobile, truck, box, container, tire, appliance, furniture, or recreational equipment that is in a state of disrepair or disfunction, unless the items is awaiting removal or being repaired or renovated for the personal use of the owner or occupant and the repair, renovation or removal is completed within 30 days. Solid waste also includes any recyclable solid waste.
Solid waste acceptance facility means any state-approved sanitary landfill, central processing facility, transfer station, medical/pathological waste incinerator or any other type of plant the primary purpose of which is for the disposal, treatment or processing of solid waste.
Solid waste acceptance fee means the charge established for use of the County solid waste acceptance facilities.
Solid waste collection charge means a charge established for the service of collecting solid waste in a Solid Waste Collection District.
Solid waste collection districts means special service districts established from time to time, consisting of certain areas of the County as defined on maps in the office of the Director, in which solid waste is collected by the County or its contractor.
Solid waste charge means a charge established for use of County solid waste acceptance facilities for disposal, recycling, or otherwise processing or handling of solid waste.
Solid waste management district means a special service district consisting of all of Montgomery County.
Solid waste management service means any service provided by or on behalf of the County to plan, implement, or administer any part of an integrated solid waste management system.
Systems benefit charge means an annual service charge reflecting all or a portion of the cost to the County of providing base and incremental solid waste management services.
Tax bill means the real property tax bill prepared by the Director of Finance as collector of State and County taxes and sent to all persons against whom State and County real property taxes are assessed. (1981 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1; 1992 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 1; 1995 L.M.C., ch. 18, § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 6, § 1.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated 2/24/00 explaining that the County must adhere to the prompt payment act and allow the federal government to pay its bills within 30 days of receipt.
2008 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 3, states: Sec. 3. Any regulation in effect when this Act takes effect that implements a function transferred to another Department or Office under Section 1 of this Act continues in effect, but any reference in any regulation to the Department from which the function was transferred must be treated as referring to the Department to which the function is transferred. The transfer of a function under this Act does not affect any right of a party to any legal proceeding begun before this Act took effect.