§ 50.03 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.
   (A)   The County Council finds that the public health, safety and welfare requires that rules, regulations and procedures be established and promulgated governing the collection, deposit and disposal of permitted solid waste materials in the county’s municipal solid waste landfill and in county convenience centers and solid waste collection and disposal facilities. The Council finds that the South Carolina General Assembly has mandated that a coordinated statewide solid waste management program is needed to protect public health and safety, protect and preserve the quality of the environment and conserve and recycle natural resources. The Council finds that counties have been mandated by the South Carolina Solid Waste Policy and Management Act of 1991 to plan for and provide efficient, environmentally acceptable solid waste management services and programs; to utilize all means of managing solid waste; to develop and implement source separation, resource recovery or recycling programs, or all of the above; or enhance existing programs so that valuable materials may be returned to productive use, energy and natural resources conserved and the useful life of solid waste management facilities extended.
   (B)   The Council further finds that local governments have been encouraged or required pursuant to the South Carolina Solid Waste Policy and Management Act of 1991 to ensure that solid waste is transported, stored, treated, processed and disposed of in a manner adequate to protect human health, safety and welfare and the environment; to promote the reduction, recycling, reuse and treatment of solid waste and the recycling of materials which would otherwise be disposed of as solid waste; to promote the education of the general public and the training of solid waste professionals to reduce the generation of solid waste in order to ensure proper disposal of solid waste and to encourage recycling. The County Council is authorized by S.C. Code § 44-96-80(k) to enact ordinances as may be necessary to carry out its responsibilities under the South Carolina Solid Waste Policy and Management Act of 1991, not inconsistent with the state solid waste management plan, any provision of the South Carolina Solid Waste Policy and Management Act of 1991, any applicable provision of state law or any regulation promulgated by the Department of Health and Environmental Control for the health and safety of the public or for the protection of the environment.
   (C)   Pursuant to its authority and in accordance with the powers conferred upon it, the Council has determined that there is a substantial need for the enactment of an ordinance governing rules, practices and procedures for the collection, deposit and disposal of solid waste matter; defining and regulating the materials which may be deposited in the county municipal solid waste landfill(s), transfer stations, convenience centers or other county solid waste facilities; prohibiting loitering at or trespassing upon county municipal solid waste landfill sites, county convenience centers or other county solid waste facilities; prohibiting interference with county solid waste landfill(s), convenience centers or other county solid waste facilities or the removal, scattering, probing or recycling, recovery or diversion activities; authorizing the county manager to promulgate rules and regulations governing the hours of operation and the maintenance and operating procedures for county municipal solid waste landfill(s), convenience centers or other solid waste facilities; materials which may be deposited in county municipal solid waste facilities; promulgating safety rules and procedures, emergency rules and regulations; rules and regulations in case of shut-down and other rules and regulations appropriate to the operation of a county- wide system of solid waste collection and disposal; providing for penalties for the violation of this section; and certain other matters.
(‘77 Code, § 7-21) (Ord. 4293, passed 11-15-93)