Sunday, February 28, 2010

Finally DC Boosts Recycling Laws

D.C. to require cardboard, plastic recycling

By: Michael Neibauer
Examiner Staff Writer
February 26, 2010



All property owners in the District -- commercial and residential -- will be required to separate cardboard and plastic containers from their regular trash under overhauled recycling regulations being proposed by the Fenty administration.

The revised rules also quadruple in some cases the fines for commercial property owners who repeatedly fail to properly recycle. Penalties for homeowners, generally $25, are not slated to change.

The amended regulations are an attempt to broaden the District's recycling collections and to discourage repeat commercial violations by holding down penalties for the first and second offenses, but hitting violators hard for subsequent wrongs.

The Department of Public Works in 2008 expanded the types of products it could recycle to include wide-mouth plastic containers, plastic toys, plastic lawn furniture and milk and juice cartons. But the agency only requires that newspaper, office paper, yard waste, metal and glass containers are separated from the regular garbage.

Plastic containers and cardboard can be tossed with the regular trash, for now, though some D.C. residents say they recycle those commodities today.

"I already do," said Tenleytown resident Beverly Sklover. "I would do it anyway. I think it's fabulous."

The District's fiscal 2009 residential recycling rate -- recyclables collected versus total trash thrown away -- was about 24 percent, according to DPW. But homeowners are responsible for only 30 percent of the District's trash.

The revised regulations target businesses, the most prolific trash producers, for more rigorous enforcement.

Amended fines for owners of commercial and apartment buildings would run from $200 for a first offense to $600 for a second within 60 days and $1,500 for a third within 60 days. Current penalties range from $25 to $1,000 per violation, depending on the size and type of building.

The District is right to save its harshest penalties for those who prove unresponsive to the rules, said W. Shaun Pharr, senior vice president of government affairs with the D.C. Apartment and Office Building Association. The size of the building, he said, "is completely unrelated to whether you've been making an effort to comply with the law."

The proposed rules are expected to be made available for public comment on March 5.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/D_C_-to-require-cardboard_-plastic-recycling-85429237.html


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