§ 14-11. Findings and purpose.

The reduction of the amount of Solid Waste and conservation of recyclable materials is an important public concern because of the increasing cost of solid waste collection and disposal and its impact on the environment. The separation and collection of recyclable materials serves the general public's interest in the city of Syracuse by reducing the amount of solid waste and will otherwise comply with the Onondaga County Source Separation Law (Local Law No. 12 of 1989) and other applicable provisions of law. In 1988, in the interest of public health, safety and welfare and in order to conserve energy and natural resources, the State of New York enacted a New York State Solid Waste Management Act which established the following solid waste hierarchy: waste reduction, reuse, recycling and waste to energy (See New York Environmental Conservation Law Section 27-0106) with land burial as a last resort only when reuse, recycling or waste-to-energy were unavailable. Section B-35 of the State Solid Waste Management Plan - 1997-1998 Update recommended that Onondaga County take immediate steps to develop environmentally acceptable facilities to manage the solid waste generated in the county. In December 1991 Onondaga County adopted a comprehensive solid waste management plan that was subsequently approved by the state department of environmental conservation. The county plan, applicable to municipalities within the county, preferred waste-to-energy as a safe and sanitary alternative to the threat to the ground water supply and other liabilities posed by the burying of such waste. Those reasons are further delineated in section 5 of the aforementioned county plan. Public Authorities Law section 2045-e(7) and (8) allows the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency to contract with municipalities for the delivery of such waste and, in furtherance thereof, to process such solid waste. In compliance with both the state and county solid waste management plans, the city of Syracuse has determined that all solid waste, both residential and commercial, generated in the city of Syracuse and destined for disposal in the State of New York, may not be disposed of at any place other than the approved disposal site designated by the common council in section 14-14 hereof. The basis of that determination is attached to Gen. Ord. No. 48-2001 as Exhibit A and incorporated by reference. This chapter will also establish and refine regulations requiring the licensing of municipal haulers and governing hauler services for the collection and disposal of solid waste materials. This ordinance shall not (A) regulate or otherwise restrict any disposal of solid waste generated within the city of Syracuse that is to be disposed of out-of-state or any handling of recyclable materials separated from the rest of the solid waste in accordance with Onondaga County's Source Separation Law or (B) regulate the price, route or service of any motor carrier with respect to the transportation of property prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994, as amended (49 U.S.C.A. § 14501 et seq.).

(Gen. Ord. No. 48-2001, 10-22-01)