§ 130A‑309.14. Duties of State agencies.

(a) Each State agency, including the General Assembly, the General Court of Justice, and The University of North Carolina shall do all of the following:

(1) Establish a program in cooperation with the Department and the Department of Administration for the collection of all recyclable materials generated in State offices throughout the State. The program shall provide that recycling containers are readily accessible on each floor where State employees are located in a building occupied by a State agency. Recycling containers required pursuant to this subdivision shall be clearly labeled to identify the types of recyclable materials to be deposited in each container and, to the extent practicable, recycling containers for glass, plastic, and aluminum shall be located near trash receptacles. The program shall provide for the collection of all of the following recyclable materials:

a. Aluminum.

b. Newspaper.

c. Sorted office paper.

d. Recyclable glass.

e. Plastic bottles.

As used in this subdivision, the term "sorted office paper" means paper used in offices that is of a high quality for purposes of recycling and includes copier paper, computer paper, letterhead, ledger, white envelopes, and bond paper.

(2) Provide procedures for collecting and storing recyclable materials, containers for storing materials, and contractual or other arrangements with buyers of the recyclable materials.

(3) The Department of Administration and the Department of Transportation shall each provide by October 1 of each year to the Department of Environmental Quality a detailed description of the respective Agency's review and revision of bid procedures and purchase and use of reusable, refillable, repairable, more durable, and less toxic supplies and products. The information provided by the Department of Administration and the Department of Transportation to the Department of Environmental Quality shall also be included in the report required by G.S. 130A‑309.06(c).

(4) Establish and implement, in cooperation with the Department and the Department of Administration, a solid waste reduction program for materials used in the course of agency operations. The program shall be designed and implemented to achieve maximum feasible reduction of solid waste generated as a result of agency operations.

(5) Prepare any written report in compliance with the model report under subsection (j) of this section. The State agency shall do all of the following:

a. Notify persons to whom each agency is required to report, and any other persons it deems appropriate, that a report has been published, its subject and title, and the locations, including State libraries, at which the report is available.

b. Deliver any report to only those State libraries that each agency determines is likely to receive requests for a particular report.

c. Distribute a report to only those who request the report.

A State library that has received a report shall distribute a report only upon request. Any State agency required by law to report to an entity is in compliance with that law by notifying that entity under sub‑subdivision a. of this subdivision.

(a1) The Department of Administration shall review and revise its bid procedures and specifications set forth in Article 3 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes and the Department of Transportation shall review and revise its bid procedures and specifications set forth in Article 2 of Chapter 136 of the General Statutes to encourage the purchase or use of reusable, refillable, repairable, more durable, and less toxic supplies and products. The following applies:

(1) The Department of Administration shall require the procurement of these supplies and products to the extent that the purchase or use is practicable and cost‑effective. The Department of Administration shall require the purchase or use of remanufactured toner cartridges for laser printers to the extent practicable.

(2) The Department of Transportation shall require the purchase or use of these supplies and products in the construction and maintenance of highways and bridges to the extent that the purchase or use is practicable and cost‑effective.

(3) The Department of Administration and the Department of Transportation shall each provide by October 1 of each year to the Department of Environmental Quality a detailed description of the respective Agency's review and revision of bid procedures and its purchase and use of reusable, refillable, repairable, more durable, and less toxic supplies and products. The information provided by the Department of Administration and the Department of Transportation to the Department of Environmental Quality shall also be included in the report required by G.S. 130A‑309.06(c).

(b) The Department of Commerce shall assist and encourage the recycling industry in the State. Assistance and encouragement of the recycling industry shall include all of the following:

(1) Assisting the Department in identifying and analyzing, pursuant to G.S. 130A‑309.06, components of the State's recycling industry and present and potential markets for recyclable materials in this State, other states, and foreign countries.

(2) Providing information on the availability and benefits of using recycled materials to businesses and industries in the State.

(3) Distributing any material prepared in implementing this section to the public, businesses, industries, units of local government, or other organizations upon request.

(d) The Department of Commerce shall investigate the potential markets for composted materials and shall submit its findings to the Department for the waste registry informational program administered by the Department in order to stimulate absorption of available composted materials into those markets.

(e) Repealed by Session Laws 2022‑62, s. 58.5, effective July 8, 2022.

(f) All State agencies, including the Department of Transportation and the Department of Administration, and units of local government are required to procure compost products when they can be substituted for, and cost no more than, regular soil amendment products, so long as the compost products meet all applicable engineering and environmental quality standards, specifications, and rules. This product preference shall apply to, but not be limited to, highway construction and maintenance projects, highway planting and beautification projects, recultivation and erosion control programs, and other projects.

(f1) The Department of Transportation shall, consistent with economic feasibility and applicable engineering and environmental quality standards, use scrap tires, demolition debris, and untreated, stabilized, or encapsulated ash from boilers and incinerators in highway construction and maintenance projects.

(g) The Department of Public Instruction, with the assistance of the Department and The University of North Carolina, shall develop, distribute, and encourage the use of guidelines for the collection of recyclable materials and for solid waste reduction in the State system of education. At a minimum, the guidelines shall address solid waste generated in administrative offices, classrooms, dormitories, and cafeterias.

(h) In order to orient students and their families to the recycling of waste and to encourage the participation of schools, communities, and families in recycling programs, the school board of each school district in the State shall make available an awareness program in the recycling of waste materials. The program shall be provided at both the elementary and secondary levels of education.

(i) The Department of Public Instruction shall develop, from funds appropriated for environmental education, curriculum materials and resource guides for a recycling awareness program for instruction at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

(j) The Department of Administration shall develop a model report for reports published by any State agency, the General Assembly, the General Court of Justice, or The University of North Carolina. This model report shall satisfy the following:

(1) The paper in the report shall, to the extent economically practicable, be made from recycled paper and shall be capable of being recycled.

(2) The other constituent elements of the report shall, to the extent economically practicable, be made from recycled products and shall be capable of being recycled or reused.

(3) The report shall be printed on both sides of the paper if no additional time, staff, equipment, or expense would be required to fulfill this requirement.

(4) State publications that are of historical and enduring value and importance to the citizens of North Carolina shall be printed on alkaline (acid‑free) paper.

(k) The Department of Transportation shall provide and maintain recycling containers at each rest area located in this State on a highway in the Interstate Highway System or in the State highway system for the collection of each of the following recyclable materials for which recycling is feasible:

(1) Aluminum.

(2) Newspaper.

(3) Recyclable glass.

(4) Plastic bottles.

For each rest area that has recycling containers, the Department of Transportation shall install signs, or modify existing signs, that are proximately located to the rest area to notify motorists that the rest area has recycling containers.

(l) Any State agency or agency of a political subdivision of the State that is using State funds, or any person contracting with any agency with respect to work performed under contract, shall procure products of recycled steel if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) The product is acquired competitively within a reasonable time frame.

(2) The product meets appropriate performance standards.

(3) The product is acquired at a reasonable price.

(m) The Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, with the assistance of the Department, shall develop a model recycling program for holders of on‑premises malt beverage permits, on‑premises unfortified wine permits, on‑premises fortified wine permits, and mixed beverages permits under G.S. 18B‑1001 that are required to recycle beverage containers under G.S. 18B‑1006.1. The model program shall provide for the separation, storage, and collection for recycling of all beverage containers that are required to be recycled under G.S. 18B‑1006.1 and shall provide alternatives that reflect variations in local circumstances across the State. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission may adopt rules to comply with this section. (1989, c. 784, s. 2; 1991, c. 522, s. 1; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 959, s. 32; 1993, c. 197, s. 1; c. 250, ss. 1, 2; c. 448, ss. 1, 2; c. 553, s. 74; 2001‑144, s. 1; 2001‑452, s. 3.3; 2001‑512, ss. 13, 14; 2003‑284, s. 6.10(a); 2003‑340, s. 1.6; 2005‑348, s. 2; 2015‑241, s. 14.30(u); 2022‑62, s. 58.5.)