§ 11-3. Recycling incentive surcharge. {Section effective on contingency}

(a) Surcharge imposed.

There is hereby imposed a recycling incentive surcharge on every solid waste generator in Baltimore City.

(b) Rate – in general.

(1) The recycling incentive surcharge is levied at a rate set by the Board of Estimates at a rate recommended by the Director of Finance which would yield substantially the same revenue as the solid waste hauler disposal surcharge provided for in § 11-2 above as a percentage of the total bill presented by a hauler to the solid waste generator for payment.

(2) The total bill:

(i) shall include costs for service, including equipment disposal charges, and applicable taxes; and

(ii) shall not include any charges for the collection, processing, transporting, and disposition of recyclable materials.

(1) A solid waste generator who is a self hauler is subject to the payment of the recycling incentive surcharge.

(2) The surcharge rate shall be applied to the lesser of:

(i) 2 times the amount charged by the solid waste acceptance facility; or

(ii) all customary and usual expenses actually incurred by the self hauler as documented on a form provided by the Director.

(3) Subject to Title 4 {"Administrative Procedure Act – Regulations"} of the City General Provisions Article, the Director shall adopt such rules, standards, or guidelines to determine the expenses incurred by the self hauler provided for in this subsection.

(c-1) Rate – small haulers.

The Board of Estimates shall establish an appropriate differential surcharge for small haulers licensed under Title 7, Subtitle 2, of the City Health Code.

(d) Rate – hospitals.

Any hospital generating solid waste for delivery to a solid waste acceptance facility shall pay a recycling incentive surcharge at a rate of $7.50 per ton.

(e) Collection.

The recycling incentive surcharge:

(1) shall be paid by the solid waste generator and collected by the hauler; or

(2) shall be paid directly to the Director of Finance by the solid waste generator when self-hauling.

(f) Proposed demolition by self-hauler.

(1) Any self-hauling generator obtaining a demolition permit shall, 30 days before the demolition begins, estimate the expenses to be incurred, based on the number of loads of demolition debris, the cost of transporting such debris to a disposal site, and the price charged at the disposal site and shall prepay the recycling incentive surcharge.

(2) After completion of the hauling of the demolition debris, the contractor may present to the Finance Department receipts from an approved recycling facility and will be refunded that portion of the prepaid surcharge for which receipts prove the materials have been recycled.

(Ord. 04-672 Text Conformed 02/23/21; Ord. 91-757.)

Prior Codifications

City Code, 1976/83, art. 23, §§25, 26

Editor's Notes

Section 2 of Ordinance 91-757 provided for the enactment of “the following sections” — presumably, then-§§25 and 26 (§11-3 of this codification) — “if Sections 23 and 24 become null and void pursuant to Sec. 3” . As to Section 3 of that Ordinance, see preceding Editor’s Note.

By authority of Ordinance 20-431, Section 5, the Director of Legislative Reference, in consultation with the Law Department, has conformed subsection (c)(3) of this section to refer expressly to the requirements of the recently-enacted Administrative Procedure Act that, effective January 15, 2021, governs the proposal, adoption, and publication of administrative rules and regulations.