455D.9  Land disposal of yard waste — prohibited.
  1.  Beginning January 1, 1991, land disposal of yard waste as defined by the department is prohibited. However, yard waste which has been separated at its source from other solid waste may be accepted by a sanitary landfill for the purposes of soil conditioning or composting.
  2.  The department shall assist local communities in the development of collection systems for yard waste generated from residences and shall assist in the establishment of local composting facilities. Within one hundred twenty days of the adoption of rules by the department regarding yard waste, each city and county shall, by ordinance, require persons within the city or county to separate yard waste from other solid waste generated. Municipalities which provide a collection system for solid waste shall provide for a collection system for yard waste which is not composted.
  3.  The department shall develop rules which define yard waste and provide for the safe and proper method of composting. The rules adopted for a composting facility to be located on property owned by an applicant for a permit prior to July 1, 1992, when the property is located within twenty miles of a metropolitan area of two hundred fifty thousand or more, shall require that prior to the issuance of a permit for a composting facility, the applicant shall submit an economic impact statement to the department. For the purpose of this subsection, “economic impact statement” means an estimate of the economic impact of the siting of a composting facility at a specific location on affected property owners.
  4.  State and local agencies responsible for the maintenance of public lands in the state shall give preference to the use of composted materials in all land maintenance activities.
  5.  This section does not prohibit the use of yard waste as land cover or as soil conditioning material.
  6.  This section prohibits the incineration of yard waste at a sanitary disposal project.
89 Acts, ch 272, §9; 90 Acts, ch 1191, §4; 92 Acts, ch 1182, §5