62-709.201. Definitions

The definitions in Rule 62-701.200, F.A.C., apply to this chapter unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For purposes of this chapter, the following words, phrases or terms shall have the following meaning:

(1) “Anaerobic digestion” means the process by which biological decomposition of organic products is carried out under controlled anaerobic conditions, and that stabilizes the organic fraction into a material which can easily and safely be stored, handled, and used in an environmentally acceptable manner.

(2) “Animal byproducts” means source-separated organic solid waste that is animal in origin, such as meat, fat, dairy, or eggs, and is generated by commercial, institutional, agricultural, or industrial operations. This term includes waste generated by prison facilities, grocery stores, manufacturing or packaging plants, butcher shops, restaurants and abattoirs. This term also includes packaging that has come into contact with animal byproducts. These wastes will be viewed as putrescible waste in this chapter.

(3) “Beneficial use” means, for the purposes of this Chapter, that readily-degradable organics are placed on or in the soils to provide a viable benefit, such as, reducing erosion and water loss, regulating soil temperature, preventing the growth of weeds, or serving as a soil amendment upon decomposition. Placement of materials for purposes of disposal is not considered to be a beneficial use.

(4) “Backyard composting” means the composting of organic solid waste, such as grass clippings, leaves or food waste, generated by a homeowner or tenant of a single or multi-family residential unit or an apartment complex unit, where composting occurs at that dwelling unit.

(5) “Clean wood” means wood, including lumber, tree and shrub trunks, branches, and limbs, that is free of paint, glue, filler, penthachlorophenol, creosote, tar, asphalt, chromated copper arsenate, other wood preservatives or treatments.

(6) “Compost” means solid waste which has undergone biological decomposition of organic matter, has been disinfected using composting or similar technologies, and has been stabilized to a degree that is potentially beneficial to plant growth and that is used or sold for use as a soil amendment, artificial top soil, growing medium amendment or other similar uses.

(7) “Composting” means the process by which biological decomposition of organic solid waste is carried out under controlled aerobic conditions, and that stabilizes the organic fraction into a material which can easily and safely be stored, handled and used in an environmentally acceptable manner. The presence of anaerobic zones within the composting material will not cause the process to be classified as other than composting.

(8) “Composting facility” means a solid waste management facility where solid waste is processed using composting technology. Processing may include physical turning, windrowing, aeration or other mechanical handling of organic matter.

(9) “Curing area” means an area where organic material that has undergone the rapid initial stage of composting is further stabilized into a humus-like material.

(10) “Disinfection” means the selective destruction of pathogens indicated by a reduction in indicator organism(s) as specified in paragraph 62-709.300(8)(a), F.A.C.

(11) “Foreign matter” means the inorganic and organic constituents in a solid waste stream that are not readily decomposed and that may be present in the compost.  Foreign matter is metals, glass, plastics, rubber, bones, and leather, but does not include sand, grit, rocks or other similar materials.

(12) “Land reclamation” means the restoration of productivity to lands made barren through processes such as erosion, mining or land clearing.

(13) “Manure” means a solid waste composed of excreta of animals, and residual materials that have been used for bedding, sanitary or feeding purposes for such animals. For purposes of this chapter, manure does not include such material generated and managed by normal farming operations, but does include “paunch manure,” which is the undigested stomach content of cattle.

(14) “Maturity” means the degree of stability that has been achieved.

(15) “Mesophilic stage” means a biological stage in the composting process characterized by active bacteria which favor a moderate temperature range of 20-45 degrees Celsius. It occurs later in a composting process after the thermophilic stage and is associated with a moderate rate of decomposition.

(16) “Motorized firefighting equipment” means equipment that can be used to control and extinguish fires such as fire trucks, front end loaders, and bull dozers.

(17) “Pre-consumer vegetative waste” means source-separated vegetative solid waste from commercial, institutional, industrial or agricultural operations that is not considered yard trash, and has not come in contact with animal products or byproducts or with the end user. This term includes material generated by grocery stores, packing houses, and canning operations, as well as products that have been removed from their packaging, such as out-of-date juice, vegetables, condiments, and bread. This term also includes associated packaging that is vegetative in origin such as paper or corn-starch based products, but does not include packaging that has come in contact with other materials such as meat. Plate scrapings are specifically excluded from this definition. These wastes are putrescible waste as defined in this chapter.

(18) “Putrescible waste” means solid waste that contains organic matter capable of being decomposed by microorganisms and of such a character and proportion as to be capable of attracting or providing food for birds. The term does not include uncontaminated yard trash or clean wood.

(19) “Recycling” means any process by which solid waste, or materials which would otherwise become solid waste, are collected, separated, or processed and reused or returned to use in the form of raw materials or products.

(20) “Size-reduced” means the material has been processed so that it will pass through a 6-inch sieve or has been cut for firewood in no greater than 24 inch lengths.

(21) “Stabilized” means that biological and chemical decomposition of the wastes has ceased or diminished to a level so that such decomposition no longer poses a pollution, health, or safety hazard. The term means that biological decomposition of the waste that was composted or anaerobically digested has occurred to a sufficient degree that will allow beneficial use. As regards composting, it also means that the compost has at least passed through the thermophilic stage, and that biological decomposition of the solid waste has occurred to a sufficient degree that will allow beneficial use.

(22) “Thermophilic stage” means a biological stage in the composting process characterized by active bacteria which favor a high temperature range of 45-75 degrees Celsius. It occurs early in a composting process before the mesophilic stage and is associated with a high rate of decomposition.

(23) “Vector” means a carrier organism that is capable of transmitting a pathogen from one organism to another.

(24) “Vegetative waste” means source-separated organic solid waste that is vegetative in origin, and is generated by commercial, institutional, agricultural or industrial operations that is not considered yard trash. This term includes waste generated by grocery stores, prisons, restaurants, packing houses, and canning operations, as well as products that have been removed from their packaging, such as out-of-date juice, vegetables, condiments, and bread. This term also includes packaging that is vegetative in origin such as paper or corn-starch based products. These wastes are putrescible waste as defined in this chapter. Where the term is not used in conjunction with the term pre-consumer, it included vegetative waste that may have come in contact with the end user.

(25) “Yard trash” means vegetative matter resulting from landscaping maintenance or land clearing operations and includes materials such as tree and shrub trimmings, grass clippings, palm fronds, trees and tree stumps, and associated rocks and soils. For purposes of this chapter, it also includes clean wood.

(26) “Yard trash processing facility” means a yard trash transfer station or a facility at which yard trash is processed into a size-reduced, usable material or is composted, but does not include a facility used for the disposal of yard trash.

Rulemaking Authority 403.704, 403.7043 FS. Law Implemented 403.7043 FS. History–New 2-15-10.