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HB 6274

AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- REFUSE DISPOSAL

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Karen Alzate and 6 co-sponsors

Rhode Island HB 6274 sets standard hours for commercial waste/ recycling pickups and bans mobile on-site waste pulverizing tech, while reaffirming the state system and funding for

06/08/2025 Meeting postponed (06/12/2025)
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Bill Summary · HB 6274

Summary — HB 6274: "An Act Relating to Health and Safety — Refuse Disposal"

Status & filing
- Introduced: April 25, 2025 (House) by Representatives DeSimone, Kazarian, Baginski, Voas, Alzate, Craven, and Slater.
- Referred to: House State Government & Elections.
- Committee status: meeting postponed as of 06/08/2025 (noted 06/12/2025).

Note: the materials you provided also include an unrelated Michigan bill draft concerning bottled water and the Safe Drinking Water Act. The summary below covers the Rhode Island refuse-disposal bill (LC002678 / HB 6274) titled “Refuse Disposal.”

Purpose and intent
- Establish operating hour limits for commercial solid waste and recycling collection in Rhode Island and ban a specific type of mobile on‑site waste pulverizing technology.
- Restate and clarify provisions governing municipal participation in the statewide resource recovery system administered by the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (the “corporation”), including contracting authority, financial self‑sufficiency, and recycling/diversion planning obligations.

Key provisions
1. Commercial collection hours (new § 23‑18.9‑19(a))
- Permits commercial solid waste and commercial recycling collection to operate between 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. any day of the week, unless a local ordinance imposes other restrictions.

  1. Ban on mobile waste compaction technology (new § 23‑18.9‑19(b))

    • Prohibits use of “mobile waste compaction technology” defined as vehicles fitted with a crane and a spiked metal roller used to pulverize/shred waste and recyclables in open-top roll-off dumpsters.

  2. Municipal participation and corporation authority (amendment to § 23‑19‑13)

    • Reaffirms that persons/municipalities disposing of in-state-origin solid waste must use systems/facilities designated by the corporation, subject to limited grandfathering of existing transfer stations and municipal landfills in operation as of specified past dates.
    • Enables the corporation to charge fees so that operations (including debt service) are self-sustaining.
    • Allows municipalities to contract for collection at source or haul to designated stations provided they comply with chapter 18.9 and the corporation’s rules.
    • Permits municipal-to-municipal contracting if the corporation deems it desirable.
    • Requires municipalities participating in the state waste program to implement separation and recycling programs within one year after their designated resource recovery facility becomes operational.
    • Reiterates authority to enter into disposal contracts (up to 50 years, subject to corporation and bondholder considerations).
    • Includes provisions requiring municipal addenda and plans (historical targets referenced, e.g., 35% recycling and 50% diversion by July 1, 2012) and corporation oversight/enforcement.

Who would be affected
- Commercial waste haulers and commercial recycling collectors operating in Rhode Island (hour limits and technology ban).
- Municipal governments and local sanitation departments (contracting, recycling/diversion planning, compliance with corporation-designated facilities).
- Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (contracting, fee-setting, enforcement).
- Businesses using roll-off dumpsters and companies manufacturing/operating mobile compaction systems (the ban would restrict use of the specified technology).
- Residents and neighborhoods near collection/transfer operations (changes to operating-hour windows could affect noise/timing of pickups).

Potential impacts and considerations
- Service flexibility: Extending permitted operating hours (7:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.) gives haulers more scheduling flexibility but may raise noise and neighborhood disturbance concerns where local ordinances do not restrict hours.
- Environmental/operational effects: Banning mobile pulverizing may be intended to protect recyclability, reduce contamination, minimize dust/noise, or address safety concerns—but could increase transportation/processing costs if on-site volume reduction is restricted.
- Municipal contracting: The amendment maintains strong central role for the corporation in designating facilities and permitting long-term contracts (up to 50 years), which affects municipal bargaining power and long‑term local waste planning.
- Legal/administrative: The corporation’s fee and enforcement authority remain central; municipalities must comply with designated systems and implement separation programs per the statute.

If you’d like, I can:
- Produce a side‑by‑side comparison showing precisely what language in §23‑19‑13 is new, changed, or retained; or
- Summarize the unrelated Michigan bottled‑water bill text included in your materials.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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