S 2802Pollution & Waste

Health and Safety - Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation

This bill bans using artificial turf as landfill cover and creates a pilot program to test using plants instead.

Introduced

Population
Affected

Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Environment & Agriculture

Plain-English Summary

This legislation modifies the regulations governing the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation regarding sanitary landfills. It prohibits the use of artificial turf as a cover material for compacted solid waste, although turf installed prior to July 1, 2026, is exempt from removal. The bill mandates that the corporation track and report the volume and weight of artificial turf disposed of annually. Additionally, it establishes a pilot program to evaluate the feasibility of using native plant mixes or pollinator-friendly grass mixes as landfill cover, with a report on the findings due by January 1, 2028.

For younger readers

This new rule changes how the state manages the big piles of trash, called landfills. First, it says that workers cannot use fake grass (artificial turf) to cover up the trash anymore. Second, the people in charge must count how much fake grass is thrown away every year. Finally, they are going to start a special test. They will try planting real grass and flowers that bees and butterflies like (pollinators) on the trash piles to see if that works better than other covers.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Rhode Island Resource Recovery CorporationWaste Management Industry ProfessionalsArtificial Turf DisposersEnvironmental ResearchersResidents of Johnston

Impacted communities

Johnston

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

Amount unknown

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Protects the environment by prohibiting the use of artificial turf as landfill cover, thereby preventing potential microplastic pollution and chemical leaching into the soil and water systems.
Promotes biodiversity and ecological restoration by establishing a pilot program to use native plants and pollinator-friendly grass mixes, which supports essential insect populations.
Increases corporate accountability and transparency by mandating the tracking and reporting of artificial turf disposal volumes, providing necessary data to inform future waste management policies.
Allows existing artificial turf installed before July 2026 to remain in place, failing to address the immediate environmental hazards posed by current synthetic covers.
Delays the full implementation of eco-friendly landfill covers by requiring a pilot program and report until 2028, rather than mandating immediate adoption of sustainable practices.
Maintains relatively low financial penalties for violations ($2,500 to $5,000), which may not be sufficient to deter large waste management entities from disregarding the new regulations.

For Conservatives

Protects existing business decisions and investments by including a grandfather clause that allows artificial turf installed before July 2026 to remain, preventing retroactive regulatory burdens.
Utilizes a prudent pilot program approach to test the feasibility of vegetative covers before issuing a blanket mandate, ensuring that new requirements are practical and cost-effective.
Focuses specifically on the state-run Resource Recovery Corporation rather than imposing broad, intrusive regulations on private land owners or small businesses.
Imposes additional bureaucratic red tape by requiring the tracking and reporting of artificial turf disposal, which creates more administrative work and government oversight.
Restricts operational freedom for landfill management by removing a material option (artificial turf) for covering waste, potentially forcing the use of more expensive or less convenient alternatives.
Expands government spending and involvement by mandating a state-run pilot program focused on environmental preferences like "pollinators" rather than core waste management efficiency.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 22 additions · 1 deletion

SECTION 1. Sections 23-19-13.6 and 23-19-24 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-19 entitled "Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation" are hereby amended to read as follows: 23-19-13.6. Cover materials not permitted.

(a) No resource recovery system or facility made available by the corporation shall use the following as material to cover compacted solid waste at a sanitary landfill:

(1) Construction and demolition debris, whole, shredded, or pulverized, including wood (including painted, treated, and coated wood and wood products), land-clearing debris, wall coverings, plaster, drywall, plumbing fixtures, non-asbestos insulation, roofing shingles, and other roof coverings; or

(2) Organic materials, including materials that contain carbon-to-carbon bonds and are biodegradable, such as paper, wood, food waste, leaves, and yard waste. Organic materials may be used only as a final landfill cover with approval of the department of environmental management; or

(3) Artificial turf. Provided, the provisions of this subsection do not require the removal of artificial turf which has been installed as material to cover compacted solid waste at a sanitary landfill on or before July 1, 2026.

(b) Any facility violating the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000). The fine shall be paid to the city or town in which the facility is located. 23-19-24. Reporting requirements.

(a) The corporation shall, within ninety (90) days after the close of each fiscal year, submit an annual report of its activities for the preceding year to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the state treasurer, and the secretary of state. The report shall provide: a summary of the corporation’s meetings including when the commissioners, solid waste facilities siting board, and citizen advisory board met, subjects addressed, and decisions or recommendations rendered; a summary of the corporation’s actions including a listing of transfer stations, waste processing facilities, and resources recovery facilities planned, being constructed or renovated, or owned and operated by the corporation as prescribed in § 23-19-9, rules and regulations promulgated as prescribed in § 23-19-10, hearings held as prescribed in § 23-19-10, fees charged as prescribed in § 23-19-10, property acquired or disposed of as prescribed in § 23- 19-10, contracts and agreements entered into as prescribed in § 23-19-10, bonds and notes issued and secured as prescribed in §§ 23-19-14 and 23-19-16, surveys, studies, and investigations conducted as prescribed in § 23-19-10, and administrative penalties imposed as prescribed in § 23- 19-28.1; a synopsis of the hearings, complaints, suspensions, or other legal matters related to the authority of the corporation; a consolidated financial statement of all funds received and expended by the corporation including the source of the funds, liabilities incurred or assumed, funds invested, and revenues received from the sale of materials, energy, and other by products of solid waste processing as prescribed in subsection 23-19-10(30); a summary of actions taken to assist in the development of industrial and commercial enterprises within the state based on resource recovery, recycling, and reuse as prescribed in subsection 23-19-9(5); a summary of activities related to the development, amendment, and implementation of a statewide plan for the separation of solid waste as prescribed in subsection 23-19-10(29); a synopsis of the status of source reduction activities including efforts taken to reduce the state’s waste stream and develop new uses for materials recovered from solid waste as prescribed in subsections 23-19-10(42) and 23-19-11(12); a summary of any training courses held pursuant to subsection 23-19-10(44); a listing of the staff and/or consultants employed by the corporation as prescribed in § 23-19-10; a summary of activities related to the management of the central landfill in Johnston as prescribed in § 23-19- 11.1; a summary of performance during the previous fiscal year including accomplishments, shortcomings and remedies; a listing of findings and recommendations derived from corporation activities and the findings of the citizen advisory board as prescribed in § 23-19-23.

(b) The report shall be posted electronically as prescribed in § 42-20-8.2.

(d) The corporation shall develop a system for tracking and reporting on artificial turf disposal volume and weight. A summary of the information gathered by this tracking and reporting for the previous fiscal year shall be included in the annual report prepared and submitted pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.

SECTION 2. Chapter 23-19 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 23-19-13.7. Pilot program established.

(a) The resource recovery corporation shall initiate a landfill plant cover pilot program to determine feasibility and benefits of using a grass mix with pollinators and/or plant mix as landfill cover.

(b) As used herein the term “plant mix” means and shall include native plants and be determined in consultation with subject matter experts such as the university of Rhode Island cooperative extension, college of the environment and life sciences, or similar researchers or scientists.

(c) The corporation shall provide a report on the landfill cover pilot program to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the public, on or before January 1, 2028.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.