- DRS Data: Questions about what data is tracked, how the data is tracked, and quality assurance/quality control
- DRS: Questions about the online database where county staff enter disposal data
- ADC, AIC, and Beneficial Reuse: Questions on these material types tracked in DRS
- Disaster Waste: How DRS handles this waste type
- Imports and Exports: Waste from outside California or from Indian country and waste sent out of California
- DRS Reports: Common questions about preparing reports
DRS Data
Where can I find the most recent disposal data?
The most current disposal data is located on the Disposal Reports webpage. If you are a jurisdiction or county verifying tonnage allocations, you can find the most recent quarter of disposal data within eDRS. To view this data you will need a WebPass and access to your jurisdiction’s or county’s disposal data. If you don’t have access to your county, you can request access through the reporting entity change request form.
Why can’t I see the most recent quarter of disposal data on the CalRecycle website?
Disposal data is only published to the CalRecycle website when it’s completed for a report year. Report year disposal data is finalized in June for the prior report year. Disposal data is usually published online prior to the release of the annual report for the same report year. For example: Disposal data for 2013 was published online in June 2014 prior to the release of the 2013 Electronic Annual Report. Counties can view their most recent quarterly disposal data as it’s submitted by logging into eDRS and viewing their county’s data.
Which facilities are required to do origin surveys? How often?
All permitted landfills, transfer stations, material recovery facilities, and transformation facilities must conduct origin surveys to determine the jurisdiction of origin for waste disposed every quarter. If a facility is located in a rural jurisdiction the standard minimum frequency is one week per quarter for all loads of waste received. At all other facilities origin surveys are daily. With CalRecycle-approval, surveys are not required at facilities where all disposed material is assigned to a single city, county, or regional agency. The facility must be authorized to do so by the jurisdiction being assigned all of the waste. A model authorization form is available for your use.
What is a transformation facility?
Currently, there are only three permitted transformation facilities, which are waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities, in California. These facilities are located in Stanislaus and Los Angeles counties. DRS regulations require transformation facilities to report the origin of waste accepted at their facility as a landfill would.
Who is assigned waste when the origin cannot be determined?
When the origin of a load cannot be determined it must be assigned to the jurisdiction where the permitted solid waste facility is located and labeled as host-assigned waste (orphan waste).
Does DRS track material types?
Landfills are only required to detail the material type of waste when it is used as alternative daily cover (ADC), alternative intermediate cover (AIC) or beneficial reuse. Information on the waste stream by material type in California can be found at CalRecycle’s Waste Characterization Study page.
What is included in my county’s disposal tonnages?
Total disposal tonnages only include landfilled material for a jurisdiction/county. ADC, AIC, Indian country waste, and other diverted materials do not affect a jurisdiction/county’s disposal tonnage.
Do DRS staff check disposal tonnages?
Yes. DRS staff review data for completeness, accuracy, and obvious anomalies. However, DRS staff are not experts on every jurisdiction’s circumstances or disposal. If a problem is found, DRS staff contact county staff and landfill operators for clarification.
Do DRS staff inspect landfills and reporting methods?
DRS staff can visit landfills to ensure reports are correct, allocations aren’t being missed, and facility staff are knowledgeable on DRS requirements. DRS staff also visit landfills to train operators on DRS requirements when necessary. DRS staff can investigate a facility to address allegations of disposal allocation issues and reporting errors.
What is jurisdiction per capita disposal? How is this calculated?
Per capita disposal is a numeric indicator of a jurisdiction’s reported disposal (DRS data) divided by population (residents) or in some cases industry employment (employees) to obtain an average disposal rate for a jurisdiction. See Per Capita Disposal and Goal Measurement (2007) for more information.
DRS
Why is there no current disposal data for my county in DRS?
Disposal data may not be in DRS for a current quarter because:
- Haulers, transfer stations, landfills, or counties may have submitted their reports late
- Reports submitted on time are entered by CalRecycle staff two weeks after the quarterly due dates.
When do DRS staff enter reports that are sent to them rather than entered by the county?
DRS staff endeavor to enter any data received for entry as soon after receiving it as possible. Generally reports are entered (at the latest) two weeks after the reports are due if they are received on time.
How do I get access to eDRS if I’m a new disposal report contact for the county?
Fill out the reporting entity contact change request form and request access to DRS. DRS staff will review your request and grant you access once you are verified as an official contact for your county (or jurisdiction).
ADC, AIC, and Beneficial Reuse
What is ADC?
Alternative daily cover (ADC) is defined as any material, other than earthen material (e.g. soil), used as a daily cover. Landfills must obtain approval for material used as daily cover from the appropriate Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) and CalRecycle. Examples of ADC include green waste, shredded tires, and ash. Approved ADC material types are listed on our alternative daily cover page.
What are the reporting requirements for ADC?
ADC is required to be tracked by material type and jurisdiction of origin every day (not just during the quarterly survey period). A landfill’s quarterly disposal report should include total tons of ADC by material type and jurisdiction of origin, and a landfill’s quarterly facility summary report should include the total tonnage of ADC by material type used at the landfill. More information on reporting requirements can be found on the DRS Report Requirements page.
Is ADC different from soil?
Yes. ADC is alternative daily cover and is required to be reported by material type and jurisdiction of origin. Soil is considered daily cover, but isn’t considered an alternative and doesn’t require material-specific tracking.
What is AIC?
Alternative intermediate cover (AIC) is defined as material, other than soil, placed on all surfaces of a fill where no solid waste will be placed within 180 days in order to control vectors, fires, odors, blowing litter, and scavenging. Prior to using a material as AIC a landfill must conduct a site-specific demonstration project. Demonstration projects require approval of the Local Enforcement Agency and CalRecycle. Approved AIC material types are listed on the LEA Advisory No. 48 – Attachment.
What are the reporting requirements for AIC?
AIC must be tracked by material type and jurisdiction of origin every day (not just during the quarterly survey period). A landfill’s quarterly disposal report should include total tons of AIC by material type and jurisdiction of origin, and a landfill’s quarterly facility summary report should include the total tonnage of AIC by material type used at the landfill. More information on reporting requirements can be found on the DRS Report Requirements page.
Is AIC different from soil?
Yes. AIC is alternative intermediate cover and is required to be reported by material type and jurisdiction of origin. Soil can be used as intermediate cover, but isn’t considered an alternative, and doesn’t require material-specific tracking.
What is beneficial reuse?
Beneficial reuse is waste that is reused at a facility, but not used as a cover material. More information on beneficial reuse materials and regulations can be found under Title 27, California Code of Regulations, Section 20686.
Disaster Waste
Is jurisdiction of origin surveying required for disaster waste?
Yes. DRS regulations require that disaster waste is tracked by jurisdiction of origin. For more information on how disaster waste is handled in California please visit our Disaster Waste webpage.
Imports and Exports
What are imports?
Imports are waste loads received from outside the State of California (including Indian country).
What are exports?
Exports are waste loads sent out of the State of California for disposal.
Do counties have to report waste that is sent to landfills outside of California?
Yes. DRS requires haulers that export waste to send tonnage reports to the county where the waste was hauled from every quarter by the jurisdiction of origin. The county is required to report those tonnages on their quarterly disposal report to CalRecycle.
How is waste from Indian country handled?
Waste loads received from Indian country are considered “imports”. To report the jurisdiction of origin, a report preparer would use the Indian country name, the reservation name, or the casino name from which the waste originated. Indian country waste that is sent to landfills outside California does not need to be reported. Please see Reporting Indian Country Waste for more information.
How is waste from outside California reported?
Waste loads received from outside of California are considered “Imports”. Waste loads imported from out of state are tracked by the state of origin and waste loads from outside the United States. are tracked by the country of origin. Imported waste does not affect jurisdiction disposal rates, but is important for other purposes.
DRS Reports
What is the annual facility methods report?
The annual facility methods report is an annual summary report of facility information. The reports contain summary information on a facility’s operations including: methods for obtaining origin information, conversion factors for waste, and tonnage information (on report attachment).
Who’s required to submit annual facility methods reports and when?
Annual facility methods reports are required for all permitted and active landfills, stations, and transformation facilities in the State of California.
The reports are due from the facility to their county’s report preparers on March 15 for the previous year and to CalRecycle (from the county) on April 15 for the previous year. (For example: The 2013 Annual Facility Method Report was due from facilities to the county on March 15, 2014 and from the county to CalRecycle on April 15, 2014). See a more detailed list of due dates for reports.
What happens if my disposal tonnage for a quarter does not match my DRS quarterly report tonnage?
CalRecycle will review your disposal report and contact you if your totals do not match. CalRecycle may report underreported tonnages to the Board of Equalization (BOE) which may lead to an audit. BOE generally audits landfills every three years, and during these audits they verify that the landfill pays the Integrated Waste Management Account (IWMA) fee on all waste disposed (according to disposal reports).
How are disposal reports revised after they are entered in eDRS?
For DRS staff to revise a report, it must be received from a county or landfill by May 15 following the report year. DRS staff cannot revise data without a revised report or after the report year has been finalized.
Counties wishing to revise their own reports in eDRS should contact the Disposal Report Coordinator at drs@calrecycle.ca.gov before the May 15 deadline.
How do I revise a quarterly disposal report I’ve already submitted to eDRS?
Email the DRS mailbox (drs@calrecycle.ca.gov) and ask DRS staff to unlock the report for a revision. Then make your revisions and resubmit the report. Revisions must be for the current disposal year and submitted before May 15.
Why do all disposal report revisions for a year have to be submitted by May 15?
Regulations specify the period between April 15 and May 15 of the following year as the revision period for the reporting year. All four quarters of disposal data for a report year have to be finalized for the electronic annual report (EAR) and posted to the web by June of the following year. DRS staff require that all revisions be submitted by May 15 so the data verification process can be finished in advance of this deadline. In certain circumstances counties may be contacted between May 15 and June with requests to revise inaccurate data.
Why does the quarterly report I send to the Board of Equalization (BOE) have to match my quarterly disposal report?
DRS staff use the BOE disposal data to check disposal totals submitted to eDRS to verify accuracy because both BOE and eDRS receive data on tons disposed at landfills (so, theoretically, this information should match). Landfills that have large discrepancies between BOE disposal and DRS disposal could be recommended for BOE audits. It is one of many checks to ensure that both CalRecycle and BOE have received updated and matching reports on disposal amounts.
When can a jurisdiction or county contact DRS staff if data is incorrect?
Jurisdictions or counties can notify DRS staff of incorrect data or submit revisions at any time of the year, as long as the reports are for the current disposal report year. The official revision period begins April 15 and ends May 15 of the following year but DRS staff are always accepting revised reports prior to this period. Data for years prior to the current disposal year can be revised under extreme circumstances, but it is not common practice. For more information, or if you have further questions on this topic, please contact DRS staff at drs@calrecycle.ca.gov.
For more information contact: Local Assistance & Market Development, LAMD@calrecycle.ca.gov or (916) 341-6199.