Chapter 21C of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

 Section 21. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

 “Chemical plastic processing”, the processing of plastic waste using chemical or molecular methods into basic raw materials, feedstock chemicals, fuel for combustion, waxes or lubricants. Chemical plastic processing shall not include plastic-to-plastic recycling.

 “Disposal”, the discharge, deposit, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of hazardous, biomedical or solid waste, waste oil, refuse-derived fuel, sludge or septage into or on land, air or water and the incineration of solid waste, refuse-derived fuel, sludge or septage so that the hazardous, biomedical or solid waste, waste oil, refuse-derived fuel, sludge or septage or a constituent of the hazardous, biomedical or solid waste, waste oil, refuse-derived fuel, sludge or septage may enter the environment or be emitted into the air, or discharged into waters, including ground waters.

 “Plastic”, a synthetic material made from linking monomers through a chemical reaction to create a polymer chain, including material derived from either petroleum or a biologically based polymer, such as corn or other plant sources.

 “Plastic-to-plastic recycling”, the production from plastic waste of new plastic material, designed to be used as industrial feedstock in place of raw material for the manufacture of new products made of or containing plastic, by processing the plastic waste in a manner that, in producing the new plastic material: (i) retains the chemical structure of the plastic waste; or (ii) deconstructs the plastic waste into molecular precursors or intermediates and then reconstitutes the precursors or intermediates into plastic polymers using methods that result exclusively in the production of new plastic material. Plastic-to-plastic recycling shall not include chemical plastic processing.

 “Recycle”, shall include: (i) plastic-to-plastic recycling; (ii) the reuse of waste generated within the commonwealth; (iii) the recovery of metals from waste; (iv) the use of waste or waste-derived product as material substitutes in construction; and (v) the use of waste as boiler fuel substitutes. Recycle shall not include chemical plastic processing.

 “Residue”, any waste remaining after the handling, processing, incineration or recycling of solid waste.

 “Solid waste processing facility”, a land area, structure, equipment, machine, device, system or combination thereof, other than an incineration facility, that is operated to reduce the volume or change the chemical or physical characteristics of solid waste. Solid waste processing facility shall include, but not be limited to, a facility that processes plastic waste through chemical plastic processing and a facility that employs shredding, baling, mechanical and magnetic separation or composting or other stabilization technique to reduce or otherwise change the nature of solid waste.

 (b) A solid waste processing facility that processes plastic waste through chemical plastic processing shall be deemed to generate residue requiring disposal. The commissioner shall issue a license to operate a solid waste processing facility in the commonwealth that generates residue requiring disposal. The volume of waste and the risks related to a solid waste processing facility’s handling and disposal of residue shall be reduced to the maximum practical extent by recycling and source reduction prior to disposal.

 (c)(1) An applicant for a license for a new or expanded solid waste processing facility that generates residue requiring disposal shall demonstrate that all requirements of this section shall be satisfied. On an annual basis, an owner or operator of a licensed solid waste processing facility that generates residue requiring disposal shall demonstrate compliance with all the requirements of this section by submitting an annual report pursuant to subsection (e) to the department.

 (2) A solid waste processing facility that generates residue requiring disposal shall recycle or process into fuel for combustion through methods other than chemical plastic processing all waste accepted at the facility to the maximum extent practicable, at a rate not less than 50 per cent.

 (3) At least 50 per cent of the waste that a solid waste processing facility characterizes as recycled shall have been reused or recycled by the solid waste processing facility through methods other than placement of the waste in a solid waste landfill, except that a solid waste processing facility that was in operation during calendar year 2018, that accepts exclusively construction and demolition debris and that accepted more than 200,000 tons of such debris in calendar year 2018 shall:

 (i) reuse or recycle at least 15 per cent of such debris through methods other than placement in a solid waste landfill by July 1, 2025;

 (ii) reuse or recycle at least 20 per cent of such debris through methods other than placement in a solid waste landfill by July 1, 2026;

 (iii) reuse or recycle at least 30 per cent of such debris through methods other than placement in a solid waste landfill by July 1, 2027;

 (iv) reuse or recycle at least 40 per cent of such debris through methods other than placement in a solid waste landfill by July 1, 2028; and

 (v) reuse or recycle at least 50 per cent of such debris through methods other than placement in a solid waste landfill by July 1, 2029.

 (d) An owner or operator of a solid waste processing facility licensed under this section shall provide the department assurance of its financial ability to satisfy the estimated cost of corrective action for known releases from the solid waste processing facility and its financial capacity to satisfy the estimated cost of closure and postclosure care and maintenance at the solid waste processing facility for a period of at least 30 years after closure. The department may adopt rules that increase or decrease that postclosure care period, as long as those rules are consistent with applicable federal rules. The department may consider the use of more than 1 acceptable form of financial assurance per solid waste processing facility to satisfy the financial assurance requirement of this section.

 (e) An owner or operator of a solid waste processing facility that processes plastic waste through chemical plastic processing shall submit an annual report, not later than December 31, to the commissioner containing a sworn statement providing the year-end balance of any escrow, trust or reserve account established under this section.