Under the Agricultural Use Exclusion, certain wastes used in agricultural operations – including growing crops, raising livestock and fowl and some other uses - are excluded from regulation as solid waste. Typical waste materials and uses are:
- waste water sludges and crop residues applied to land as soil amendments
- industrial food processing wastes and spent brewery grains fed to livestock
- wood wastes, straw and yard debris used as livestock bedding
The exclusion, which dates to the early 1970s, prevents the regulation of agricultural operations as solid waste management facilities. In the more than four decades since the exclusion was adopted, agricultural operations have found many productive uses for materials once considered waste.
Statute and rule language
The definition of “solid waste” does not include:
- ORS 459.005(24)(b): Materials used for fertilizer or for other productive purposes or which are salvageable as such materials are used on land in agricultural operations and the growing or harvesting of crops and the raising of animals.
- OAR 340-093-0030(91)(b): Materials used for fertilizer, soil conditioning, humus restoration, or for other productive purposes or which are salvageable for these purposes and are used on land in agricultural operations and the growing or harvesting of crops and the raising of fowls or animals, provided the materials are used at or below agronomic application rates.