(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, there shall be at least one certified recycling center or location within every convenience zone that accepts and pays the refund value, if any, at one location for all types of empty beverage containers and is open for business during at least 30 hours per week with a minimum of five hours of operation occurring during periods other than from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department may require a certified recycling center to operate up to 50 percent of its hours of operation other than during 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (c) (1) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), the department may certify a recycling center that will operate less than 30 hours per week, if either of the following conditions are met: (A) The recycling center is in a rural region. For purposes of this subparagraph, ârural regionâ means a nonurban area identified by the department on an annual basis using the loan eligibility criteria of the Rural Housing Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development Administration, or its successor agency. Those criteria include, but are not limited to, places, open country, cities, towns, or census designated places with populations that are less than 10,000 persons. The department may designate an area with a population of between 10,000 and 50,000 persons as a rural region, unless the area is identified as part of, or associated with, an urban area, as determined by the department on an individual basis. (B) The needs of the community and the goals of this division will be best served by certification of the operation as a recycling center. (2) A recycling center that is certified pursuant to paragraph (1) shall post a sign indicating the location of the nearest recycling center that is open at least 30 hours per week and that will accept all material types. (3) (A) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), on or before July 1, 2022, the department shall develop and implement a process pursuant to which a certified recycling center can apply to the department for authorization to operate on an alternative schedule. For purposes of this paragraph, âalternative scheduleâ means a schedule other than the schedule specified in subdivision (a) or that may be required by the department pursuant to subdivision (b), including reduced hours of operation. (B) The department shall include in the process developed pursuant to subparagraph (A), at a minimum, all of the following: (i) The form and content of the application required to be submitted to the department by a certified recycling center seeking to operate on an alternative schedule, and the manner in which the application shall be submitted to the department. (ii) The criteria used by the department to authorize a certified recycling center to operate on an alternative schedule, which shall include, but are not limited to, providing flexibility for certified recycling centers that are owned or operated by small or family-owned businesses and centers that are experiencing operational challenges due to natural disasters or states of emergency, as determined by the department. (iii) A minimum number of hours per week, per month, or per year that a recycling center may be open for business and still meet the requirements of subdivision (d). (iv) Any other requirements the department deems necessary for a certified recycling center to operate on an alternative schedule and still meet the requirements of subdivision (d). (d) Before establishing operating hours for a certified recycling center pursuant to subdivision (c), the department shall make a determination that this action is necessary to further the goals of this division and that the proposed operating hours will not significantly decrease the ability of consumers to conveniently return beverage containers for the refund value to a certified recycling center redeeming all material types. (e) (1)
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