1. The department shall administer sections 260.200 to 260.345 to maximize the amount of recovered materials and to minimize disposal of solid waste in sanitary landfills. The department shall, through its rules and regulations, policies and programs, encourage to the maximum extent practical, the use of alternatives to disposal. To accomplish these objectives, the department shall:
(1) Administer the state solid waste management program pursuant to the provisions of sections 260.200 to 260.345 ;
(2) Cooperate with appropriate federal, state, and local units of government of this or any other state, and with appropriate private organizations in carrying out its authority under sections 260.200 to 260.345 ;
(3) Promulgate and adopt, after public hearing, such rules and regulations relating to solid waste management systems as shall be necessary to carry out the purposes and provisions of sections 260.200 to 260.345 ;
(4) Develop a statewide solid waste management plan in cooperation with local governments, regional planning commissions, districts, and appropriate state agencies;
(5) Provide technical assistance to cities, counties, districts, and authorities;
(6) Develop and conduct a mandatory solid waste technician training course of study;
(7) Conduct and contract for research and investigations in the overall area of solid waste storage, collection, recycling, recovery, processing, transportation and disposal, including, but not limited to, new and novel procedures;
(8) Subject to appropriation by the general assembly, establish criteria for awarding state-funded solid waste management grants to cities, counties, and districts, allocate funds, and monitor the proper expenditure of funds;
(9) Issue such permits and orders and conduct such inspections as may be necessary to implement the provisions of sections 260.200 to 260.345 and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to sections 260.200 to 260.345 ;
(10) Initiate, conduct and support research, demonstration projects, and investigations with applicable federal programs pertaining to solid waste management systems;
(11) Contract with cities, counties, districts and other persons to act as its agent in carrying out the provisions of sections 260.200 to 260.345 under procedures and conditions as the department shall prescribe.
2. The department shall prepare model solid waste management plans suitable for rural and urban areas which may be used by districts, counties and cities. In preparing the model plans, the department shall consider the findings and recommendations of the study of resource recovery conducted pursuant to section 260.038 * , and other relevant information. The plans shall conform with the requirements of section 260.220 and section 260.325 and shall:
(1) Emphasize waste reduction and recycling;
(2) Provide for economical waste management through regional and district cooperation;
(3) Be designed to achieve a reduction of forty percent in solid waste disposed, by weight, by January 1, 1998;
(4) Establish a means to measure the amount of reduction in solid waste disposal;
(5) Provide for the elimination of small quantities of hazardous waste, including household hazardous waste, from the solid waste stream; and
(6) Be designed to guide planning in districts, cities and counties including cities and counties not within a district.
3. The model plan shall be distributed to the executive board of each solid waste district and to counties and cities not within a district by December 1, 1991.
4. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated under the authority of sections 260.200 to 260.345 shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the provisions of section 536.024 .
5. In coordination with other appropriate state agencies, including, but not limited to, the division of commerce and industrial development, the office of administration, the environmental improvement and energy resource authority, and the public service commission, the department shall perform the following duties in order to promote resource recovery in the state in ways which are economically feasible:
(1) Identify markets for recovered materials and for energy which could be produced from solid waste and household hazardous waste;
(2) Provide technical assistance pertaining to all aspects of resource recovery to cities, counties, districts, industries and other persons;
(3) Identify opportunities for resource recovery programs in state government and initiate actions to implement such programs;
(4) Expand state contracts for procurement of items made from recovered materials;
(5) Initiate recycling programs within state government;
(6) Provide a clearinghouse of consumer information regarding the need to support resource recovery, utilize and develop new resource recovery programs around existing enterprises, request and purchase recycled products, participate in resource conservation activities and other relevant issues;
(7) Identify barriers to resource recovery and resource conservation, and propose remedies to these barriers; and
(8) Initiate activities with appropriate state and local entities to develop markets for recovered materials.