§ 263. Waste reduction and recycling program. 1. When used in this section, "solid waste" or "waste" shall have the same meaning as is found in subdivision one of section 27-0701 of the environmental conservation law, but shall not include source, special nuclear or by-product material as defined in the atomic energy act of 1954, as amended, or hazardous waste which appears on the list or satisfies the characteristics of hazardous waste promulgated pursuant to section 27-0903 of the environmental conservation law, or low level radioactive waste as defined in section 29-0101 of the environmental conservation law.

2. The department shall serve as a clearinghouse for information pertaining to the reduction and recycling of solid waste generated by commercial and industrial enterprises, including the potential for such enterprises to coordinate their activities with existing and potential local recycling programs, and on methods and strategies which commercial and industrial enterprises within the state can undertake to reduce waste generation.

3. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of environmental conservation, is hereby authorized and directed to confer and cooperate with authorities of other states and of the United States with respect to the development of regional markets for secondary materials and the reduction of waste from residential, commercial and industrial activities.

4. The department shall provide to the governor, the legislature, and local governments on or before January first, nineteen hundred ninety and annually thereafter, a report assessing the status of commercial and industrial waste reduction and the development of markets for secondary materials, and all other aspects of solid waste management for which the department is responsible. Such report shall include evaluations prepared in consultation with the department of environmental conservation and the environmental facilities corporation of the expected levels of waste reduction from present and future utilization of such practices, the anticipated effectiveness of such practices in meeting waste reduction goals, and associated savings due to avoided handling and disposal costs and program implementation costs. This report may be consolidated with the report required by subdivision fourteen of section two hundred sixty-one of this article.