Chapter 6.04
GARBAGE AND REFUSE

Sections:

6.04.010    TERRITORY INCLUDED.

6.04.020    MANDATORY COLLECTION, REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL OF GARBAGE AND REFUSE.

6.04.030    DEFINITIONS.

6.04.040    ACCUMULATION AND DISPOSAL OF REFUSE.

6.04.050    UNLAWFUL DISPOSAL.

6.04.055    DIVERSION OF RECYCLABLES.

6.04.070    TIME OF COLLECTION.

6.04.080    SEPARATION OF REFUSE.

6.04.090    APPEALS.

6.04.120    PAYMENT OF CHARGES.

6.04.130    SCHEDULE OF FEES.

6.04.160    VIOLATION - PENALTY.

6.04.010 TERRITORY INCLUDED.

This chapter shall apply to all territory included within the corporate limits of the City. (Ord. 4431 §1 (in part), 1993; Ord. 1905 §1, 1950)

6.04.020 MANDATORY COLLECTION, REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL OF GARBAGE AND REFUSE.

The maintenance of health and sanitation require, and it is the intention hereof, to make the collection, removal and disposal of garbage and refuse within the City mandatory. Property with existing residential uses annexed to the City after January 1, 2007, to which mandatory collection is not being provided on the date of annexation, are exempt from mandatory collection unless ordered to obtain service by the City Hearing Examiner in a code enforcement proceeding due to public health and safety concerns. This annexation exemption applies until such time as title to the property is transferred to a new owner. (Ord. 5000 §1, 2007: Ord. 4431 §1 (in part), 1993; Ord. 1905 §2, 1950)

6.04.030 DEFINITIONS.

(a)    "Refuse" includes garbage, rubbish, ashes, swill and all other nonputrescible and putrescible wastes except sewage, from all public and private establishments and residences.

(b)    "Garbage" includes all putrescible wastes, except sewage and body wastes, including vegetable and animal offal and carcasses of dead animals, but not including recognized industrial by-products, and shall include all such substances from all public and private establishments and from all residences.

(c)    "Rubbish" includes all nonputrescible wastes, including, but not limited to:

(1)    Broken or discarded furniture, household equipment, appliances and furnishings, and personal belongings;

(2)    Salvage materials and automobile parts, including, but not limited to, tires, wheels, engine parts, body parts, interior parts and auto glass; and

(3)    Abandoned, broken or neglected equipment and machinery.

(d)    "Ashes" includes the solid waste products of coal, wood and other fuels used for heating and cooking from all public and private establishments and from all residences.

(e)    "Swill," as used in this chapter, includes every refuse accumulation of animal, fruit or vegetable matter, liquid or otherwise, that attends the preparation, use, cooking, dealing in or storing of meat, fish, fowl, fruit, and vegetables, except coffee grounds.

(f)    "Health Officer" means an enforcement officer of the Kitsap County Health District.

(g)    "Cans" means strong, watertight, not easily corrodible, rodent-proof, insect-proof containers of the type normally manufactured and used to contain garbage and shall have two (2) handles at the sides thereof and a tight-fitting, fly-proof, insect-proof lid of solid construction.

(h)    "Mini cans" means cans of no more than twenty (20) gallons capacity in volume nor forty (40) pounds in weight, including contents.

(i)    "Standard trash cans" means cans of no more than thirty-two (32) gallons or four (4) cubic feet of capacity nor sixty-five (65) pounds in weight, including contents.

(j)    "Yard waste" means grass clippings, leaves, loose plant material, and branches or sticks four (4) inches in diameter or less and four (4) feet or less in length. Yard waste shall not include any substance otherwise within this definition that has been contaminated by hazardous waste, fecal matter, or any other substance that will inhibit the natural decomposition of the yard waste. (Ord. 4823, Amended, 11/05/2002; Ord. 4431 §1 (in part), 1993; Ord. 4250 §1, 1989; Ord. 1905 §3, 1950)

6.04.040 ACCUMULATION AND DISPOSAL OF REFUSE.

(a)    It shall be the duty of every person who owns or is in possession, charge, or in control of any dwelling, flat, roominghouse, group home, apartment house or other multi-residential unit, hospital, school, hotel, club, restaurant, boarding house, or eating place, or who owns or is in possession, charge or control of any shop, place of business or manufacturing establishment where garbage, refuse, or swill is created or accumulated, at all times to keep or cause to be kept portable appurtenances, metal or other approved containers in sufficient numbers, for the deposit therein of garbage, refuse, and recyclables, and to deposit or cause to be deposited the same therein. Upon request, the garbage collector may provide a solid waste container larger than the standard garbage container that may be suitable for automated pick up. Yard waste may be collected at the place where garbage containers are left, in containers or bundled so that they will not be scattered by the wind or tipping over of the container and can be easily picked up by the collector.

(b)    The lids on garbage containers shall not be removed, except when necessary to place garbage and refuse in such cans or take the same therefrom. When garbage and refuse is placed therein or taken therefrom, such lid shall be securely replaced by the person placing the same therein or taking the same therefrom. Such containers shall be kept in a sanitary condition with the outside thereof clean and free from accumulative grease and decomposing material. Each container shall be kept in a place easily accessible to the garbage truck on collection day and shall be removed from the City right-of-way between collection days. The property owner and occupant is responsible for ensuring that the lids are properly secured on the containers and that said containers are removed from the right-of-way between collection days.

(c)    Each garbage can shall be kept clean inside and out so that no odor nuisance shall exist.

(d)    In the case of isolated dwellings or places of business located in sparsely settled portions of the City, or where reasonable access cannot be made by truck, garbage and refuse therefrom may, upon special arrangement with the garbage collector, be otherwise collected, removed and disposed of. Garbage and swill shall not be disposed of upon private premises by incineration.

(e)    Large suitable containers for collection of both garbage and refuse may, with the approval of the collector, be used by hotels, restaurants, boarding houses, eating places, apartment houses and other multi-residential units, schools and hospitals, and in the business district.

(f)    Except as provided in BMC 6.04.020, it shall be the duty of every person to cause garbage and refuse to be removed and disposed of only by the garbage collector; provided, however, that items that will not fit within a garbage container may be transported by the owner thereof to a County-approved disposal site for disposal.

(g)    It shall be the duty of every person in possession, charge or control of any dead animal or upon whose premises the same may be located to forthwith cause the same to be removed and properly disposed of by Animal Control and to pay the required disposal fee. (Ord. 5000 §2, 2007: Ord. 4823, Amended, 11/05/2002; Ord. 4528 §1, 1995; Ord. 4431 §1 (in part), 1993; Ord. 1928 §§2-4, 1951; Ord. 1905 §5, 1950)

6.04.050 UNLAWFUL DISPOSAL.

(a)    It shall be unlawful for any person to bury, burn, dump, collect, deposit, or in any manner to cause, permit or allow the disposal of refuse upon any street, alley, public place or private property within the City, otherwise than as provided in this chapter.

(b)    It shall be unlawful to dump, place, bury, deposit or thrown any garbage, oil, grease, offal, yard waste or other refuse on the water, tidelands or beaches within the City, upon public property or private property of another or to dispose of such garbage, oil, grease, offal, yard waste, brush, tree stumps, branches, tree cuttings, or other refuse in such a manner so as to allow the same to enter the City’s water, waste water or stormwater discharge system or as prohibited by BMC 15.02.210 or 15.03.210.

(c)    It shall be unlawful to dispose of garbage or refuse by placing such garbage or refuse into a garbage collection container which another person owns or pays for the use of without that person’s express consent. (Ord. 4823, Amended, 11/05/2002; Ord. 4486 §1, 1994; Ord. 4431 §1 (in part), 1993; Ord. 4250 §2, 1989; Ord. 1905 §6, 1950)

6.04.055 DIVERSION OF RECYCLABLES.

No person may divert to personal or commercial use any recyclable material placed in a container as part of a recycling program, without the consent of the generator of such recyclable material or the solid waste collection company operating under contract with the City. (Ord. 4431 §1 (in part), 1993)

6.04.070 TIME OF COLLECTION.

The garbage collector shall collect, remove and dispose of all garbage and refuse in the residential sections of the City at least once each week; and from all other places as often as shall be found necessary, but not less than once a week. All places of business shall have their garbage removed as frequently as may be necessary to avoid the creation of a nuisance or the violation of any ordinance, regulation or law, but in no event less than once a week with at least twenty-four (24) hours between collections; provided, however, that a dispute over the frequency of collection determined to be appropriate by the garbage contractor may be appealed pursuant to BMC 6.04.090. (Ord. 4431 §1 (in part), 1993; Ord. 1928 §5, 1951; Ord. 1905 §8, 1950)

6.04.080 SEPARATION OF REFUSE.

The City reserves the right to and may have option to require the separation of paper or swill or other component parts of garbage, and may require the deposit and/or storage thereof in separate cans or receptacles or other hard-sided closed containers, and may prescribe the methods of disposal thereof. (Ord. 4823, Amended, 11/05/2002; Ord. 1905 §9, 1950)

6.04.090 APPEALS.

Determinations made by the garbage contractor regarding the frequency of collection or the size of solid waste containers required of the public may be appealed to the Hearing Examiner. (Ord. 4547, Amended, 03/28/1996; Ord. 4431 §1 (in part), 1993)

6.04.120 PAYMENT OF CHARGES.

The charges for garbage and refuse collection and disposal shall be compulsory and universal. Said charges shall be billed and collected by the garbage collector at his own cost. Every occupant of the property and every owner of the property for which garbage and refuse collection and disposal services are rendered shall be responsible for and shall pay, without delinquency, all charges therefor. The charges shall be paid to the garbage collector at his office by the person or persons responsible and shall be paid not later than thirty (30) days after the billing therefor is mailed, and if not so paid, the charges shall be deemed delinquent. In the event of delinquency, any such charge or charges shall be a lien against the property for which the collection and disposal of garbage and refuse was rendered. Such a lien shall be prior to all other liens and encumbrances filed subsequent to the filing with the County Auditor of Kitsap County of such notice of lien except liens for general taxes and local improvement assessments, provided notice of such lien is given as provided by law. Interest shall accrue upon delinquent accounts at the rate of fifty cents ($0.50) or one (1) percent per month whichever is greater, until fully paid. Billings for account shall be mailed to the person or tenant in possession unless special instructions to the contrary are received from the owner. (Ord. 4431 §1 (in part), 1993; Ord. 3116 §1, 1974; Ord. 1928 §6, 1951; Ord. 1905 §13, 1950)

6.04.130 SCHEDULE OF FEES.

The fees to be charged by the contractor for its garbage and refuse collection services to the residents of the City shall be fixed by contract, and shall be included in and be a part of any agreements or contracts between the City and the contractor. Fees shall be based upon the volume or weight of garbage or refuse and the distance from a public thoroughfare of said garbage or refuse. Where a requested collection is of such an unusual size, or at some time other than when regular collections are made of the premises, a special charge based on the extra expenditure of labor and equipment shall be set by the garbage collector based upon schedules established by the contract. (Ord. 4431 §1 (in part), 1993; Ord. 3116 §1, 1974; Ord. 1928 §6, 1951; Ord. 1905 §13, 1950)

6.04.160 VIOLATION - PENALTY.

(a)    Any violation of any provision of BMC 6.04.040, 6.04.050 and 6.04.080 constitutes a civil violation under Chapter 1.04 BMC for which a monetary penalty may be assessed and abatement may be required as provided therein.

(b)    In addition to or as an alternative to any other penalty provided in this chapter or by law, any person who violates any provision of BMC 6.04.040, 6.04.050 and 6.04.080 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor pursuant to BMC 1.12.020(2). (Ord. 4823, Amended, 11/15/2002; Ord. 4733, Reaffirmed, 11/30/2000; 4680, Amended, 12/17/1999; Ord. 4464 §1, 1994; Ord. 4431 §1 (in part), 1993; Ord. 1905 §18, 1950)