Chapter 7.12
GARBAGE COLLECTION*

Sections:

7.12.010 Duty to deposit garbage and refuse in portable containers.

7.12.020 Garbage containers – Specifications.

7.12.040 Location and placement of garbage containers.

7.12.050 Dead animals – Disposal of carcasses.

7.12.060 Disposal of garbage and trash to comply with chapter.

7.12.070 Allowing rubbish to accumulate.

7.12.080 Recreational vehicle sewage disposal facility – Garbage container – Restricted use.

7.12.090 Use of garbage receptacles and receptacles for recyclable materials.

7.12.100 Anti-scavenging.

*For the statutory provisions regarding the authority of cities and towns to provide for collection and disposal of garbage and to award contracts therefor, see RCW 35.21.120; for provisions providing that health and welfare shall be governed by the general law, see RCW 35A.11.030; for provisions enabling cities to require all inhabitants to use the city system and to set the fee, see RCW 35.21.130; for provisions empowering code cities to enforce local regulations, see RCW 35A.21.161.

7.12.010 Duty to deposit garbage and refuse in portable containers.

(1) It is the duty of every person in possession, charge or control of any dwelling, flat, rooming house, apartment house, trailer camp, hospital, hotel, school, club, restaurant, boarding or eating house, or in possession, charge or control of any public or private place of business or manufacturing establishment where garbage, refuse, trash or offal is or may be created or accumulated within the city limits to keep or cause to be kept in garbage containers as provided by the city, or a solid waste disposal company with whom the city has entered into a contract; and to deposit or cause to be deposited such accumulation therein, except as hereinafter provided.

(2) All refuse and garbage from businesses dispensing food and drink (including boarding houses, hotels, auto courts and motels), food stores, doctors’ and dentists’ offices and private and public meeting places where banquets are held, including refuse from all restrooms, shall be deposited in containers of the size and type specified in LMC 7.12.020.

(3) All garbage deposited in containers, as herein provided, must be wrapped in paper or other suitable material.

(4) All containers for trash and rubbish deposited by places of business must be of a type and in such location as meets with the approval of the superintendent of the sanitary department. (Ord. 2355 § 2, 1989; Ord. 2294 § 1, 1987; Ord. 1016 § 1, 1959; Ord. 594 § 1, 1950).

7.12.020 Garbage containers – Specifications.

(1) All garbage, offal, trash and refuse must be placed in molded plastic, watertight containers provided by the city, or provided by solid waste disposal contractors with whom the city has a contract, which are suitable for handling by automated garbage pickup equipment. Ten-yard, 250-yard capacity roll-off containers may be used in commercial areas with large volume as determined by the superintendent of the sanitary department.

(2) All drive-in eating establishments shall have at the exit from their properties refuse containers for the convenience of their patrons. These containers shall have a hinged lid of the swing type. A metal inner liner with hand holds shall be provided. (Ord. 2355 § 3, 1989; Ord. 2294 § 2, 1987; Ord. 1016 § 1, 1959).

7.12.040 Location and placement of garbage containers.

(1) Multiconsumer garbage container service will be provided to residential and commercial customers with alley access. Placement and location of each garbage container shall be at the discretion of the superintendent of the sanitary department, or the solid waste disposal company with whom the city has a contract.

(2) Each residential consumer, without alley access, will be provided, by the city, or by the solid waste disposal contractor who has a contract with the city, with individual roll-out containers for curb side pickup service. Customers shall maintain said containers on their premises and shall be responsible for placement at curb side on days scheduled for regular or special emptying.

(3) Additional individual roll-out garbage containers may be issued at an additional charge, alley garbage containers may be relocated, and garbage containers may be added or removed as needs change, all at the discretion of the superintendent of the sanitary department, or the solid waste disposal contractor with whom the city has a contract. (Ord. 2355 § 4, 1989; Ord. 2294 § 3, 1987; Ord. 1016 § 1, 1959).

7.12.050 Dead animals – Disposal of carcasses.

(1) The carcasses of dead animals, other than horses, cows, sheep, goats or hogs, shall be removed and disposed of by other agencies as approved by the superintendent of the sanitary department.

(2) It shall be the duty of the owner or keeper of any horse, cow, sheep, goat or hog which is found dead within the city limits to haul or cause to be hauled away the carcass of such animal to a state licensed rendering plant, within 24 hours of the death of such animal, at the sole expense of the owner; provided however, this subsection shall not apply to such of said animals as may have been slaughtered for human consumption. (Ord. 2294 § 4, 1987; Ord. 972 § 1, 1958).

7.12.060 Disposal of garbage and trash to comply with chapter.

(1) It is unlawful for any person to burn, dump, collect, remove or in any other manner dispose of garbage and offal upon or over any of the streets, alleys, public places or private property within the city otherwise than as herein provided.

(2) It is unlawful for any person to bury or dump waste paper, boxes, leaves, trash, debris, grass, woods and cuttings from trees, lawns, shrubs and gardens upon the street, alley or public place in the city.

(3) It is unlawful for any person to deposit any substance whatever into a garbage container unless such person maintains a residence or a licensed place of business within the city, and such person, or the business by whom such person is employed, is a customer of the sanitary department of the city. (Ord. 2294 § 8, 1987; Ord. 1016 § 1, 1959).

7.12.070 Allowing rubbish to accumulate.

(1) It is unlawful for the occupant, owner or agent of the owner of any premises in the city to permit thereon any rubbish, trash, tin cans, bones, rags, straw, manure, decaying vegetables or animal matter, stagnant water, liquid household waste, ashes, soot, poison oak or poison ivy, or any unclean, unsanitary or unhealthful substance or matter; provided, nothing herein contained shall prevent the temporary retention of waste matter in receptacles in a manner approved by the sanitary superintendent, nor the dumping of nonputrifying waste in a place and manner approved by the sanitary superintendent.

(2) It is unlawful for the occupant, owner or agent of the owner of any premises in the city to allow trash or refuse to accumulate in a city alley and/or city street abutting such premises. The sanitary superintendent or a member of his department shall notify by letter or authorized form any such person who cause such trash or refuse to be removed by such person or by the city sanitary department, or by the solid waste disposal contractor with whom the city has a contract. If trash or refuse is not removed, the sanitary department, or the solid waste disposal contractor with whom the city has a contract, shall cause the same to be removed and a charge shall be made to the person for whom removal is effected at the special pickup rate established by LMC 7.16.030. (Ord. 2355 § 5, 1989; Ord. 1016 § 1, 1959).

7.12.080 Recreational vehicle sewage disposal facility – Garbage container – Restricted use.

The city, or the contractor with whom the city has a solid waste disposa1 contract, shall maintain a garbage container at or near the site of the recreational vehicle sewage disposal facility of the city for the disposal of garbage and refuse from recreational vehicles only. It is unlawful to deposit garbage or refuse into such container except for recreational vehicles in connection with or as incidental to the disposal of waste into the sewage disposal facility. (Ord. 2355 § 6, 1989; Ord. 2294 § 9, 1987).

7.12.090 Use of garbage receptacles and receptacles for recyclable materials.

Multi-consumer garbage receptacles and multi-consumer receptacles for recyclable materials have been placed throughout the city in convenient locations for use by residential customers of the city’s garbage and recycling collection service, and garbage receptacles have been placed at business locations for use by specific business customers. Except for receptacles situated in public places such as parks, public buildings, public streets and rights-of-way, and public parking lots, such receptacles are not intended as depositories of materials not generated by nearby residences, or by businesses to which specific receptacles have not been assigned. The following is hereby prohibited:

(1) Depositing of materials in garbage or recycling receptacles located in residential areas of the city by persons not residing within 300 feet of such receptacle;

(2) Depositing of materials in garbage receptacles located in commercial areas of the city except by customers specifically assigned the use of such receptacles or others permitted by such customers to deposit materials in such receptacles;

(3) Depositing of materials in garbage or recycling receptacles located in public parks, in or on the grounds of public buildings, public streets or rights-of-way, or in public parking lots, which materials were not generated by activities taking place in such public parks, public buildings or parking lots. Materials consisting of three cubic feet in volume or less removed or taken from a motor vehicle shall be deemed to have been generated in such public parks, public buildings or parking lots.

The first violation of this section is a class III civil infraction.

The second and any subsequent violation of this section within six months is a class II civil infraction. (Ord. 2878 § 1, 2004).

7.12.100 Anti-scavenging.

Except for the contractor with whom the city of Longview has a solid waste disposal and/or recycling contract, and except for the city sanitary department, and except with the consent of the person, firm or corporation that has caused or placed garbage, trash, refuse, recyclable materials or other solid waste into such container or the customer assigned to such container, no person shall remove any garbage, trash, refuse, recyclable materials, or other solid waste from any individual garbage container or receptacle, multi-consumer garbage receptacle, roll-off container, drop box or other container designed and designated for the disposal of garbage, refuse, trash, offal, recyclable materials, construction debris, or yard waste.

The first violation of this section is a class III civil infraction.

The second and any subsequent violation of this section within six months is a class II civil infraction. (Ord. 2878 § 2, 2004).