Chapter 8.12
GARBAGE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL1
Sections:
8.12.025 Unlawful garbage or refuse disposal.
8.12.030 Container requirements.
8.12.040 Unlawful garbage hauling.
8.12.045 Materials requiring special disposal, handling, equipment, or other precautions.
8.12.060 Unlawful disposal container use.
8.12.065 Litter prohibited and use of litter receptacles.
8.12.090 Enforcement, violations and penalties.
8.12.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to make the collection and disposal of garbage in the city universal, fair and compulsory, to encourage recycling and to prevent litter. (Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014; Ord. 17-98 § 3, 1998).
8.12.020 Definitions.
As used in this chapter unless the context indicates otherwise:
“Commercial” means any establishment or business which is not residential in nature. This would include hotels/motels, churches, nonprofit organizations, federal, state and local government-owned facilities.
“Contractor” means the company with which the city has contracted to collect, haul or dispose of solid waste.
“Disposal container” means all garbage containers, including cans and dumpsters.
“Garbage and refuse” means all waste and discarded materials from dwellings, flats, rooming houses, apartment houses, clubs, restaurants, boardinghouses, eating places, shops and places of business, including rubbish and debris, waste and discarded food, animal and vegetable matter, brush, grass, weeds, wastepaper, cans, glass, ashes, night soil, offal, boxes, and cuttings from trees, lawns and gardens. “Waste” shall not include materials subject to manufacture into by-products.
“Hazardous or dangerous wastes” means any solid waste designated as dangerous or hazardous waste by the State Department of Ecology under Chapters 70.105 and 70.105A RCW.
“Litter” means all waste material including but not limited to disposable packages or containers thrown or deposited as herein prohibited but not including the wastes of the primary processes of mining, logging, sawmilling, fanning or manufacturing.
“Litter receptacles” means a city-owned receptacle placed in the public right-of-way adjacent to a sidewalk or trail for the purpose of depositing litter.
“Micro can” means a 10-gallon garbage container.
“Mini can” means a 20-gallon garbage container.
“Public works director” means the director of public works for the city and authorized employees.
“Putrescible waste” means solid waste which contains material capable of being readily decomposed by microorganisms.
“Recyclable materials” means those solid wastes that are separated for recycling or reuse, such as papers, metals, and glass, that are identified as recyclable material pursuant to a local comprehensive solid waste plan (RCW 70.95.030(15)).
“Recycling drop site” means a site designated by the public works director for the drop-off of paper, including newspaper, cardboard, magazines, catalogues and phone books; cans, including tin and aluminum cans and glass of any color.
“Roadside can” means a standard 32-gallon garbage container.
“Rubbish” means all nonputrescible wastes from all buildings and residences.
“Solid waste” means all putrescible and nonputrescible solid and semisolid wastes including, but not limited to, garbage, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, swill, sewage sludge, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles or parts thereof, and recyclable materials. RCW 70.95.030(22).
“Walk-in” means collection service which includes the garbage collector walking into the residence or business to collect the garbage from a garbage can rather than picking up the can from the designated alley or street pickup location.
“Yard waste” includes leaves, brush, tree trimmings, grass clippings, weeds, shrubs, garden waste and other compostable organic materials resulting from landscape maintenance. Branches or roots must be smaller than four inches in diameter and shorter than four feet in length. Yard waste does not include stumps, demolition wood, large amounts of dirt, rocks, glass, plastics, metal, concrete, sheet rock, asphalt, food or any other nonorganic land-clearing debris. (Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014; Ord. 17-98 § 5, 1998).
8.12.025 Unlawful garbage or refuse disposal.
(1) Compliance with Chapter. It is unlawful for any person to deposit, throw, keep or place, bury, burn, dump, collect, remove, or in any manner dispose of solid waste upon any street, alley, public place or private property within the city except in garbage containers, except that recycling materials may be placed in labeled recycling material containers at a site designated for that purpose by the public works director and litter may be disposed of in litter receptacles as otherwise provided herein.
(2) Composting Allowed. Yard debris, ashes, and other organic debris may be composted on private premises provided the compost site is maintained so as not to create odors, expose food waste, allow debris to become scattered, or increase the risk from pests or rodents. Composting any waste that creates a public nuisance or health hazard is prohibited.
(3) Compliance with State Statute. Any outdoor burning must be in compliance with all state laws, including Chapter 70.94 RCW and applicable administrative regulations adopted thereunder, together with any amendments thereto which are hereby adopted by reference.
(4) Burning Restrictions – Permit Required. It is unlawful for any person to burn any type of solid waste materials approved by the state for burning, including brush, grass, leaves, weeds and cuttings from trees, lawns, shrubs, and gardens, upon any street, alley, or public place, and any burning of such materials in outside fireplaces, private incinerators, or in open fires on private property may be done only upon first obtaining a burn permit from the fire chief.
(5) Burial of Solid Wastes. It shall be unlawful to bury solid waste on any land, regardless of ownership, within the city. This provision does not, however, prohibit a person from composting yard wastes on his or her property in compliance with subsection (2) of this section.
(6) Disposal into Water. It is unlawful for any person to dump, throw or otherwise deposit any type of waste into the waters of the city.
(7) Disposal into a Container Owned by Another Person. It shall be unlawful to dispose of refuse or other solid waste by placing such waste into a collection container which another person owns or pays for the use of without that person’s express consent.
(8) Disposal Only into Approved Containers – No Dumping. It shall be unlawful to deposit, throw, or place any refuse or other solid waste in any land, alley, street or other public place, or to deposit, throw or place any refuse or other solid waste on any private property, regardless of ownership, unless the refuse or other solid waste is placed in solid waste cans or solid waste containers, the covers of which shall not be removed except when necessary for the depositing or removing of waste. (Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014; Ord. 17-98 § 7, 1998. Formerly 8.12.030).
8.12.030 Container requirements.
Garbage containers shall be watertight and fly-tight, and shall be sized according to the requirements of the city or its duly authorized collection contractor. The minimum level of service shall be at least a micro can. Such containers shall not be opened except when necessary to place garbage and refuse in such containers or to take same therefrom. When garbage and refuse are placed therein or taken therefrom, such containers shall be closed 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 accumulating grease and decomposing material. Each such container shall be kept in a place accessible to the collection of garbage and refuse.
Large suitable containers for bulk collection of garbage and refuse may, with the approval of the public works director or the city’s duly authorized collection contractor, be used by restaurants, boardinghouses, eating places, apartment houses, schools, parks and in the business districts. (Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014).
8.12.040 Unlawful garbage hauling.
It is unlawful for any person to store, transport, haul, or dispose of garbage except as authorized in this chapter. Occasional hauling by single-family residential customers of garbage to an approved solid waste disposal site is allowed. Such customers shall still be required to pay the applicable charge for garbage collection services. This section shall not apply to the hauling by customers of recyclable material or yard debris to an approved recycling or yard debris disposal site. (Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014; Ord. 17-98 § 9, 1998).
8.12.045 Materials requiring special disposal, handling, equipment, or other precautions.
(1) Conformance to Local, State, and Federal Requirements. All waste which is generated and/or placed for collection and collected within the city for disposal shall be in compliance with the Resource Conservation Recovery Act as amended (42 U.S.C. 6901, et seq.), Chapter 70.95 RCW, Pierce County board of health rules and regulations, the requirements of this chapter, and all other applicable federal, state, and local environmental health laws, rules, or regulations.
(2) Hot Ashes or Other Hot Materials, Dirt, Sand, Rocks, Gasoline, Solvents, Oil, Paint or Dangerous or Hazardous Wastes. No hot ashes or other hot materials, dirt, sand, rocks, gasoline, solvents, oil, paint, or dangerous or hazardous wastes shall be placed in any refuse can or container for collection or removal.
As used in this section, “dangerous or hazardous waste” means any solid waste designated as dangerous or hazardous waste by the State Department of Ecology under Chapters 70.105 and 70.105A RCW. Hauler is not responsible for collecting or disposing of any hazardous or dangerous wastes. The generator of hazardous or dangerous wastes is responsible for disposing of such wastes in compliance with Washington Department of Ecology rules and regulations.
(3) Infectious Wastes. Customers must make special arrangements for the collection of infectious wastes. Such arrangements shall not interfere with the city’s franchise obligations. It is unlawful to deposit infectious wastes into regular refuse containers.
(4) Testing. When a hauler or disposal facility determines that testing and/or analysis of any solid waste is required to determine whether hazardous, prohibited, or other dangerous wastes are present, the actual costs for such testing and/or analysis will be paid by the customer. (Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014).
8.12.060 Unlawful disposal container use.
(1) It is unlawful for anyone other than the owner, or one authorized by him or her, to deposit any material in any garbage can or detached container; and
(2) It is unlawful for any person other than the disposal container owner, except for the purposes of collection as provided in this chapter, to interfere with, willfully damage or deface disposal containers. (Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014; Ord. 17-98 § 12, 1998).
8.12.065 Litter prohibited and use of litter receptacles.
(1) It is unlawful for anyone to throw, drop, deposit, discard or otherwise dispose of litter upon any public place in the city or upon any private property not owned by him or her, or in any waters within the jurisdiction of the city whether from a vehicle or otherwise, including but not limited to any sidewalk, street, alley, highway, or park, except in a litter receptacle or other disposal container in such manner that the litter will be prevented from being carried away or deposited by the elements upon any public or private property.
(2) Litter receptacles placed on sidewalks and other public places shall be used only for such litter material as persons may have for disposal while passing along the street or other public places and in no event shall be used for the disposal of other solid waste accumulated in residences or places of business. Garbage, refuse, swill or trash transported from outside the vicinity of the park or public place and not associated with normal uses of the park or public place shall not be deposited in litter receptacles. (Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014; Ord. 17-98 § 13, 1998).
8.12.070 Payment of fees.
The charges of refuse collection and disposal shall be compulsory.
(1) All charges and/or fees for refuse collection and disposal are due and payable at the office of the city administrator by the fifteenth of every month (due date). If payment is not received within five days of the due date, the account shall become delinquent. On or about the first of every month a notice shall be sent to the customer noting the balance due, including any penalties and interest. After the city sends a notice of delinquency on the account, the customer must pay any delinquent amounts within 15 days or unpaid amounts shall become a lien against the property as authorized under RCW 35.21.130. Any account that has been deemed delinquent shall be assessed a late penalty of five percent of the delinquent amount.
(2) The city administrator is authorized to waive all or any portion of the penalties and interest if the administrator determines that late payment was the result of excusable neglect or extreme hardship. (Ord. 04-19 § 1, 2019; Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014; Ord. 15-10 § 1, 2010; Ord. 05-09 § 1, 2009; Ord. 650 § 8, 1960).
8.12.075 Recycling mandatory.
All single-family residential dwellings, all multifamily residential dwellings, and all commercial establishments within the city shall participate in recycling of solid waste by setting aside recyclable solid waste and depositing it in special containers provided by the city or its solid waste hauling contractor. The recyclables shall be collected by the city’s contractor once every two weeks, or on some other schedule adopted by the city by resolution. (Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014; Ord. 18-93 § 1, 1993; Ord. 11-91 § 1, 1991; Ord. 5-91 § 1, 1991).
8.12.080 Rates designated.
Garbage rates shall be listed within the fees, fines and rate schedule established by resolution of the city council. (Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014; Ord. 13-08 § 4, 2008; Ord. 26-07 § 1, 2007; Ord. 19-06 § 1, 2006; Ord. 27-05 § 1, 2005; Ord. 10-05 § 1, 2005; Ord. 12-99 § 2, 1999).
8.12.090 Enforcement, violations and penalties.
Any person violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this title shall be subject to the notice requirements, enforcement, violations and/or penalty provisions of Chapter 1.12 BMC as well as any remedies concerning abatement authorized by state law. (Ord. 07-14 § 4, 2014; Ord. 17-98 § 15, 1998).
For the statutory provisions regarding the authority of cities and towns to provide for collection and disposal of garbage, see RCW 35.21.120; for provisions enabling towns to require all inhabitants to use the town system and to set the fee, see RCW 35.21.130.