Chapter 12.40
BIOSOLID COMPOSTING AND
GREEN WASTE COLLECTION
Sections:
12.40.020 Program established.
12.40.030 Green yard waste – Punch card required.
12.40.040 Bulk green waste – Punch card required.
12.40.050 Brush/brown yard waste – Punch card required.
12.40.060 Bulk brush/brown waste – Punch card required.
12.40.070 General organic material – Acceptance and billing.
12.40.080 Biosolids/septage – Acceptance and billing.
12.40.090 Water treatment sludge – Acceptance and billing.
12.40.100 Compost material collection – Quality control.
12.40.110 Hours of operation – Timing of acceptance.
12.40.120 Sale of finished compost.
12.40.130 Collection of funds – Punch cards and finished compost.
12.40.140 Exemption for town-sponsored events.
12.40.010 Definitions.
The following definitions are adopted for this chapter:
(1) “Biosolids” shall mean the solid and semisolid byproduct of a wastewater treatment facility.
(2) “Brush/brown yard waste” shall mean brush, limbs, and woody material obtained from pruning of residential properties which must be chipped prior to composting and is transported in trash containers.
(3) “Bulk brush/brown waste” shall mean brush, limbs, and woody material obtained from pruning which must be chipped prior to composting in quantities normally greater than 10 cubic yards.
(4) “Bulk green waste” shall mean grass, leaves, fruits, vegetable matter, and other soft green waste in quantities normally greater than 10 cubic yards.
(5) “Compostable material” shall mean any suitable green waste (yard or bulk), brush/brown waste (yard or bulk), biosolids, dewatered cake material, or general organic material.
(6) “Compost facility” shall mean the biosolid composting operation of the town of La Conner located at the town’s wastewater treatment facility.
(7) “Dewatered cake material” shall mean a municipal biosolid material that has been dewatered to greater than 10 percent solid content.
(8) “Finished compost” shall be the end product of the biosolid composting program.
(9) “General organic material” shall mean other compostable matter such as grocery store waste, restaurant vegetative food waste, agricultural vegetative matter or other material deemed acceptable for composting.
(10) “Green yard waste” shall mean grass clippings, fruits, vegetables, sod, and other soft green waste from residential properties which does not need to be chipped prior to composting and is transported in trash containers.
(11) “Punch card” shall mean a card supplied by and obtained from the town of La Conner for the purpose of green and brown compostable waste disposal.
(12) “Trash container/can” shall mean a standard 32-gallon or smaller garbage can. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.020 Program established.
A biosolid composting and green waste collection program is established under the direction of the sewer department. The department will be responsible for the acceptance of green waste, monitoring of punch card usage, billing for certain delivered bulk items, composting of biosolids and the sale of finished biosolid compost. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.030 Green yard waste – Punch card required.
Green yard waste shall be accepted from La Conner sewer service area residents who have obtained a punch card from Town Hall for this purpose. The punch card shall carry a fee of $10.00 and shall entitle the bearer to deliver up to 10 trash containers/cans of green yard waste. The cards will be punched upon delivery of the green yard waste to the compost facility with one punch for every trash container, or portion thereof. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.040 Bulk green waste – Punch card required.
Bulk green waste shall be accepted at the rate of $4.00 per cubic yard for quantities less than or equal to 10 cubic yards and at a rate of $3.00 per cubic yard for quantities greater than 10 cubic yards. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.050 Brush/brown yard waste – Punch card required.
Brush/brown yard waste shall be accepted from La Conner sewer service area residents who have obtained a punch card from Town Hall for this purpose. The punch card shall carry a fee of $10.00 and shall entitle the bearer to deliver up to 10 trash containers/cans of brush/brown yard waste. The cards will be punched upon delivery of the brush/brown yard waste to the compost facility with one punch for every trash container, or portion thereof. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.060 Bulk brush/brown waste – Punch card required.
Bulk brush/brown waste shall be accepted at the rate of $3.00 per cubic yard if delivered in chipped form and at a rate of $4.00 per cubic yard if delivered unchipped. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.070 General organic material – Acceptance and billing.
General organic matter shall be accepted at the discretion of the compost facility operator at the rate of $30.00 per cubic yard. The compost facility operator shall bill for the acceptance of this material with payment due within 30 days of acceptance. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.080 Biosolids/septage – Acceptance and billing.
Biosolids and/or septage may be accepted at the discretion of the compost facility operator. [Ord. 1223 § 3, 2023; Ord. 1220 § 3, 2022; Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.090 Water treatment sludge – Acceptance and billing.
Sludge material from municipal water treatment facilities may be accepted at the discretion of the compost facility operator. This material shall be billed at a rate of $0.03 per gallon delivered to the composting facility. The compost facility operator shall provide billing information to Town Hall in a timely manner. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.100 Compost material collection – Quality control.
The acceptance of any compostable material shall be at the total discretion of the compost facility operator. The suitability of the material, the quality of the material, and the need for composting material shall be determined by the compost facility operator and the ability to refuse acceptance shall be within the authority of the operator. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.110 Hours of operation – Timing of acceptance.
The hours which the composting facility shall be open and accept compostable material shall be determined by the compost facility operator. The operator shall establish hours of operation and may vary these hours at their discretion. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.120 Sale of finished compost.
(1) Unscreened Compost.
(a) The finished compost shall be sold by the cubic yard. The fee for finished compost in loads less than 10 cubic yards shall be $10.00 per cubic yard.
(b) The fee for finished compost in loads greater than 10 cubic yards shall be $5.00 per cubic yard.
(c) The fee for finished compost in loads greater than 20 cubic yards shall be at a per yard price as negotiated by the mayor or his designee. It shall be the responsibility of the compost facility operator to bill for the sale of finished compost.
(2) Screened Compost.
(a) Purchases of compost less than 10 yards shall be sold at $13.00 per yard.
(b) Purchases of compost between 11 yards and 20 yards shall be sold at $9.00 per yard.
(c) The fee for finished compost in loads greater than 20 cubic yards shall be at a per yard price as negotiated by the mayor or his designee. It shall be the responsibility of the compost facility operator to bill for the sale of finished compost. [Ord. 1049 § 1, 2010; Ord. 1047 § 1, 2010; Ord. 761 § 1, 2000; Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.130 Collection of funds – Punch cards and finished compost.
The collection of all funds associated with the composting operation, including but not limited to, the sale of punch cards, acceptance of compostable material not associated with a punch card, and the sale of finished compost shall be performed at Town Hall. No funds related to the operation of the compost facility shall be collected, handled, transferred, or submitted by the compost facility operator. Any billing statements generated by the compost facility operator shall be forwarded to Town Hall for disposition. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]
12.40.140 Exemption for town-sponsored events.
To the extent that the town of La Conner establishes spring cleanup events or other similar activities for its residents, the fees contained herein may be temporarily waived through the action of the town council. [Ord. 727 § 1, 1998.]