Chapter 8.16
GARBAGE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL
Sections:
8.16.010 Compliance required--Mandatory collection.
8.16.050 Disposal of other materials.
8.16.060 Who may collect and dispose of garbage--Nonresidential collection license.
8.16.100 Payment of charges and fees.
8.16.120 Liability for damage to containers.
8.16.140 Rules and regulations.
8.16.010 Compliance required--Mandatory collection.
It is unlawful for any person to dispose of any garbage, rubbish or commercial refuse within the city except as provided in this chapter. Garbage, rubbish and recyclable materials shall be disposed of and collected from each single-family dwelling or duplex a minimum of once per week. Commercial refuse shall be disposed of and collected from each commercial establishment a minimum of once per week. Nothing herein shall prevent a person from delivering his/her recyclable materials to a recycling center, or from delivering his/her garbage or rubbish to a county landfill. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.020 Definitions.
As used in this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
A. “Commercial refuse” means all solid wastes which originate in businesses, office buildings, stores, markets, theaters, housing complexes, multiple-family dwellings with three or more units, fruit processor or warehouse buildings, and other commercial buildings. Commercial refuse may be classified as either “garbage” or “rubbish.”
B. “Contractor” means the party with whom the city has contracted to provide garbage collection and recycling pick-up services.
C. “Garbage” means all putrescible animal, fish, food, fowl, fruit, grain or vegetable matter resulting from the preparation, storage, handling, decay or use thereof, and all organic waste.
D. “Recyclable material” means all material which would otherwise be defined as garbage or rubbish, but which meet any of the following criteria:
1. Material required to be recycled under state, federal or county law;
2. Clear glass, aluminum cans and newspaper.
E. “Rubbish” means all sweepings, cleanings, trash, litter, tin cans, broken crockery, glassware, wastepaper, leaves, waste building materials, containers, bottles, ashes, cast-off clothing, yard trimmings, grass, metal, wire, tree branches not over five feet in length tied in bundles, and all other nonputrescible or other discarded material or debris. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.030 Containers.
No commercial refuse, garbage, rubbish, or recyclable material shall be disposed within the city except by depositing same into a privately owned thirty-gallon container, a container provided by the contractor, which shall be a three-piece stackable recycling bin set or a toter of either sixty-gallon or ninety-gallon size, or such other container that may be provided by the contractor. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a person may deliver his/her recyclable materials to a recycling center, or may deliver his/her garbage or rubbish to a county landfill.
A. Recyclable materials shall be separated and deposited into the appropriate bin according to the label thereon. Recyclable materials shall not be deposited into any container other than the proper recycling bin.
B. The recycling bins and toters shall be placed at the appropriate pick-up site on the schedule established by the contractor. Pick-up sites shall be at curbside or in the alley, as designated by the contractor. However, the contractor shall collect the recycling bins and toters from the doorstep (or similar location) of any resident known to the contractor to have significant physical difficulty in placing the bins or toters at curbside. The one-and-one-half-yard and two-yard bins shall be placed on a hard level surface, i.e., either blacktop or cement, which has a minimum width of four feet, a minimum length of seven feet and a minimum thickness of two inches.
C. The lids on all containers shall be kept closed at all times except when being filled or emptied. Containers shall not be filled above the top edge thereof. For each container filled above its top edge, there shall be an additional charge for a container of the same size.
D. Yard waste shall not be placed into plastic bags, except as may be desired by a resident for the purpose of transporting yard waste from a yard to the container, whereupon the contents of the plastic bag shall be emptied into the container. Yard waste includes soil, grass clippings, leaves, weeds, trimmings from plants, trees and bushes, and other plant or vegetable matter.
E. Commercial refuse, rubbish, garbage, recyclable materials and other waste matter shall not be thrown, littered or placed on any premises, street or alley, public or private property, or allowed to remain or accumulate thereon by the owner, occupant or person in control of such premises, and shall not be deposited into a container on premises owned or controlled by someone else without prior consent.
F. Tree branches shall not exceed five feet in length and shall be securely tied in bundles. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.040 Dead animals.
Except for culinary purposes, no person shall permit the carcass of any dead animal, bird, fowl or fish owned or kept by him to remain within the city limits for more than twenty-four hours after the discovery of the death thereof. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.050 Disposal of other materials.
Waste matter other than commercial refuse, rubbish, garbage and recyclable materials, as defined herein, shall be transported and disposed of outside the city limits by or at the expense of the owner, occupant or person in charge of the premises where such waste matter shall be located, to and at such public dump site as may be authorized by the board of commissioners for Yakima County. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.060 Who may collect and dispose of garbage--Nonresidential collection license.
No person, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity shall collect, transport or dispose of commercial refuse, rubbish, garbage or recyclable materials other than the contractor, without such business license as may be required by ordinance, payment of such costs and fees as may be required by ordinance, and compliance with the regulations and ordinances of the city pertaining to such business; provided, that such business license shall only be for commercial nonresidential garbage collection and hauling purposes and only to the extent that the city’s contractor’s garbage collection services are unable to handle such commercial nonresidential collection and hauling; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent a person from delivering his/her own recyclable materials to a recycling center, or from delivering his/her own garbage or rubbish to a county landfill. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.070 Burning prohibited.
It is unlawful for any person to burn commercial refuse, rubbish, garbage or recyclable materials or other waste matter except in compliance with all applicable ordinances, laws and regulations of the city, county and state, including but not limited to a burn permit. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.080 Charges and fees.
The rates are to be billed monthly by the city and paid by the residents and customers of the city for the services rendered by the contractor shall be as follows:
There will be two parts to the fee: the contractor charges and the administrative rate. The contractor charges will be set by contract adopted by the city council. The administrative fee is the additional rate that the city charges to cover billing costs. The fee resolution to be passed periodically by the city council shall approve the contractor charges and set the administrative fee. (Ord. 1141 §2, 2006: Ord. 1112 §1, 2003: Ord. 1104 §1, 2003: Ord. 1034 §1, 1997: Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.090 Discounts for elderly low-income residents.
Repealed by Ord. 1115. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.100 Payment of charges and fees.
All fees billed by the city for services rendered by the contractor shall be paid by the person liable therefor on or before the twentieth day of each month following the date of billing, and if not paid shall become delinquent after the first day of the month following the due date. Said fees shall be paid regardless of actual usage of the service, unless a written request for temporary discontinuance of service for six months or less has previously been filed with the city clerk. Service may be suspended for nonpayment; provided, however, that suspension shall not relieve the debtor from compliance with the provisions of this chapter. All delinquent charges shall become a lien against the property at which the service has been rendered. Such lien shall become effective upon filing a notice thereof with the Yakima County auditor, which notice shall specify the charges past due, the period of time covered by the past due charges, and the street address and legal description of the property subject to the lien. Such liens shall be foreclosed in the manner and within the time prescribed by the laws of the state of Washington pertaining to the foreclosing of liens for materials. Such liens shall be prior to any and all liens and encumbrances filed subsequent to the filing of such lien notice, but shall be subject to all general taxes and local improvement assessments whether levied prior or subsequent thereto. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.110 Deposits.
Advance deposits of one hundred twenty-five dollars shall be required from all temporary customers who require garbage services, including but not limited to carnivals, circuses, fairs and sponsors of short-term activities such as baseball tournaments. The deposit shall be applied to the actual charges for garbage services, and upon conclusion of such services the city shall withhold from the deposit the amount necessary to pay the charges incurred, and the balance of the deposit shall be refunded. If the amount of the deposit is not enough to pay for services rendered, the entire deposit shall be applied to the charges and the depositing party shall be responsible for the unpaid balance, plus interest thereon from the date of billing until paid in full, and plus court costs and attorney fees, if any are incurred by the city in collecting the unpaid balance. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.120 Liability for damage to containers.
The user shall be responsible for damages to or theft of garbage containers caused by acts of the user, and shall reimburse the contractor for the costs of repairs or replacements, which costs shall be added to the monthly billing by the city clerk/treasurer upon receipt of a verified statement therefor from the contractor. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.130 Change of service.
Any residential or commercial customer may request a change of service, except that such requests shall not be made more frequently than at ninety-day intervals between actual changes of service. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.140 Rules and regulations.
The mayor and city council are authorized to establish, from time to time, such rules and regulations pertaining to the collection and disposal of garbage, rubbish, recyclable materials or commercial refuse as they may deem advisable to implement the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)
8.16.150 Violation--Penalty.
Any person convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in jail for no more than ninety days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. (Ord. 965 §2(part), 1994)