Chapter XV · Utilities

ARTICLE 4. SOLID WASTE

Sections 15-401 to 15-418 · 18 sections

15-401 City to collect all refuse.

From and after the effective date of this article, the city shall provide facilities for the systematic collection and disposal of refuse, as defined herein, from all households, commercial establishments and other premises within the city at such times and in the manner hereinafter provided. The city by its duly authorized officers, agents and employees shall have the exclusive right to collect and dispose of all refuse produced within the city limits, except as otherwise provided herein.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-402 Definition of garbage, trash and refuse.

(a)Garbage shall be defined as every accumulation of animal or vegetable matter likely to decay or usually discarded as waste matter from kitchens, dining rooms, hotels, restaurants, boarding houses and dwelling houses and units of every kind, and shall include such waste animal or vegetable matter from public institutions, businesses, stores, markets or other establishments.

(b)Trash shall be defined as any accumulation of broken or discarded boxes, glass, metal and plastic vessels or containers, paper, iron or other metal, clothes, rubbish, and such other similar waste matter, not containing garbage as defined above, usually discarded by business establishments or occupants of dwelling units or living quarters.

(c)Refuse shall be defined as any combination of trash and garbage as defined above, but refuse shall not include wash rack residue, earth and wastes from building operation, liquid and solid wastes resulting from industrial processes and manufacturing operations, tree trimmings, logs, tree trunks and stumps. Disposal of such materials and wastes shall be made in such manner as may be approved by the city council, or, at the discretion of the city council in each instance, by use of the city sanitation service facilities for a service charge to be established by the city council or by agreement between the application for such service and the city council.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-403 Responsibility of owners and tenants of premises; containers.

(a)It is hereby made the duty of every owner, occupant, tenant or lessee occupying a business establishment, dwelling house or apartment, and every person in charge of a hotel or other living quarters in the city to utilize city owned refuse containers. Refuse which is not set out in an approved city owned container will not be picked up.

(b)Trash or refuse containers for commercial establishments shall have lids and shall be kept covered at all times.

(c)All surplus water shall be drained from garbage and all garbage shall be deposited in plastic trash bags, before depositing the same in the receptacle.

(d)All refuse containers shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary manner by the user thereof, and the city reserves the right to require the cleaning of any container found to be unclean or unsanitary, at the owner’s expense.

(e)Poly-carts are issued to individual customers by serial number. No container assigned to any residence, business or commercial establishment shall be moved to any other site, without the written permission of the city superintendent, and any refuse deposited therein without approval for moving, shall not be collected by the city.

(f)Duties and responsibilities of utilizing city owned poly-carts shall include the following:

(1)Maintain the approved container or containers assigned to each in a clean and sanitary manner.

(2)Refrain from injuring, damaging, mutilating, defacing, destroying or substantially impairing the use of the container or containers; and,

(3)Drain all excess liquid from the poly-cart as necessitates, and place all refuse, garbage and trash in plastic bags before placing in the poly-cart.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-404 Location of containers.

The city reserves the right to designate the location of refuse containers to be placed on each premises. On the day designated for the collection of refuse, such containers shall be placed as close as practical to the street, unless an alternate location is approved by the city superintendent, due to the nature of the pickup. After any container has been emptied, the person or persons responsible for such container shall return the container to a location which shall be concealed form the street.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-405 Collection of refuse.

The city shall establish routes and schedule times for the collection of refuse within the city for the orderly and systematic collection thereof, which routes and schedules may be changed from time to time as the city may deem necessary or desirable for the efficient operation of the service.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-406 Private collection.

It shall be unlawful for any person to collect or transport any garbage or trash, through, over or across the streets or alleys of the city, except those contracted with or employed by the city for the conduct of the sanitation services provided by this article, or those authorized by the city sanitation officer; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be construed to prevent a person from hauling or disposing of refuse that the city does not take; provided it does not endanger the public health or safety, does not annoy the public, does not litter the streets and alleys of the city, and that disposal thereof is not made within the city limits or upon the landfill dump grounds used by the city.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-407 Disposal of refuse.

It shall be unlawful for any person to deposit, throw, place or leave any refuse upon any property in the city, public or private, including the premises which he or she may own or occupy and the streets, alleys or public ways adjacent to such premises, except in the container or containers herein required, or otherwise provided by the city for such purposes.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-408 Brush pickup.

Brush is described as tree, bushes, and garden trimmings that have fallen from, or are trimmed from in order to shape the tree or bush. They shall be no longer than ten feet in length. Fees shall be set by resolution of the city council. A certified copy of the resolution shall be maintained in the office of the city clerk. The clerk, or the clerk’s designee, shall provide a copy of the resolution to any person requiring or requesting fee information. The city will not pick up any part of trees which have been cut down by a commercial tree trimmer. Trees shall be no longer than ten feet in length. Trees cut by the property owner will be picked up by the city, however all branches must have been removed from the trunks; tree trunks must not be more than ten feet in length. Fees for removal of brush will be determined in a separate ordinance.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4; Code 2003; Code 2013)

15-409 Brush site.

The city provides a brush site for customers to haul their brush and leaves to. The site is open at times convenient to the general population, those times being established by city policy. There is no fee required for hauling your own brush to this site.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-410 Construction and demolition dumpster.

The city does not pickup items such as rocks, cement, car parts, construction and demolition materials, and similar like items. The city does, however, provide a dumpster at the brush site that customers’ may utilize for a fee. The fees and operation of the site are established by city policy.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-411 Special refuse pick-up.

The city sets special days aside for the pick-up of old furniture, appliances, rugs, and several other junk type items. The pick-up is provided on a weekly basis at no additional charge to the customers of the city. The times are established by city policy.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-412 Clean-up week.

Annually the city sets a spring and on occasion a fall clean-up week to pick up most items customers may want to get rid of. The details are established by city policy.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-413 Compost site.

The city maintains a compost pile at the brush site. Leaves and grass trimmings may be picked up by city personnel for a fee as set out by city policy, or they may take them to the site themselves during times of operation, such time set by policy. Compost is available to all city residents free of charge.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-414 Trash fires.

No person shall within the corporate limits of the city permit any trash fires at any time; provided, that permission may be granted at the discretion of the fire chief for the burning of leaves and grass during a specified time in the fall and spring, and for other approved situations, with specific details to be set out by policy; provided further that permission may be granted for the burning of industrial wastes under conditions prescribed by the city council.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-415 Service fees.

Sanitation service shall be rendered to residents, businesses, and public entities of the city for the following charges to be paid monthly to the city as herein provided:

(a)Residential. Each single family residence or residential unit for collection and disposal of refuse:

Street pick-up, once a week - $15.81

Carty out service, once a week - $19.10

Persons with more than one poly-cart, shall be charged the full rate per poly-cart.

(b)Sanitation service shall be rendered to commercial and business establishments, for the collection of trash only, (1-95 gallon poly-cart) at the following rates; based on frequency of collection and compressed volume less than 1/2 cubic yard:

Once a week - $18.80

Twice a week - $27.91

Three times a week - $37.03

Four times a week - $46.14

Daily - $55.26

(c)For collection of refuse from commercial or business establishments, poly-cart service (2-95 gallon carts), based on frequency of collection, and compressed volume less than 1 cubic yard:

Once a week - $33.11

Twice a week - $48.87

Three times a week - $64.63

Four times a week - $80.39

Daily - $96.15

Dumpsters shall be required at any location if refuse exceeds the volume of two poly-carts on a regular basis.

(d)For collection of refuse from homes where a home occupation is located the residence will be charged one-half of the normal residential rate, and in addition they will be charged the appropriate commercial rate based on the rates set out in (b), (c) and/or (e).

(e)For collection of refuse from commercial or business establishments, dumpster service, rates are based on frequency of collection, compressed volume, and number of dumpsters. Rates below are established for the first dumpster at 100% and for each additional dumpster at 50% of the rates listed below.

	100%
Once a week:
1 cubic yard	$47.72
2 cubic yards	$70.42
3 cubic yards	$93.18
Twice a week:
1 cubic yard	$64.09
2 cubic yards	$90.75
3 cubic yards	$114.62
Three times a week:
1 cubic yard	$82.86
2 cubic yards	$108.28
3 cubic yards	$136.05
Four times a week
1 cubic yard	$96.82
2 cubic yards	$127.24
3 cubic yards	$157.55
Daily
1 cubic yard	$113.24
2 cubic yards	$146.20
3 cubic yards	$179.10

(f)In exceptional cases due to unusual circumstances, or due to the character of the thing or things to be removed, special rates applicable to the collection of trash or refuse from such premises may be established by the city council for sanitation service.

(g)Sanitation service may be furnished, at the discretion of the city superintendent in each instance, to persons residing outside the city limits, to whom the city furnishes water, or who reside along the direct route followed by the truck or trucks carrying refuse to the landfill, once weekly, at the monthly rate of $21.17.

(h)Sanitation service may be furnished, at the discretion of the city superintendent in each instance, to commercial establishments outside the city limits, to whom the city furnishes water, or who reside along the direct route followed by the truck or trucks carrying refuse to the landfill, once weekly, at 150% of the charges set out for commercial customers as stated in subsection (b), (c) and (e). Home occupations located within a residence outside of the city, would be 150% of the charges set out for home occupations under subsection (d).

(i)The city may make such changes, from time to time, in the rates and charges for the sanitation service as may be necessary or desirable to defray the expenses of providing and improving the service to the inhabitants of the city.

(j)Persons over the age of 65, or those with a disability which does not allow them to carry the refuse to the street, may apply for a waiver through the City Clerk. They must provide a doctor’s certification stating they are physically unable to carry their trash to the street, and if necessary, must show proof they are financially unable to pay the additional fee for pickup at their residence, rather than taking it to the street. Those meeting both criteria will receive pickup at their residence for the same fee as the once a week pickup at the street, $15.81.

(k)All residents shall utilize city issued poly-carts, including refuse from any home occupation that is conducted at their home.

(l)All commercial operations shall utilize either city issued poly-carts or city issued dumpsters, based on the amount of refuse generated on a regular basis. The city has the right to upgrade the number of poly-carts or size of dumpster(s) needed, if refuse exceeds what the current containers can hold when it has occurred more than two consecutive weeks.

(Ord. 1124; Ord. 1204; Ord. 1340; Ord. 1469)

15-416 Sanitation charges; exemptions.

(a)No service charge shall be made, or service rendered, to any person having no garbage, trash or refuse upon any premises owned, occupied or used by such person but every residential unit and every commercial or business establishment shall be presumed to have garbage, trash or refuse until proof to the contrary is furnished to the city clerk, who may require the claim of exemption to be in writing and signed by the applicant for such exemption.

(b)It shall be unlawful for any person to place, or cause to be placed, garbage, trash or refuse upon the premises of another to avoid the use of the sanitation service provided by the city and payment of the charges for such service, or to make any false statement or resort to any subterfuge to avoid payment of such charges, or to aid another to avoid the use of the sanitation service or payment of the charges therefor, when such person is subject to the payment thereof.

(c)No charges shall be made for the collection of refuse or trash from the public parks and public recreational facilities of the city, or from special receptacles for refuse or trash provided by the city at selected locations within the city limits, or from premises used by any department of the city.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-417 Sanitation charges; billings; collection; failure to pay when due.

The charges hereinabove required to be paid shall be billed monthly. The city clerk shall bill the sanitation service charges along with the monthly water bill and the same shall be due and payable at the time the water bill is payable. The sanitation charges and the charges for the water services shall be and constitute one debt to the city, and the refusal of any customer to pay any part of such debt shall be cause for discontinuing the water service to any customer, upon his or her failure to pay the charge made for sanitation services rendered.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)

15-418 Creation of separate fund.

The revenue obtained and collected by the provisions of this article may be deposited in what shall hereafter be known and designated as the Refuse Fund. Such fund shall be used for the operation and maintenance of the city-wide collection system and any other expenses which may be incurred in the sanitation program. All excess monies over two months average expenses shall be transferred from the refuse fund to the surplus refuse account.

(Ord. 1030, Sec. 4)