CHAPTER 15 SOLID WASTE* ---------- *Cross reference(s)--utilities, ch. 19. State law reference(s)--solid waste disposal act, V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code 361.001 et seq.; municipal solid waste, V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code 363.001 et seq. ---------- Sec. 15-1. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the respective meanings ascribed to them: (1) Collector shall mean the city or any person the city has contracted with to provide the collection service. (2) Dry kitchen refuse shall mean the solids after the liquid or slop has been drained off. (3) Kitchen garbage shall mean dry kitchen refuse, all meat, vegetable and fruit refuse, small dead animals and dead fowl, from any premises within the city. (4) Premises shall mean business houses, boardinghouses, offices, theaters, hotels, restaurants, cafes, tourist camps, apartments, rooming houses, hospitals, schools, private residences, vacant lots and all other places within the city where garbage, trash, or rubbish accumulates in ordinary quantities. (5) Rubbish shall mean tin cans, bottles, glass, scraps of iron, tin wire or any other metals, from any premises within the city. (6) Trash shall mean paper of all kinds, rags, old clothing, paper containers, old rubber, pieces of wood, boxes, barrels, crates, feathers, weeds, grass and tree limbs from any premises within the city. (Code 1977, 19-70) Cross reference(s)--definitions and rules of construction generally, 1-2. Χη. Πγ. 1
Sec. 15-2. Receptacles--Specifications; placement for emptying. (a) Garbage. It shall be the duty of every person owning, managing, operating, leasing or renting any premises, or any place where kitchen garbage accumulates, to provide a portable garbage can constructed of galvanized iron, tin, plastic, or other suitable material, with two (2) handles, and a tight-fitting cover, of a capacity not less than five (5) gallons nor more than thirty (30) gallons. The daily accumulation of kitchen garbage and dry kitchen refuse shall be placed in the garbage can. (b) Trash. It shall also be the duty of every person owning, managing, operating, leasing or renting any premises to place all trash and rubbish from the premises in boxes or sacks or other receptacles of reasonable size, provided the gross weight shall not exceed fifty (50) pounds. (c) Placing. Garbage cans, boxes or sacks of trash and rubbish shall be placed at the front curb of residence for pickup. (Code 1977, 19-70) Sec. 15-3. Same--Condition; protection of contents. Garbage cans shall be kept in a sanitary condition and the lids or covers of such garbage cans shall at all times, except when placing garbage therein or emptying garbage therefrom, be kept on and fastened so that flies and other insects may not have access to the refuse contained therein. The contents of all receptacles shall be so protected that the wind cannot blow out and scatter same over the streets, alleys and premises in the city. (Code 1977, 19-72) Sec. 15-4. Same--Use required; location. The placing of kitchen garbage, trash or rubbish or any article, thing or materials in any street or alley within the city is prohibited. Garbage cans must be kept inside property lines except on collection days. (Code 1977, 19-73) Χη. Πγ. 2
Sec. 15-5. Same--Pilfering, scattering contents. The meddling with garbage cans, or trash or rubbish receptacles or in any way pilfering or scattering the contents on or in any public place or private premises within the city is prohibited. (Code 1977, 19-74) Sec. 15-6. Disposal, collection of tree limbs, brush, leaves, grass. (a) In addition to the regular garbage pickups provided for under other ordinances of the city the collector will pick up on regular garbage pickup days as determined from time to time by the city manager, in addition to garbage placed in permanent containers as provided for in section 15-2, a maximum of three (3) items bundled or placed in nonpermanent containers in any combination of the following two (2) categories: (1) Twigs and limbs, not to exceed thirty (30) inches in length nor one (1) inch in diameter, tied into compact bundles, each of which shall weigh no more than thirty (30) pounds; and/or (2) Leaves and grass, placed in and firmly secured in plastic trash bags or other disposable containers, with each such item not to exceed fifty (50) pounds in weight, including the container. (b) Brush and limbs, except as provided above, shall not be picked up unless same are cut up in lengths not to exceed four (4) feet and secured in compact bundles not to exceed fifty (50) pounds in weight per bundle. Such brush and limbs together with leaves and grass, except to the extent same is covered by subsection (a) above, shall be picked up only under one (1) of the three (3) following circumstances: (1) The collector shall provide two (2) free annual pickups of such materials to each garbage patron not to exceed one (1) truck load per pickup, with one (1) such pickup to occur in the spring and one (1) in the fall of each year as announced in advance by the city manager. All garbage patrons will be notified in advance as to when such pickups will be made, and the collector will be covered only once, with no pickups being made except in the regular order of covering as announced by the city; (2) The collector shall pick up such materials at all other times from garbage patrons at a charge which is on file in the city Χη. Πγ. 3
secretary's office or any part of a load, payable in advance at the city hall; and/or (3) The collector shall park a truck overnight on the private property of any garbage patron upon request, subject to availability, for a fee of which is on file in the city secretary's office payable in advance. The collector will remove the truck at 8:00 a.m. of the next following business day, together with any brush, limbs, leaves and/or grass which may have been placed on the truck by that time. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit placement of such materials by more than one (1) garbage patron on any single occasion. (c) In no event shall any building material of any kind, scrap metal, appliances or tires be picked up by the collector. It shall be unlawful for any such material, or any limbs, brush, leaves or grass to be placed in the city rights-of-way for longer than twenty-four (24) consecutive hours. (Code 1977, 19-74.1; Ord. No. 362, 2(b), 11-10-86) Sec. 15-7. Materials to be disposed of by special request. Heavy dead animals, such as cows, horses and mules, and heavy accumulations such as brick, broken concrete, lumber, ashes, clinkers, cinders, dirt and plaster, sand and gravel, automobile frames, dead trees and other bulky heavy materials shall be disposed of by special request to the collector and at the expense of the owner or person controlling same. Manure from cow lots, horse stables, poultry yards, and pigeon lofts, and waste oils from garages or filling stations shall be disposed of by special request to the collector and at the expense of the party responsible for the same. (Code 1977, 19-76) Sec. 15-8. Failure to comply; no pickup. The collector will not make collection of kitchen garbage, trash or rubbish or tree limbs, where same is not prepared and placed for collection as provided by the terms of this article. Failure to comply with this provision will be an offense and each day's failure to comply will constitute a separate offense. (Code 1977, 19-75) Χη. Πγ. 4
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Sec. 15-9. Service rates. The rates to be charged by the city for the collection of garbage within the city shall be as on file in the city secretary's office. (Code 1977, 19-77) Sec. 15-10. Billing. (a) The charges and billing procedure for the removal and disposal of all garbage, trash or rubbish shall be on file in the city secretary's office. (b) If any person, owner, occupant or lessee of any place of abode or of any place of business fails or refuses to pay the charges when due, the collector shall be authorized to cut off and discontinue garbage pickup service until such fees have been paid in full. (Code 1977, 19-79) Sec. 15-11. Same--Credit for vacancy. No credit will be given to any person, owner, occupant or lessee of any residence or place of business for vacancy thereof unless the city is notified by such person, owner, occupant or lessee within five (5) days after such property is vacated. Such notice shall be given to the city secretary at the city hall. If no notice is given to the city secretary within five (5) days after such property is vacated, credit will only be given from the date of the nearest billing period after such notice is given to the city secretary. (Code 1977, 19-80) Sec. 15-12. Disposal of garbage, trash, rubbish. The disposal of kitchen garbage, trash or any kind of rubbish in any place within the city, except as provided in this chapter, is prohibited. (Code 1977, 19-81) Sec. 15-13. Security Deposits Each patron of the City's utility system requesting the use of a dumpster and Χη. Πγ. 6
prior to the commencement of providing such service to the patron, pay to the city utility department a security deposit which is on file in the City Secretary's office. The deposit shall be kept and maintained by the utility department. The balance of the deposit, less any amount owing by that patron to the city for any city utility service shall be refunded to the patron upon termination of such service. Nothing herein shall be construed to require an increase in security deposits paid by utility patrons prior to the effective date of this section, but once such patron s utility service has been terminated under the provisions of this chapter any reconnection of service shall be contingent upon paying the then current security deposits. (Ord. No. 422, 6, 9/27/93) Χη. Πγ. 7