Del Rey Oaks Municipal Code Ch. 8.08 Garbage Collection and Disposal

For the purpose of this chapter and whenever the same are used herein, the following words, terms and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed to them as hereinafter set forth, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning, to-wit:

Garbage means all putrefactive or easily decomposable animal or vegetable matter which is likely to attract flies or rodents and which has no property value, including dead animals of less than ten pounds in weight; the term "garbage" shall likewise include all useless material normally produced in the preparation, cooking and consumption of food, as well as tin cans and other food containers used in conjunction with such preparation.

Garbage collector means an agent or an employee of the city or any person with whom the city shall have duly contracted under the terms hereinafter set out in this chapter to collect and transport garbage and rubbish through, in and from the city.

Person means every natural person, firm, copartnership, association or corporation.

Premises means any dwelling place or residence, rooming house, hotel, club, restaurant, boarding house, eating place, shop and place of business, or any other building, grounds or location, where garbage or rubbish is or may be produced or accumulated, including all sidewalk, curb, gutter and street and alley areas adjacent thereto.

Refuse means and includes all types of waste material such as hereinbefore in this section defined under the heading "garbage," "swill" and "rubbish."

Rubbish means and includes all matters and materials not defined as garbage or swill but which are rejected by the owner or producer thereof as useless, where such matters and materials do not affect the health, comfort, or safety of the community, and shall include, among other matters, all lawn, garden, and tree trimmings and leaves, and similar vegetable matter, and all ashes, house sweepings and similar matter.

Swill means all putrifactive or easily decomposable animal or vegetable matter which is likely to attract flies or rodents and which has a property value.

Swill collector means an agent or an employee of the city or any person with whom the city shall have contracted under the terms hereinafter set out in this chapter to collect and transport swill through, in and from the city.

(Prior code § 8-101)

It is unlawful for any person to place, deposit, keep or bury garbage or swill on, in or under any premises, except in containers as hereinafter provided. It is unlawful for any person to deposit any garbage or swill in any sewer or plumbing fixtures or pipe connected thereto, except through an approved mechanical device which shreds and grinds garbage and swill.

(Prior code § 8-102)

A. It is unlawful for the owner, occupant, or person in charge of any premises to allow the accumulation of any refuse in, on or under any premises, at any time, which is or may become a menace to health and sanitation or a fire hazard.

B. It is unlawful for the owner, occupant, or person in charge of any premises to ever at any time suffer, permit or allow any refuse of any kind to remain in, on or under such premises for a period in excess of seven days. All refuse accumulating from or upon any premises shall be kept in covered galvanized iron or other metal receptacles, as hereinafter provided, except that brush and garden trimmings may be kept in small neat piles as hereinafter provided.

(Prior code § 8-103)

A. It is unlawful for any person to throw, place, scatter, or deposit, or cause to be thrown, placed, scattered or deposited, upon any street, sidewalk, alley, or public place in the city, any handbills, posters, dodgers, advertising paper, papers, sweepings, feathers, hay, straw, grass, weeds, tree and shrub trimmings, glass, crockery, tin, fruit, vegetables, manure, offal, dead animals, debris, swill or any garbage, rubbish or refuse as the term "garbage," "rubbish" and "refuse" are herein defined.

B. This section shall not apply to grass, weeds, leaves, tree and shrub trimmings not over six feet long and six inches in diameter and yard sweepings when placed in suitable receptacles in front of any residence or dwelling by the owner or occupant thereof.

C. Provided further, that it is unlawful for any person to ever at any time place or deposit more than such aforementioned receptacles of rubbish in front of any premises without having first procured prior written approval from the city council. That whenever such approval is given, the person placing or depositing such rubbish upon said city streets shall strictly comply with all requirements of the city clerk in reference thereto.

(Prior code § 8-104)

The city, in order to effectually promote and protect the public health and safety and reduce the danger and hazards of fire and conflagrations, reserves unto itself the exclusive right to collect, transport, haul, and dispose of, or cause to be collected, transported, hauled, and disposed of, all refuse produced or found within the corporate limits of the said city. It is declared to be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to collect, transport, haul, or dispose of any refuse within or from the city, except as in this chapter expressly provided.

(Prior code § 8-105)

It shall be the duty of every owner, tenant, lessee, or occupant of any private dwelling house, or the proprietor, manager, owner or lessee of any hotel, restaurant, cafe, boarding house, eating place, rooming house, or other place of business in the city, to provide a galvanized iron or other metal garbage and rubbish receptacle with cover for the same, for receiving and holding all the garbage and rubbish produced, created and accumulated upon the premises between the time for the collection of garbage and rubbish, as hereinafter provided, and shall deposit all such garbage and rubbish therein, except that certain rubbish of the kind hereinbefore specified may be placed at the street curb in the manner hereinbefore provided. All such receptacles shall be at all times kept in a sanitary condition and shall be located in such place on the premises as to be readily accessible for removing and emptying the same, but shall not be placed within the limits of any street, or other public place, in the city or in such a place or manner as to constitute a nuisance.

(Prior code § 8-106)

It shall be the duty of every proprietor, manager, owner or lessee of any hotel, restaurant, cafe, boarding house, eating place, rooming house, or other place of business or establishment, in the city, where swill is produced or accumulated, to provide a galvanized iron or other metal swill receptacle, with cover of the same, for receiving and holding all the swill produced or accumulated upon the premises between the times for the collection of swill as herein provided, and shall deposit all such swill therein. It is unlawful for any person to place or deposit any glass, metal, or any matter or material not suitable for hog feed in any such receptacle provided for swill.

(Prior code § 8-107)

A. All occupied premises within the city shall have refuse service as herein provided.

B. The collection, removal and disposal of garbage, rubbish and swill may be performed by the city under the direction of the city council, or by any person or persons with whom the city has entered, or may enter into a contract or contracts with, for the collection, removal and disposal thereof. It is declared unlawful for any other person than those above stated to remove, convey or cause to be removed or conveyed, any refuse as hereinabove defined upon or along any street or alley or any other public place in the city without a special written permit as herein provided, except as otherwise in this chapter expressly provided.

(Prior code §§ 8-108, 8-109)

A. The city clerk or other duly authorized representative of the city council designated by the city council, shall visit all premises within the corporate limits of the city from time to time and examine the sanitary condition of said premises to determine whether the provisions of this chapter are complied with. Upon notification by the city, all persons, including the garbage collector and the swill collector, shall comply with all the provisions of this chapter or be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.

B. In all cases of disputes or complaints arising from or concerning the place where receptacles for any kind of refuse shall be placed awaiting removal of their contents, the quantities to be removed, the number of times of removal, and the rates charged, the city clerk shall designate the place, the estimated quantities, the times and manner of removal, and the rates, and his decision shall be final.

(Prior code § 8-110)

A. It is unlawful for any person, in any manner to interfere with the collection, removal or disposal of refuse by the authorized garbage and swill collectors.

B. It is unlawful for any person to burn any refuse of any kind on any street, alley, park, or public place within the corporate limits of the city.

C. It is unlawful for any person to burn any refuse of any kind on any premises within the corporate limits of the city, except as hereinafter in this section provided. Rubbish may be burned on any premises between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. of the same day, and no open fire may be rekindled or started after 1:00 p.m. A permit from the fire department must be obtained each time of burning for an open fire, and an annual permit must be obtained for an incinerator.

(Prior code §§ 8-111, 8-112, 8-113)

All persons occupying multiple dwellings must mark their receptacles so that the ownership thereof will be known.

(Prior code § 8-115)

The city clerk may make a regulation concerning the number and manner of collections of refuse as he may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, but in no case shall collection service less often than once a week be permitted. The time for collection shall be between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. in the residential district and before 10:00 a.m. in the business district.

(Prior code § 8-116)

A. All garbage collected in the city shall be hauled in garbage collecting equipment approved by the city council. Open-bodied trucks may be used for the collection of rubbish; provided, that all garbage or mixed garbage and rubbish shall be hauled only in covered trucks.

B. It is unlawful for any garbage or swill collector to ever at any time suffer, permit, or allow any garbage, rubbish, swill, to be spilled or scattered at any point between the place of collection and the dump to which the same is hauled.

C. All trucks used for the hauling of garbage, rubbish or swill, shall be washed at least once a week and painted once each year and otherwise appear as neat as possible under the circumstances. Each such truck shall be equipped with a tarpaulin or other suitable covering which shall be drawn over the load when completed to full depth. All refuse in the truck shall be completely covered between points of collection and disposal. The name of the garbage collector shall appear on the side of the trucks in letters not small than six inches high, and there shall also be an identifying number on each truck.

(Prior code §§ 8-117, 8-118, 8-119)

A. The garbage collector shall dispose of all garbage and rubbish outside of the city at dumps to be designated by the city.

B. The city council may let contracts or enter into agreements with any person, for the removal of garbage, rubbish or swill. Such contracts or agreements entered into may be revoked at any time by the city council for noncompliance with the terms of this chapter or for the violation of such contract. The garbage collector shall charge for the collection of garbage and rubbish at the rates specified in said contract and as provided to make any charge for the collection of garbage or rubbish in excess of the charges provided by this chapter.

C. Any person with whom the city contracts for the collection and disposal of garbage, rubbish or swill shall collect, haul and dispose of all such garbage, rubbish and swill in strict compliance with all federal, state, county and district, and city health laws, ordinances, rules and regulations and under the supervision and to the satisfaction of the city council of the city.

D. The garbage collector shall collect all garbage and rubbish from all of the homes, business establishments and premises in the city. All garbage shall be hauled by the garbage collector to the garbage dump or to such other location within 15 miles from the city which may hereinafter be designated.

(Prior code §§ 8-120—8-123)

A. A charge shall be collected, as provided by the provisions of this chapter, from the occupants of all occupied premises within the corporate limits of the city for services rendered for the collection of garbage and rubbish.

B. The city, or any garbage collector entering into a contract with the city for the collection and disposal of garbage and rubbish, shall charge for the collection of garbage and rubbish at the following rate or scale, to-wit:

For fixed rubbish and garbage or garbage only. Twenty gallons or less:

(Prior code §§ 8-114, 8-124)

In the event any person may elect to dispose of such refuse as may accumulate on any specific property or location, the same may be done; providing, that such disposal complies with the sanitary provisions of this chapter and is approved in writing by the city council. In such event a written application shall be made to the city council and a proper permit issued in writing in which case the premises affected may be exempted from the ordinary charges otherwise specified in this chapter. The right shall be reserved to every citizen and resident of the city, without any permit being required therefor, to dump garbage and rubbish at the aforesaid dumps.

(Prior code § 8-125)

It shall be the duty of the city clerk to inspect, or cause to be inspected, from time to time such premises as may be exempted under the abovementioned provisions and revoke forthwith any permits that may have been issued in the event said disposal is found to be in violation of this chapter, in which case upon written notice the occupant of said premises shall be required to accept service at the rates and under the terms provided herein.

(Prior code § 8-126)

In the event the removal of rubbish is required in quantities in excess of the facilities provided by the garbage collector or in the event the city may elect to utilize the same for filling or other purposes, the right is reserved to make use of city equipment for this purpose and the same will be provided at a reasonable cost to those who for the lack of facilities at hand or otherwise are unable to secure the services of the garbage collector and are unable to comply with the terms of this chapter.

(Prior code § 8-127)

A. It is unlawful for any person to allow any garbage or refuse container to remain at the curb for a longer period of time that 24 hours prior to the date of collection, or for a longer period of time than 24 hours after collection. This section shall not apply to any refuse placed at the curb during any clean up week proclaimed by the city council.

B. All receptacles for garbage or rubbish provided by Section 8.08.060, shall at all times, except when placed at the curb for collection as provided in subsection (A) of this section, be kept screened from the view from street by suitable screening or maintaining within the back yard, garage or other place in said premises, so that except for the time herein specified for the collection of said garbage and rubbish in subsection (A) of this section, the receptacles for the accumulation upon the premises shall not be in any manner visible from the street.

(Prior code §§ 8-128, 8-129)