Pittsburg Municipal Code Art. IV Commercial Organic Refuse Collection

A. A commercial organic refuse collection program is established to provide organic refuse collection services to all commercial premises within the city.

B. The city may provide commercial organic refuse collection services through the use of one or more franchised collection contractors as defined by PMC § 8.04.030.

C. Nothing in this section prohibits a generator from preventing or reducing solid waste generation, managing organics on site, or participating in community composting.

(Ord. 21-1489 § 3, 2021)

A. Property owners or occupants of all commercial premises shall provide organic refuse receptacles for day to day on site for use by all workers and persons visiting the premises. These receptacles shall be of appropriate size and placement so that all persons on site can source separate organic refuse and avoid cart contamination as defined in PMC § 8.04.030.

B. The contents of the organic refuse receptacles shall be emptied regularly into the green cart or container at the on-site refuse storage location as defined by PMC § 8.04.030.

C. All property owners and occupants of commercial premises in the city shall store organic refuse in accordance with refuse storage methods established in PMC § 8.04.050.

(Ord. 21-1489 § 3, 2021)

A. All property owners and occupants in the city shall discard organic refuse in accordance with refuse discarding methods set forth in PMC § 8.04.071 and § 8.04.250.

B. No property owner, occupant, or permittee shall cause contamination as defined in PMC § 8.04.030 of carts or containers. All property owners, occupants, and permittees shall separate their refuse according to its characterization as black, green, or blue cart or container waste, and place each type of refuse in a separate container designated for disposal of that type of refuse. No property owner, occupant, or permittee may mix any type of refuse, or deposit refuse of one type in a cart or container designated for refuse of another type, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. This section does not prohibit any property owner or occupant from engaging in home composting.

C. In addition to the provisions established in PMC § 8.04.040 and § 8.04.071, commercial premises occupants or property owners that choose to self-haul as described in PMC § 8.04.250 or utilize an organics recovery service to haul organics shall:

1. Source separate all organics generated on-site from solid waste.

2. Haul source separated organics to a disposal area that processes or recovers the organics to be hauled.

3. Keep a record of the tons of cubic yards of organics delivered to each disposal area; this record shall be subject to inspection by the city. The records shall include the following information:

a. Name of entity accepting the organics.

b. Delivery receipts and weight tickets from the entity accepting the organics if the material is transported to an entity that has scales on site or employs scales capable of weighing the self-hauler's vehicle in a manner that allows it to determine the weight of organics received.

c. The amount of material in cubic yards or tons transported by the generator to each entity.

4. Provide information collected in subsection (C)(3) of this section to the city or collection contractor upon request.

(Ord. 21-1489 § 3, 2021)

A. All property owners and occupants in the city shall store Schedules A, B, and C prohibited organics in accordance with refuse storage methods established in PMC § 8.04.050.

B. Except as directed in this chapter, all property owners and occupants in the city shall discard Schedule A prohibited organics via a special collection service as defined in PMC § 8.04.030.

C. Schedule B prohibited organics shall be disposed of in the blue container.

D. Except as directed in this chapter, Schedule C prohibited organics shall be disposed of in the black container.

E. Schedule D prohibited organics shall be disposed of in accordance with Schedule B prohibited waste material as set forth in PMC § 8.04.090(D) and § 8.04.160.

(Ord. 21-1489 § 3, 2021)

Organic refuse is subject to collection service in accordance with the frequency of service, time of service, and regulations of services established in PMC § 8.04.110, § 8.04.120, and § 8.04.130 respectively.

(Ord. 21-1489 § 3, 2021)

Vehicles used to transport recyclables shall be in accordance with provisions set forth in PMC § 8.04.140.

(Ord. 21-1489 § 3, 2021)

All property owners or occupants shall pay for organic refuse collection pursuant to PMC § 8.04.200, § 8.04.210, and § 8.04.280. The collection contractor is responsible for the collection of the commercial premises organic refuse collection fee from the property owner and/or occupant of the commercial premises.

(Ord. 21-1489 § 3, 2021)

Upon the placement of organic refuse at the collection station or within green container for collection, the organic refuse becomes the property of the collection contractor.

(Ord. 21-1489 § 3, 2021)

A. The cost for collection of organic refuse is incorporated in the billing of the refuse collection fee.

B. The city council shall fix the refuse collection fee which includes the cost for collection of organic refuse by resolution.

C. Organic refuse shall be incorporated into refuse collection and collected by the collection contractor pursuant to Chapter 8.04 PMC.

(Ord. 21-1489 § 3, 2021)

The city shall require the collection contractor to provide educational and promotional services for the sorting, storage, and disposal of organic refuse. The city may also enter into a contract for additional community educational and promotional services with a separate advertiser or public relations services provider. Fees collected under PMC § 8.06.060 may be used for the services described in this section.

(Ord. 21-1489 § 3, 2021)

A. De Minimis Waivers. The enforcement official may waive the obligation for property owners or occupants at commercial premises to comply with this Article IV of this chapter if the property owner or occupant provides documentation that the premises generates below a certain amount of organics.

B. Physical Space Waivers. The enforcement official may waive the obligation for property owners or occupants at commercial premises to comply with this Article IV if the property owner or occupant provides documentation or if the enforcement official has evidence demonstrating that the premises lacks adequate space for the containers required for compliance with the city of Pittsburg Trash and Recycling Enclosure Guidelines.

C. A property owner or occupant may request a de minimis or physical space waiver through the following process:

1. Submit a waiver application as provided by the city or collection contractor to the enforcement official.

2. Upon receipt of the decision to or not to waive the obligation to comply with all of the organics diversion requirements of this chapter from the city, property owners or occupants of commercial premises may request a hearing or appeal the decision through the processes set forth in PMC § 8.04.330 through § 8.04.360.

3. Notify the enforcement official if circumstances qualifying the business for a waiver change, in which case waiver may be rescinded.

4. Provide written verification of eligibility for a waiver as often as requested by the enforcement official.

(Ord. 21-1489 § 3, 2021)