Chapter 3-6 — DISCARDING AND COLLECTION OF SOLID WASTE, RECYCLABLES, AND

GREEN WASTE

Note: Editor's Note: Chapter 3-6, consisting of Sections 3-6-100 through 3-6-350 as derived from Ordinance No. 2000-022, 11/6/00, was repealed and replaced by Ordinance No. 2005-12, 8/1/05. Previous Chapter 3-6, Garbage, consisting of Sections 3-6-100 through 3-6-250, as derived from Ordinance No. 98-016, 11/16/98, was repealed and replaced by Ordinance No. 2000-022, 11/6/00. Previous Chapter 3-6, consisting of Sections 3-6-100 through 3-6-250, as derived from Ordinance Nos. 70-31, 80-41, 81-045, 82-021, 82-033, 82-048, 93-014, 94-024 and 97-029, was repealed and replaced by Ordinance No. 98-016.

Article 1

General(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 2005-012, 8/1/05 (Sections 3-6-100—3-6-110))

The following definitions shall govern the construction of this Chapter, unless context requires otherwise, or the term is more specifically defined within:

Bulky Waste. "Bulky waste" includes, but is not limited to, discarded materials such as large household appliances, furniture, tires, carpets, mattresses, tree trunks, and similar large items that require special handling because of their size.

Commercial. "Commercial" means industrial or manufacturing facilities, warehouses, wholesale and retail stores, service establishments, professional offices and other business establishments, and other government facilities and schools.

Customer. Customer" means a person located within the City that subscribes or is required to subscribe to the applicable services provided by the City's franchisee.

Debris Box. "Debris box" means a container of 10 cubic yards or larger in size that is picked up in its entirety by a dedicated truck for emptying at a separate location.

Food Establishment. "Food establishment" means any room, building, or place, or portion thereof, maintained, used, or operated for the purpose of storing, preparing, serving, manufacturing, packaging, transporting, salvaging, or otherwise handling of food at the retail level as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 113870, or successor laws and regulations as may be amended from time to time.

Green Waste. "Green waste" means all tree and plant trimmings, grass cuttings, dead plants, weeds, leaves, branches, and similar materials; provided, however, that larger items such as tree stumps and intact dead trees are bulky waste.

Hazardous Waste. "Hazardous waste" shall have the meaning set forth in California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 7, Chapter 3, Article 4, Section17225.32 and Health and Safety Code Section 25117, or successor laws and regulations as may be amended from time to time.

Holiday. "Holiday" shall mean Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.

Household Hazardous Waste. "Household hazardous waste" shall have the meaning set forth in California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 7, Chapter 7, Article 1.1, Section 18502, or successor laws and regulations as may be amended from time to time.

Medical and Infectious Waste. "Medical and infectious waste" means biomedical waste generated at hospitals, public or private medical clinics, dental offices, research laboratories, pharmaceutical industries, blood banks, mortuaries, veterinary facilities, and other similar establishments.

Multi-Family Residence. "Multi-family residence" means any building or structure, or portion thereof used for residential purposes and having two or more distinct living units.

Occupant. "Occupant" means and includes every tenant or person who is in possession of, is the inhabitant of, or has the care and control of, an inhabited residence or a place of business.

Owner. "Owner" means the person holding the legal title or having a right to possession to the real property to which franchise services are provided.

Person. "Person" means an individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership, consortium, joint venture, commercial entity, governmental entity, or any other legal person domiciled,

located, present or operating within the city.

Public Containers. "Public containers" means containers designated and approved by the City for the collection of solid waste, recyclable materials, or green waste and located in public places and rights-of-way.

Putrescible Wastes. "Putrescible wastes" means wastes that are capable of being decomposed by micro-organisms with sufficient rapidity as to cause nuisances because of odors, gases or other offensive conditions, and include materials such as food wastes, offal and dead animals as defined in California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 7, Chapter 3, Section 17225.52 or successor laws and regulations as may be amended from time to time.

Recycle, Recycling, Recycled. "Recycle," "recycling," and "recycled" mean all the activities necessary to the collection, processing and marketing of recyclable materials which would other- wise be disposed of in a landfill or incinerator in order to return them to the economy in the form of raw materials for new, reused, repaired, refabricated, remanufactured, or reconstituted products. The collection, transportation or disposal of solid waste not intended for, or capable of, reuse is not recycling.

Recyclable Materials. "Recyclable materials" or "recyclables" means discarded materials intended for and capable of being recycled, and that are separated, set aside, handled, packaged or offered for collection in a manner different from solid waste. Recyclables include newspaper (including inserts, coupons, and store advertisements); chipboard; corrugated cardboard; mixed waste paper (including office paper, computer paper, magazines, junk mail, catalogs, Kraft bags and Kraft paper, paperboard, egg cartons, phone books, brown paper, grocery bags, colored paper, construction paper, envelopes, legal pad backings, shoe boxes, cereal and other similar food boxes); glass containers (including brown, clear, and green glass bottles and jars); aluminum (including beverage containers, foil, food containers, small scrap metal); steel or tin cans; waste oil; oil filters; and PETE and HDPE plastic containers (natural and colored).

Recycling Center. "Recycling center" means a facility that accepts recyclable materials to be processed and prepared for marketing.

Refuse. "Refuse" means waste material intended for disposal and including: (1) all putrescible and non-putrescible wastes, whether in solid or liquid form, except liquid-carried industrial wastes or sewage hauled as an incidental part of septic tank or cesspool-cleaning service; (2) garbage (i.e., putrescible animal, fish, food, fowl, fruit or vegetable matter, or any thereof, resulting from the preparation, storage, handling or consumption of such substances); (3) rubbish (such as printed materials, paper, pasteboard, rags, straw, used and discarded clothing, packaging materials, ashes, floor sweepings, glass, and other waste materials).

Single-Family Residence. "Single-family residence" means any attached or detached building or structure, or portion thereof that is used for residential housing purposes and has one distinct living unit not including in-law units.

Solid Waste. "Solid waste" means waste as defined in California Public Resources Code, Division 30, Part 1, Chapter 2, Section 40191 and regulations promulgated thereunder and without limitation includes the following: (1) solid waste; (2) bulky wastes; (3) special wastes; (4) construction and demolition debris; (5) street sweeping waste; and (6) vehicle parts as defined in California Code of Regulations, Title 23, Division 3, Chapter 15, Sections 2520(d)(3) and 2523(c). Excluded from the definition of solid waste are hazardous, medical and infectious waste, and recyclable materials, green waste, and special wastes that cannot be disposed of in Class III landfills within the County system. Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, "solid waste" may include de minimis volumes or concentrations of waste of a type and amount normally found in residential solid waste after implementation of programs for the safe collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of household hazardous waste in compliance with Section 41500 and 41802 of the California Public Resources Code.

Special Charges. "Special charges" are specific service-related reasonable residential and commercial charges that may be billed by the City or its franchisee for special services.

Special Wastes. "Special wastes" include flammable waste; waste transported in a bulk tanker; liquid waste; sewage sludge; pollution control process waste; residue and debris from the cleanup of a spill or release of chemical substances, commercial products or any other special wastes; contaminated soil, waste, residue, debris and articles from the cleanup of a site or facility formerly used for the generation, storage, treatment, recycling, reclamation, or disposal of any other special wastes; dead animals; manure; waste water; explosive substances; and radioactive substances.

The City Council of the City of San Leandro finds that the accumulation, preparation, storage, collection, transportation, and disposal of municipal solid waste, recyclables, and green waste from all properties in the City must be handled in a safe, sanitary, routine, and efficient manner so as to maximize the reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting of materials in accordance with state law; to maintain the good condition, cleanliness and safety of City rights-of-way; to prevent the harboring and breeding of rodents, insects, and other pests; to prevent the spread of diseases associated with unsanitary conditions; to reduce potential fire hazards; and to prevent unsightliness and other public nuisance which may result in the depreciation of property values and otherwise interfere with the quality of life within the City.

Article 2

Discarding of Solid Waste, Recyclables, and Green Waste(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 2000-022, 11/6/00 (Sections: 3-6-200—3-6-230); Ordinance No. 2005-012, 8/1/05 (Sections: 3-6-200—3-6-250))

(a) Every person who owns or occupies or is in possession or control of any property in the City where solid waste, recyclables, and green waste are produced or accumulated shall discard such materials through the regular collection service of the City's franchisee.

(b) The owner or occupant of any property shall start service within 15 days of occupancy of such property. If the owner or occupant does not initiate service within 15 days, the City or City's franchisee may give the owner written notification that service is required. If the owner fails to initiate service within 15 days from the date of mailing of the written notification, then the City may require the franchisee to initiate and continue collection services for said property.

(a) Every person who uses the collection services of the City's franchisee shall pay a fee for the services, as established in a resolution adopted by the City Council or in the franchise agreement.

(b) The City's franchisee shall bill customers directly for service.

(c) The City's franchisee shall reconcile payments by customers against amounts billed to verify any delinquency in payment by customers. The franchisee shall provide two delinquency notices to customers but may not discontinue service to their properties. The franchisee shall make good faith efforts to collect on delinquent accounts. If the franchisee fails to collect on such accounts, the City may place liens on the property associated with the accounts and foreclose on the liens.

FRANCHISEE.

(a) No person shall be required to use the collection services provided by the City's franchisee if that person can establish any one of the following:

(1) That all such materials produced or accumulated at the property are disposed of by agreement with and through the use of the approved container of a person subscribing to the services provided by the City's franchisee; or

(2) That all such materials are self-hauled to an authorized disposal or recycling facility, as provided for in Section 3-6-320.

(b) The following types of properties may not be exempt from the collection services provided by the City's franchisee under any circumstances:

(1) Single-family residences that are occupied;

(2) Multi-family residences that are occupied; or

(3) Food establishments in operation.

(4) Nothing in this section shall preclude the property owner from establishing combined collection services for all tenants at a commercial and/or multi-family residential property.

(c) To obtain an exemption, the person must:

(1) Send a written exemption request to the City's franchisee within 15 days of occupying the property or within 15 days of notification from the City or its franchisee that collection services are required; and

(2) Provide sufficient written documentation that they are disposing of all solid waste, recyclables, and green waste in a manner provided in Section 3-6-220(a). Sufficient documentation includes, but is not limited to, disposal facility receipts, recycling center receipts, written agreements to share services provided by the City's franchisee, and written agreements from persons collecting and transporting materials at no charge as provided in Section 3-6-320(a).

(d) The City may revoke the exemption at the request of the City's franchisee in the event that one of the following occurs:

(1) That the person is found to be in violation of Chapter 3-1 or any other applicable provisions of this Code; or

(2) That the property changes ownership and/or occupancy.

GREEN WASTE.

(a) Except as otherwise provided herein, no person shall discard solid waste, recyclables, and
green waste by:

(1) Placing a container for such materials or allowing such a container to remain in any
public place;

(2) Burying any such materials, except as part of home composting;

(3) Collecting, removing, disposing of, or hauling such materials without first obtaining
a franchise or permit from the City;

(4) Burning any such materials;

(5) Hindering access of employees of the City or its franchisee to a container for such
materials;

(6) Permitting any such material to be dumped or deposited on or in any street, sidewalk,
gutter or storm drain, or in a manner that such material or runoff from it would end
up in any storm drain, in accordance with Chapter 3-15 of this Code;

(7) Placing any hazardous waste, household hazardous waste, medical and infectious
waste, or special waste, as defined herein, in any container for solid waste,
recyclables, or green waste; or

(8) Placing any material originating from a private property in, on top of, or alongside the
City's public containers; provided, however, that pedestrians or other persons using
the streets or public places shall be permitted to deposit in said containers
miscellaneous small articles of waste materials carried by them.

(b) No person shall discard any solid waste, recyclables, or green waste except at a duly
authorized disposal site or transfer station. The foregoing shall not, however, prevent the
discarding of earth, rock, concrete, cement, gravel, sand, ashes, clay, loam, and other
noncombustible inorganic refuse when used for purposes of fill as part of a construction
project, if such material is not otherwise dangerous to health and safety, such that it violates
Chapter 3-1 or any other applicable provision of this Code. Furthermore, such operations
may not block or impede natural drainage channels, drain ditches, canals, or drainage
outlets and may not result in pollution, fire hazards, or contamination of water.

(c) No person shall:

(1) Store or accumulate any putrescible waste, or permit the storage or accumulation of
putrescible waste within or upon any property owned, leased or rented by such person
or in such person's possession or control for a period longer than seven days; or

(2) Place any putrescible waste in or upon any property in the city other than the property where such waste is generated, except as provided for in Section 3-6-220(a)(1).

All putrescible waste produced and accumulated on any property, whether public or private, shall be removed at least once every seven days or more often as required by the City's franchisee or as provided for in Section 3-6-320.

(a) Every person that owns, occupies, or is in possession or control of any property in the City where solid waste is produced or accumulated shall deposit such materials in one or more leak-proof containers of sufficient size and quantity to adequately service the property. In all events, discarded materials stored prior to collection and/or disposal shall be contained in a manner so as to discourage disturbance by, or harboring of, animals or pests; to prevent fire or other safety hazards; and to prevent odors or unsightliness amounting to a nuisance.

(b) Persons subscribing or required to subscribe to services provided by the City's franchisee shall deposit solid waste, recyclables, and green waste in the respective containers designated by and available from the franchisee, locating such containers where the franchisee can easily access them, and not overloading such containers.

(1) Single-family and multi-family residential customers shall use containers provided free of charge by the City's franchisee.

(2) Commercial customers shall use containers agreeable to or provided by the City's franchisee;

(3) Both residential and commercial customers may elect to use a debris box container provided by the City's franchisee.

Article 3

Collection of Solid Waste, Recyclables, and Green Waste(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 2005-012, 8/1/05 (Sections 3-6-300—3-6-350))

The City Council may, at its sole discretion and upon such terms as it may prescribe, award an exclusive franchise or contract to any qualified person to provide collection of solid waste, recyclables, and green waste for commercial and industrial establishments and residential properties in the City.

A person awarded an exclusive franchise or contract by the City for collection of solid waste, recyclables, and green waste shall provide, at a minimum, the following services to customers and the City.

(a) The person awarded an exclusive franchise or contract by the City shall provide all residential property in the City with regular collection of solid waste, recyclables, and green waste. The franchisee shall provide the owner, occupant, or manager of residential property with containers in which to discard such materials. If the owner or occupant of a single- family residence is physically unable to place discarded materials at the appropriate place for collection, the franchisee shall provide backyard service at no additional charge.

(b) The person awarded an exclusive franchise or contract by the City shall provide all commercial establishments in the City with regular collection of solid waste and recyclables. The containers that commercial establishments use for discarding such materials and the locations at which such establishments place the containers shall both be agreeable to the City's franchisee or contractor.

(c) The person awarded an exclusive franchise or contract by the City shall provide collection services to debris boxes on an on-call basis. The franchisee or contractor shall respond to a call for debris box service by the end of the next business day.

(d) Upon request of a resident or business and for a special fee, the franchisee or contractor shall provide other services, including but not limited to, bulky waste collection, at times other than the regularly scheduled solid waste collection.

(e) Upon the request of City, the contractor or franchisee shall provide, at no cost, collection and disposal of solid waste and collection and recycling of recyclables at up to five City- sponsored events each year. Such service shall include the provision and emptying of containers for and during the events in a manner that ensures the public will be able to use such containers. Such events may last more than one day.

(f) The franchisee may refuse to collect solid waste, recyclables, and green waste from and shall not be obligated to continue to provide service to any customer that, after a minimum of two warnings, fails to set out the materials properly. The accumulation of solid waste, recyclables, and green waste on the property of such a customer may constitute an abatable nuisance under the San Leandro Community Preservation Ordinance.

(a) It shall be unlawful and a violation of this Code for any person other than the City's exclusive franchisee or contractor to collect solid waste, recyclables, or green waste, with the following exceptions:

(1) The owner, occupant, or manager of a residential property may collect and transport solid waste and green waste generated on the property to an authorized disposal facility. Owners, occupants, and managers of residential properties that self-haul such materials, as provided for in this section, may not contract with anyone other than the City's franchisee for transport services.

(2) The owner, occupant, or manager of a residential property may sell or donate recyclable materials generated on the property to any party of the person's choice, including collecting such materials and transporting them to a recycling center. For the purposes of this section, "donate" means to give without receiving any compensation or consideration of any nature, whether monetary or otherwise.

(3) A person holding a current and valid contractor's license issued by the State of California may, as an incidental part of a construction project, remove construction and demolition debris from property upon which the person is performing work permitted under the provisions of Chapters 7-1 and 7-5 or upon which the person is performing work for the City or other public agency. For the purposes of this section, demolition and construction debris means waste generated by construction, remodeling, or demolition of structures; it does not include putrescible waste, garbage, or liquid waste.

(4) A landscaping or gardening contractor hired by the owner, occupant, or manager of a property may remove such materials from the property where that contractor is working, if the removal is an incidental part of the gardening, landscaping, tree trimming, cleaning, maintenance, construction, or other similar service such contractor is providing.

(5) A person may provide recyclables collection to commercial establishments, if the service is free and 90% of each load of recyclables is actually recycled.

(6) The owner or manager of a commercial or industrial establishment, or the employee of such a person, may collect and transport solid waste and green waste generated by the establishment to an authorized disposal facility. Owners and managers of commercial and industrial establishments that self-haul such materials, as provided for in this section, may not contract with anyone other than the City's franchisee for transport services.

(7) The owner or manager of a commercial or industrial establishment, or the employee
of such a person, may give recyclable materials generated by the establishment to a
person described in subsection (a)(5) of this section and may collect such materials
and transport them to a recycling center. Other than as provided for in this subsection,
owners and managers of commercial and industrial establishments that self-haul such
materials may not contract with anyone other than the City's franchisee for transport
services.

(b) It shall be unlawful and a violation of this Code for any person not enumerated above to
solicit or attempt to obtain from the owner, occupant, or manager of any property in the
City permission to remove solid waste, recyclables, and green waste from such property.

(a) Upon placement of recyclable materials at a designated recycling collection location for collection by the City or its franchisee or contractor, recyclable materials shall become the property of the City's franchisee or contractor.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person other than an authorized City employee or the City's
franchisee or contractor to take, remove, or otherwise appropriate recyclables that have
been placed for recycling collection or the container in which such recyclables have been
placed. Any and each such removal in violation hereof shall constitute a separate and
distinct violation enforceable as provided for in this Code.

(c) Nothing in this Article shall limit the right of an individual person, organization, or other
entity to donate, sell, or otherwise discard recyclable materials, if the person or entity takes
such action in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

(d) Nothing in this Chapter shall be deemed to limit the right of the City's franchisee or
contractor to bring a civil action against any person that violates this section. A conviction
for a violation of this section shall be an infraction or misdemeanor pursuant to Chapter
1-12 of this Code.

(a) Except as expressly authorized by this Chapter, no person other than the City or its franchisee or contractor may place a container within the City for the collection of solid waste, recyclables, or green waste, unless the person is the owner, operator, or manager of a residential property or commercial or industrial establishment and self-hauls such material, as provided for in Sections 3-6-320(a)(1) and (6).

(b) The City shall notify, in writing, any person that violates this section that the prompt and permanent removal of an unauthorized container from the place or premises is required. The City shall deliver such written notice by posting a copy of the notice prominently upon the container. If the container is identified with the name and telephone number of the enterprise servicing it, the City shall also endeavor to contact the enterprise by telephone. Failure to notify the owner telephonically shall not invalidate the notice. The City may impound or cause to be impounded any such container if the enterprise servicing it does not permanently remove it from the place or premises within the time set forth in the notice, which time shall be not less than 24 hours after posting of the notice, nor less than six business hours after telephonic notification, if any. For purposes of this section, "business hours" shall mean the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Any person that violates this section shall be liable to the City for all fines and charges levied in connection with the collection, transportation, storage, and handling of such container by the City. The bin, box, or container impounded by the City shall be retrieved by the owner or his or her representative immediately after all applicable fines and charges have been paid. The City Manager may delegate to the City's franchisee or contractor the authority to serve notice of a violation of this section, to impound unauthorized containers, and to collect the fines and charges levied by the City.

(c) Upon posting of a written notice of violation upon an unauthorized container, the customer using the unauthorized container shall immediately cease placing solid waste and recyclable materials therein.

Consistent with Section 5-1-105 of this Code, the City's franchisee shall not be required to obtain an encroachment permit to place a container for solid waste, recyclables, or green waste in the public right-of-way. The City's franchisee shall, nevertheless, be required to do all of the following:

(a) Remove any such container from the public right-of-way at no cost to the City when the City requires such removal;

(b) Comply with the City's administrative guidelines regarding the placement and marking of all such containers; and

(c) Indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the City from and against any and all damages to persons or property resulting from the placement of such containers in the public right-of- way.