Sutter Creek Municipal Code Art. I In General

For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them by this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning, as follows:

"Bio-hazardous waste" means:

1. Any laboratory waste, including, but not limited to, human or animal specimen, cultures from medical and pathology laboratories;

2. Waste from the production of bacteria, viruses, spores, discarded live and attenuated vaccines used in human health care or research, discarded animal vaccines, including brucellosis and contagious ecthyma;

3. Human surgery specimens or tissues removed at surgery or autopsy, which are suspected by the attending physician and surgeon or dentist of being contaminated with infectious agents known to be contagious to humans;

4. Animal parts, tissues, fluids, or carcasses suspected by the attending veterinarian of being contaminated with infectious agents known to be contagious to humans;

5. Waste, which at the point of transport from the generator's site, at the point of disposal, or thereafter, which contains recognizable fluid blood, fluid blood products, containers or equipment containing blood that is fluid, or blood from animals known to be infected with diseases which are highly communicable to humans;

6. Waste containing discarded materials contaminated with excretion, exudates, or secretion from humans or animals are to be isolated by the infection control staff, the attending physician and surgeon, the attending veterinarian or the local health officer, to protect others from highly communicable diseases or diseases of animals that are highly communicable to humans;

7. Waste which is hazardous only because it is comprised of human surgery specimens or tissues which have been fixed in formaldehyde or other fixatives, or only because the waste is contaminated through contact with or from having previously contained, chemotherapeutic agents, including but not limited to, gloves, disposable gowns, towels, and intravenous solution bags and attached tubing which are empty.

Collection of cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and industrial collection of garbage shall be made at least once a week from private residences and as many times per week as the city manager or city manager's designee may order from all other places.

"Bulk waste/furniture items" means large items of solid waste such as appliances, furniture, auto parts, trees and other oversize waste.

"Cardboard" means a thin, stiff, pasteboard made of paper pulp, used for making cartons and signs.

"Carpet" means a thick, heavy covering for a floor, usually made of wool, or synthetic fiber.

"Collection" means the complete operation of gathering together and transporting to the point of disposal or processing any garbage, refuse, rubbish, and solid waste, recyclable, transformable or compostable waste materials.

"Commercial container" means a container supplied by the contract agent to any person subscribing or receiving refuse service and constructed of metal, plastic or other suitable material in such a fashion as to be watertight.

"Commercial premises" means that portion of any building or other premises which is not a residence, residential unit or housekeeping unit.

"Compost pile" means a pile, pit or layer of compost.

"Compostable" means a mixture of garbage, refuse and rubbish that is composed solely of matter which is capable of decaying or decomposing and which is used as a fertilizer or soil amendment for gardening and landscaping including vegetable, yard, and wood wastes.

"Container" means a consumer, commercial or recycling container. All cart or containers used by persons subscribing or receiving refuse service shall be a cart or container of various sizes supplied by franchisee and shall be a container specifically designed, manufactured and distributed for the sole purpose of use as a consumer refuse/trash receptacle and shall be of a watertight, metallic or plastic construction with smooth interiors and with suitable bales or handles and with watertight fitting covers; or other similar container(s) as specifically approved jointly by the franchisee and the city. The capacity of each such container shall not exceed ninety-six gallons. A plastic bag of sufficient strength may be used only with the specific authorization of the franchisee and may not be filled to more than seventy-five percent of capacity and shall contain only green yard waste, and shall be securely tied at the opening; or a paper bag baled from a mechanical compactor. In lieu of or in addition to such containers, persons may contract with the franchisee agent to provide commercial containers, or cart service or other disposal containers or processes which the franchisee agent may provide or approve in the future, including, but not limited to, containers for recyclable and/or salvageable materials.

"Contract agent," "contractor" or "franchisee" means and includes an independent contractor of the city or any person or agents or employees of franchisee thereof with whom the city has duly contracted under the terms set forth in this chapter, to collect, transport through the streets, alleys or public ways of the city and dispose of garbage, refuse and rubbish produced within the limits of the city.

"Curbside" means as near but in no event more than five feet, from the property line that abuts a paved public street or in the event the property does not abut a paved public street, where the property abuts a public street, alley, right-of-way or easement and in the case of a commercial location in the service alley of a commercial or institutional entity. In any event, containers should be placed close enough to curbside to allow franchise automated collection lifting device to reach container automatically without assistance from collection person.

"Disposal" means the complete operation of disposing of refuse.

"Drop off recycling center" means a facility which accepts delivery or transfer of ownership without paying a fee, of source-separated material, including, but not limited to, glass, scrap paper, corrugated paper, newspaper, tin cans, aluminum, plastic and used oil which will be transported and/or sold to third parties for reuse or resale. The donation of material to collecting organizations, such as charitable groups, is included in this definition.

"Food service establishment" means any commercial food establishment, producing, processing, wholesaling, warehousing, transporting or retailing any food including but not limited to restaurants, groceries, meat and vegetable markets, hospitals, nursing homes, public and private schools, and other similar establishments.

"Franchisee" means any person that has entered into a franchise agreement with the city to collect, remove, transport, process or dispose of solid waste or recyclables or compostables, or to operate any solid waste facility.

"Garbage" means putrescible animal or vegetable matter, and containers used for storage. "Garbage" does not include source-separated recyclables or green yard waste.

"Green waste" means compostable material including but not limited to grass, weeds, leaves, pine needles, tree trimmings, plants, shrubbery, prunings, and such other similar materials which are generated in the maintenance of yards, gardens or landscaping, and which are separated by the generator from other solid waste materials for the purpose of recycling or composting.

"Household hazardous waste (HHW)" means any substance or mixture that, if improperly handled, may be damaging to human health and well being or a threat to the environment. HHW includes but is not limited to flammables, combustibles, poisons, toxics, oxidizers, corrosives, compressed gas, oil, antifreeze, explosives and radioactive materials as well as any other hazardous waste as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 25117 and the Hazardous Waste Management Reform Act of 1995.

"Litter" is any quantity of improperly discarded solid waste, including but not limited to discarded furniture and appliances, overflowing residential and commercial trash cans, pieces of lumber and scrap metal left at a construction site, uncontainerized paper such as fast food packages, candy wrappers, cigarette butts, and/or plastic, glass, trash, debris, rubbish, refuse, garbage or junk parts and scrap materials.

"Littering" is the improper discarding, dropping or scattering of small quantities of waste matter ordinarily carried on or about the person, including but not limited to beverage containers and enclosures, packaging, wrappers, wastepaper, newspapers and magazines, in any place other than a place or container maintained for the lawful disposal thereof, including waste matter which escapes or is allowed to escape from a vehicle, container, receptacle or package.

"Medical waste" means that waste which is generated or produced, as a result of the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the production of testing of biological products, including but not limited to the accumulation of property containing home-generated sharps waste.

"Multiple residential units" means two or more residential units located in a single building or a unified group of buildings. "Multiple residential units" shall include, but not be limited to, two or more units located in a planned unit development, an apartment complex or a mobile home park.

"Municipal solid waste" means all solid waste generated by residential, commercial, and industrial sources, and all solid wastes generated at construction or demolition sites and at food-processing facilities, which is collected and transported under the authorization of this chapter.

"Nuisance" means the existence or accumulation, without the authority of the City of Sutter Creek, of litter, trash, manure, rubbish, scrap materials, junk parts, garbage, or refuse of any kind upon private or public property; provided however, that said refuse is visible to the occupants of an adjacent or nearby parcel or real property, or to the users of any right-of-way.

"Occupied dwelling" means any residence, abode or structure inhabited, used, possessed or controlled by any person; provided, however, that the term "occupied dwelling" shall exclude any structure used exclusively for the operation of a business for which a business license is required under this Code. Every separate residence, dwelling, living unit or mobile home within any duplex, apartment complex, condominium or mobile home park shall constitute a separate occupied dwelling as defined herein.

"Owner" shall conclusively be deemed to be the person to whom the taxes on the property assessed as shown on the last equalized assessment roll of the county or, alternatively, from such other records of the county assessor or tax collector as contain more recent information.

"Recyclables" or "recyclable material" means materials which are reused or processed or are in the future reused or processed into a form suitable for reuse through reprocessing or remanufacture, consistent with the requirements of the California Integrated Waste Management Act. The term "recyclable material" includes paper newsprint, printed matter, pasteboard, paper containers, cardboard, glass, aluminum, PET, HDPE, and other plastics, beverage containers, transformable and compostable materials, used motor oil, automotive batteries, anti-freeze, latex paint, brick and stone in reusable size and condition, and such other material designated by the city council, or designated as recyclables by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, or other agency with jurisdiction.

"Recycle" or "recycling" means the process of collecting, sorting, cleansing, treating and reconstituting materials that would otherwise become solid waste, and returning them to the economic mainstream in the form of raw material for new, reused or reconstituted products which meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the marketplace.

"Recycling area" means the space allocated for collecting and loading of recyclable material. Such areas shall have the ability to accommodate receptacles for recyclable material. Recycling areas shall be accessible and convenient for those who deposit as well as those who collect and load any recyclable materials therein.

"Recycling container" means a container, which is provided to a residential, commercial or industrial waste collection customer for the sole purpose of containing recyclable materials that are source-separated from the nonrecyclable portion of the waste stream.

"Refuse" shall mean and include all other accumulations of waste matter or materials emanating from an establishment and shall include paper, cardboard, tin cans, ashes, yard clippings, wood, glass, and cloth, plastic not otherwise recyclable and similar items of waste from homes, offices and places of business. Refuse shall not be construed to include waste materials from major demolitions, construction or remodeling, or sod, dirt or debris.

"Refuse collection fees" means the fees established as provided by law for the collection and disposal of refuse.

"Repeat offender" means a second offense refuse violation occurring within one year at the same site.

"Residential unit" means a room or combination of rooms in a single building designed for human living, sleeping, eating and sanitary uses by a single family and their servants and nonpaying guests, and having cooking facilities. There may be more than one residential use in a single building. A mother-in-law unit is considered an additional residential unit.

"Rubbish" means all nonputrescible waste matter, whether combustible or noncombustible, except hazardous waste and medical waste.

"Self hauler" is a person or business who transports for disposal its own mixed municipal solid waste.

"Sharps waste" means any device having acute rigid corners, edges, or protuberances capable of cutting or piercing, including, but not limited to, hypodermic needles, hypodermic needles with syringes, blades, needles with attached tubing, syringes contaminated with biohazard waste, acupuncture needles, and root canal files. Broken glass items, such as Pasture pipettes and blood vials contaminated with biohazard waste or any item capable of cutting or piercing that is contaminated with trauma scene waste.

"Single-family unit" means a dwelling which receives individual refuse and/or curbside recycling service.

"Solid waste or wastes" includes all putruscibles and nonputruscible solid and semisolid wastes, such as refuse, garbage, rubbish, paper, ashes, industrial wastes, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles and parts thereof, discarded home and industrial appliances, manure, vegetable or animal, solid or semisolid wastes and other discarded solid and semisolid wastes, and also includes liquid wastes disposed of in conjunction with solid waste disposal sites but excludes:

1. Raw sewage collected and treated in a municipal or regional sewerage system; or

2. Materials or substances having commercial value which have been salvaged for refuse, recycling or resale

"Solid waste contractor" means a solid waste hauler franchised by contract with the city council to provide for the collection and disposal of all solid waste and refuse for all residence and business establishments who choose not to perform this duty for themselves.

"Source-separated recyclables" means nonputrescible material that is separated by the generator from other waste material for the purpose of reuse or recycling, by placing the recyclables in separate containers, or by binding them separately; the recyclable material is returned to the economic mainstream in the form of raw material for new, reused or reconstituted products which meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the marketplace.

"Special wastes" means any designated wastes, as defined in 23 California Code of Regulations, Section 2522, and special handling waste generated by industrial facilities or processes, but shall not include "hazardous waste" as defined herein. Special wastes shall include asbestos, sewage sludge, water treatment sludge, drilling mud, grease waste, contaminated soils, shredder waste, agricultural waste, filter cake/dewatered sludge, spent catalyst fines, refinery ash and byproducts; except where any such wastes are deemed to be hazardous waste.

"Transfer station" means those facilities, franchised by the City of Sutter Creek pursuant to this chapter, utilized to receive solid waste or recyclable material, temporarily store, separate, convert, or otherwise process the materials in solid wastes or to transfer the solid wastes directly from smaller to larger vehicles for transport.

"Transformation" means incineration, pyrolysis, distillation, gasification, or biological conversion other than composting. "Transformation" does not include composting.

"Waste" means the useless, unused, unwanted or discarded material resulting from normal community activities, or materials which by their presence may injuriously affect the health, safety and comfort of persons and depreciate property values in the vicinity thereof. "Waste" shall include, but not be limited to, garbage, putrescible organic material, rubbish, offal, swill, animal excreta, rubble, plaster or other waste resulting from the demolition, burning, alteration or construction of building or structures.

(Ord. 332, 2009)

The city council, after several public discussions and hearings, makes the following findings of fact, thereby declaring its purpose:

A. The residents of the city who do not arrange for collection of garbage, rubbish and waste material often allow garbage, rubbish and waste material to accumulate for long periods of time and thereby create a nuisance.

B. The public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of and visitors to the city require that the accumulation, collection, removal and disposal of garbage, rubbish and waste material from residential units within the city must be handled in a manner for the greatest good and least possible inconvenience, cost and maintenance to the city and the citizens thereof.

C. The periodic collection, removal and disposal of garbage, rubbish and waste material from all residential units within the city benefits all owners, occupants or persons in possession, charge or control of all such units where such accumulates and requires removal therefrom on a regular periodic basis; and that all such owners, occupants or persons in possession, charge or control of all such units within the city should be made liable for the payment of the fees for such collection, removal and disposal irrespective of the actual use of the garbage, rubbish and waste material collection services provided by the city.

D. Multi-residential units and commercial businesses within the city, including motels and hotels, need to provide adequate removal of refuse so as to fully comply with health codes and other governmental regulations.

(Ord. 332, 2009)