§ 14-17. Residential organics material collection.

(a)

Acceptable materials. Residents are provided a green container in which to place specific items defined as organic materials. Acceptable green container materials shall be designated by the city and include the following:

(1)

Leaves;

(2)

Tree trimmings (no longer than height of cart);

(3)

Yard trimmings;

(4)

Brush;

(5)

Food scraps;

(6)

Food-soiled paper and cardboard;

(7)

Other organic materials may be added to the program at the discretion of the director or his designee.

(b)

Not accepted green container items.

(1)

At the discretion of the director or his designee, department staff may inspect organics recycling containers. An organics material container shall not be collected if one or more of the following conditions occur:

a.

Contamination of the organics recycling container by depositing non-recyclable solid waste, including but not limited to:

1.

Plastic bags or plastic containers of any kind including those labeled "compostable" or "biodegradable";

2.

Diapers;

3.

Dead animals;

4.

Pet waste;

5.

Cigarette butts or ashes;

6.

Non-compostable materials;

7.

Household hazardous waste.

b.

Reserved.

(2)

If an organics container is not serviced due to the conditions detailed in subsection (b) the department shall notify the resident to which the container is assigned in writing when and for what reason the organics container was not serviced. Residents receiving notification of no service shall have the option of removing the contaminating material from the container and placing the container out for collection on the next organics collection day. Repeated violations may result in a non-compliance contamination fee to process the contaminated cart.

(c)

Removal from organics collection. A resident that repeatedly places unacceptable items in the organics cart may be removed from the program by the city.

(d)

Proper placement of organic materials in the green container. Brush materials shall be placed loose in the green container or in a Kraft paper bag. Brush material must be cut into smaller pieces and not stuffed into the container. Food scraps can be wrapped in newspaper or can be placed in a paper bag. Organic materials cannot be contained in plastic bags or plastic containers of any kind including those labeled "compostable" or "biodegradable."

(e)

Containers. Residential organic material containers shall be used, distributed, maintained, and collected following the requirements established in subsection 14-10(a).

(f)

Time for organic material collection. Residents participating in the organics program receive once-per-week collection of organics. Specific weekly collection days are designated by the director.

(g)

[Placement and removal.] Residential organics containers shall be placed at and removed from the designated points of collection following the requirements established in subsection 14-10(b).

(h)

Non-participation in the organic material collection program. Residents not participating in the organic material collection program will receive once-per-week collection of refuse and are subject to the procedures outlined in section 14-10. Non-participants include the following:

(1)

Residents electing not to participate in the city's organic material collection program. Such residents shall surrender their issued organics container, if any, and the city will remove it.

(2)

Residents that have been removed from the city's organic material program.

Reasons for removal from the program include but are not limited to repeated occurrences of contamination of the organic material container as described in subsection (b). Residents that have been removed from the city's organics materials collection program will be notified in writing by the department when the organics container is removed.

(i)

Collection in alleys. Residential organics collection services shall be consistent with the requirements established in subsection 14-10(c).

(j)

Additional organics containers. Materials placed in organics containers must only be the items as described above. Residents requesting additional organics containers must demonstrate that they use existing containers properly before additional containers will be provided.

(Ord. No. 2015-09-10-0760 , § 1, 9-10-15; Ord. No. 2018-03-29-0204 , § 1, 3-29-18)