[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Rock Hall 8-10-1979 by Ord. No. 79-12. Amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purposes of this chapter, the terms used herein are defined as follows:
BULK TRASH
Bulky items such as furniture, white goods, tires, etc., not suitable for weekly residential/commercial trash collection, picked up upon request, for a fee,[1] on the first Monday of each month.[2]
[Added 12-3-1992 by Ord. No. 92-12]
GARBAGE
Waste foodstuffs or table wastes of vegetable or animal origin.
REFUSE
Garden, lawn and tree trimmings, leaves and weeds.
RUBBISH
The waste materials from normal household living conditions and business operations other than garbage, refuse, waste or ashes. "Rubbish" shall include such items as paper, plastics, rags, bottles, tin cans, crockery, excelsior and similar materials.
WASTE
Any leftover material or nondesirable by-product created or left in any industrial or manufacturing process.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 102, Fees.
[2]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "ashes," which immediately preceded this definition, was repealed 6-8-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03.
[Amended 6-8-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03]
A. 
Receptacles.
(1) 
Receptacles for garbage collection or the collection of a mixture of garbage, rubbish and refuse shall be watertight, fitted with handles and provided with a tight-fitting cover. Garbage receptacles shall have a capacity of not less than five gallons nor more than 20 gallons and shall be so constructed that the contents can be removed easily and without delay.
(2) 
Paper, cardboard and paperboard containers are hereby expressly prohibited.
(3) 
These provisions concerning receptacles shall apply to all municipal collections and to collections made by private collectors where the material to be collected is placed in the sidewalk area or near any street or public alley but shall not apply to receptacles provided by the Town or any vendor with whom the Town has contracted to provide garbage collection in the Town.
B. 
Placing and number of receptacles.
(1) 
All receptacles for municipal collection shall be placed at the sidewalk area near the edge of the street, or near the edge of the alley if collection is effected in an alley, on the day or days designated for garbage, rubbish and refuse collection, as the case may be. No receptacles shall be permitted on any street, alley or lane except on the days designated for their collection, and receptacles must be removed by nightfall of the day of collection.
(2) 
Not more than a total of four receptacles shall be collected from any single dwelling or apartment house, except that apartment houses containing more than two apartments shall be entitled to have collected two receptacles for each unit in excess of two units or a single dumpster for all of the units..
C. 
Preparation of garbage, rubbish, refuse, etc., for municipal collection.
(1) 
All wet garbage shall be drained and wrapped in paper or placed in a bag or similar container before being placed in the garbage receptacle.
(2) 
If garbage, rubbish and refuse as defined by this chapter are all collected by municipal collection, they may be mingled in the same receptacle, provided that it is the type described in § 125-2A(1) hereof.
(3) 
Bricks, masonry, large metal objects and dirt shall not be mingled with garbage, rubbish or refuse.
D. 
Schedule of collections. Collection of such items of garbage, rubbish and refuse as may hereafter be collected by the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall shall be made at least once each week, and, when the regular collection day falls on a holiday, collection shall be made on the day preceding the regular collection day if the regular collection day is Saturday or the day after the holiday if the regular collection day is other than Saturday.
[Amended 6-8-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03]
Except as otherwise set forth herein, no municipal collection shall be made by the Mayor and Council or their agents and employees from any establishment that is entirely or primarily industrial or commercial in nature or otherwise primarily operates for a profit, other than apartment houses, boardinghouses or rooming houses. Such industrial or commercial establishments that generate an amount of garbage, rubbish or refuse substantially equivalent to that generated by a single dwelling may be eligible for municipal collection if authorized by the Town and upon payment of any required fees, whether imposed by the Town or any vendor with whom the Town has contracted to provide garbage collection in the Town. All establishments not served by municipal collection shall have their garbage, rubbish, refuse or waste removed from their premises as frequently as may be necessary in order to avoid the creation of a nuisance to the public or to adjoining property owners and to prevent the creation of an unsanitary condition dangerous to the public health.
[1]
Editor's Note: On 6-6-1985, the town passed Emergency Ordinance No. 85-1, which permitted commercial trash pickup in the Town of Rock Hall.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for anyone to disturb any garbage, rubbish, or refuse containers or to remove their covers or any contents thereof, except the tenants or occupants of the premises on which such refuse containers are placed or their duly authorized agents or the duly authorized agents, employees or licensees of the Mayor and Council.
[Amended 6-8-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03]
B. 
Any person, firm or corporation desiring to engage in the business of collection of garbage, rubbish, refuse or waste within the corporate limits of the Town of Rock Hall shall first obtain a license from the Mayor and Council. Such person, firm or corporation shall make application, in writing, setting forth the name and address of the applicant and a description of the vehicle or vehicles to be used in the collection of garbage, rubbish, refuse or waste materials. Said application shall contain a statement that the applicant will exercise reasonable care to prevent the escape or leakage of garbage, rubbish, refuse or waste materials upon the streets of Rock Hall from the vehicles used by the applicant.
[Amended 6-8-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03]
C. 
A fee as provided in Chapter 102, Fees, shall be collected by the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall for each license issued hereunder, and all such licenses shall expire on June 30 next following the date of issuance.
D. 
The Mayor and Council of Rock Hall may revoke the collector's license of any holder who fails to exercise reasonable care in preventing the escape or leakage of garbage, rubbish, waste or refuse materials from vehicles used by the licensee or who fails to obey any lawful regulation hereafter adopted by the Mayor and Council of Rock Hall relating to the private collection of garbage, rubbish, waste or refuse materials.
[Amended 6-8-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03]
[Amended 6-8-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03]
A. 
The removal of wearing apparel, bedclothing or other refuse from homes or other places where highly infectious or contagious diseases have prevailed shall be performed under the direction of the Kent County Health Department. Such materials shall not be placed in containers for regular collection.
B. 
Each person who places a receptacle in the sidewalk area or near the line of any street or alley within the corporate limits of Rock Hall shall be responsible for the condition of the receptacle, and, if the contents of the receptacle shall be spilled because of the poor condition of the receptacle, the person placing the receptacle for collection shall be required to clean up and remove the spilled contents of the receptacle prior to nightfall of the day in which such spillage occurs.
[Amended 6-8-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03]
Violations of this chapter shall be punishable as a Class C municipal infraction and subject to the provisions of Chapter 153 of the Town Code.