[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Mendota as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted as Ch. 13, §§ 13.01, 13.02, 13.05 through 13.07, 13.09 and 13.10, of the 1998 Code]
The following words, when used in this article, shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section:
COMBUSTIBLE REFUSE
Includes:
A. 
Trimmings from trees, bushes, shrubs, and lawns.
B. 
Leaves.
C. 
Weeds.
GARBAGE
Animal or vegetable waste from food supply and food supply cans, including only such paper in which it may be wrapped.
RUBBISH
Includes, but is not limited to:
A. 
Ashes, cinders, old trees, glass, bottles, and non-food-containing cans.
B. 
Plaster, brick, stone, masonry, tar paper, tile, building paper, old lumber and in general any discarded building material.
C. 
Large pieces of discarded house furnishings and machinery parts such as sinks, washing machines, bed springs, ice boxes, toilet bowls, sewer pipe, motors or parts of motors.
SCAVENGER
A person, either as principal or agent, engaged in the business of collecting and hauling garbage.
A. 
Required. No person, either as principal or agent, shall engage in the business of collecting and hauling garbage, ashes or any other refuse without having first obtained a license as a scavenger; provided, however, that no license shall be required for any charitable or religious organization which solicits donations of junk when such organization is not for profit, to any individual member thereof, and the proceeds are applied to the object for which it exists.
B. 
Application for license. Every person desiring to engage in business in the City as a scavenger shall make application to the Clerk for a license to do so and shall pay to the Clerk an annual license fee as set from time to time by the City Council.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
C. 
Issuance of license. All licenses issued hereunder shall be issued by the Mayor and attested by the Clerk under the Corporate Seal of the City, and no license shall be issued until the application therefor, with the annual fee accompanying it, shall have been approved by the Mayor. All applications for licenses shall remain on file in the office of the Clerk, to be listed in a record to be kept for this purpose.
A. 
No person shall transport any sand, gravel, earth, ashes, stone, coal, wastepaper, filth, garbage, rubbish or other loose or offensive materials or liquid in any vehicle upon the streets or alleys of the City unless the box or container of such materials upon the vehicle shall be sufficiently firm and tight so as to prevent the falling or spilling of any such material from the vehicle upon the streets or alleys, and the vehicles containing ashes, wastepaper or rubbish shall have a cover of canvass or other suitable covering so as to prevent the blowing, falling or spilling of ashes, wastepaper or rubbish from vehicles upon the streets or alleys.
B. 
Excessive amounts. Trees, large limbs from trees, logs, or large amounts of brush, large discarded pieces of furniture or material, along with excessive amounts of rubbish, must be hauled away at the owner's or tenant's expense.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
Rubbish burning.
[Amended by Ord. No. 12-17-01B]
(1) 
It is unlawful to burn any materials other than small and dried quantities of branches, leaves, weeds or grass at any time. The burning of any other material such as rubber, tires, leather, tar paper, old batteries, or any material which emits an offensive odor when burned is unlawful within the City limits of Mendota, Illinois.
(2) 
Limited amounts of yard waste material may be burned, provided the material is dry and does not create an offensive odor, nuisance, or fire hazard due to high winds. Combustible yard waste material may be kindled from 10:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays or Saturdays only. All fires must be constantly tended by a competent person, until such fire is properly extinguished. The continued smoldering of slow-burning combustible yard waste after 4:00 p.m. is a nuisance, and anyone kindling such a fire which will emit obnoxious odors after 4:00 p.m. will be considered to be performing an unlawful act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
Burning in fire district and commercial districts. No person shall burn trash, paper or other rubbish on the streets or in the alleys or within any lots within the fire district and commercial districts of the City of Mendota, Illinois.
C. 
Garbage burying. It is unlawful to bury garbage or rubbish at any time within the City limits of the City of Mendota, Illinois.
D. 
Garbage, rubbish, combustible material and junk piling.
(1) 
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to deposit within the City limits any piles of garbage, rubbish, junk, manure, carcasses of dead animals, or combustible material unless he intends to remove the material immediately. The deposit of garbage, manure or any material which will produce an obnoxious odor from any compost pile is unlawful. Any compost pile must be placed at least 75 feet from any dwelling.
(2) 
The piling of rubbish or junk on any premises, which remains for a period of more than one week, is a violation of this code. The only exception to this rule is a situation where new construction or building repair is being made. In this case, all rubbish or discarded building material must be removed two weeks after the construction is completed.
(3) 
It shall be unlawful for any owner, contractor, or other person to permanently deposit within the City limits any brick, pieces of concrete, plaster, discarded building material, soil, trees, stumps, branches, brush, paper or other windblown material except for immediate removal at the depositor's expense.
(4) 
It shall be unlawful to burn any combustible material on any street, parkway, sidewalk, or public thoroughfare.
E. 
Burn barrels and similar devices. It shall be unlawful for any person to have or keep within the City limits a burn barrel, fine wire-mesh or concrete block enclosure, or any other structure or device which could be used for burning of garbage, rubbish, or any combustible material.
F. 
Recreational fires. It shall not be unlawful to have an outdoor fire burning materials other than rubbish where the fuel being burned is contained in an incinerator, outdoor fireplace, barbecue grill or barbecue pit and has a total fuel area of three feet (914 mm) or less in diameter and two feet (610 mm) or less in height for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth or similar purposes.
[Added by Ord. No. 07-21-03A[2]]
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[Amended by Ord. No. 1-21-02A; Ord. No. 12-15-03A; Ord. No. 08-16-10A; Ord. No. 07-21-14A[1]]
A. 
Residential.
(1) 
The base rates for the collection of garbage, household rubbish and other waste or trash, not including excessive rubbish as previously designated, shall be set from time to time by the City Council. Buildings with more than one residential unit or apartment shall be billed said monthly rate for each unit, the billing to be added to each water bill on a monthly basis. No residential unit located within the municipality shall be exempt from the provision of this article. A "unit of garbage" is hereby defined as a City-issued garbage toter. The garbage toter lid must be completely closed.
(2) 
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation, other than the authorized City of Mendota scavenger, to tamper with, add to, or remove any of the contents of the recycling containers of the City of Mendota curbside recycling program.
(3) 
No person shall tamper with, destroy, mutilate or remove any of the contents from any garbage containers within the City of Mendota.
B. 
Commercial. The rates for the collection of garbage, rubbish and other wastes or trash for commercial units shall be billed directly by the scavenger to the customer, said rates to be determined by private contract between customer and collector.
C. 
Payment. Payment for the rates charged by the City of Mendota and the scavengers is the responsibility of the owner of the premises receiving the service. The bill for the collection of garbage may be assigned to a tenant, provided said tenant provides a deposit to the City of Mendota in an amount determined by the City Council.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this article shall be fined as set forth in Chapter 1, Article III, Penalties and Enforcement, of the City Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
Any person arrested for a violation of any provision of this article shall be released upon proper bail furnished as required by law.
[Adopted by Ord. No. 02-03-14A]
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words and terms shall, for the purposes of this article, have the meanings indicated in this section:
COMMERCIAL HANDBILL
Any printed or written matter, any sample or device, dodger, circular, leaflet, pamphlet, booklet or other printed or otherwise reproduced original or copies of any matter of literature:
A. 
Which advertises for sale any merchandise, produce, commodity or thing; or
B. 
Which directs attention to any business or mercantile or commercial establishment, or other activity, for the purpose of either directly or indirectly promoting the interest thereof by sales; or
C. 
Which, while containing reading matter other than advertising matter, is predominately and essentially an advertisement, and is distributed or circulated for advertising purposes, or for the private benefit and gain of any person so engaged as advertiser or distributor.
GARBAGE
Putrescent animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
JUNKYARD
An open area of land and any accessory building or structure thereon which is used for buying, selling, exchanging, storing, baling, packing, disassembling, or handling waste or scrap materials, including vehicles, machinery, and equipment not in operable condition or parts thereof, and other metals, paper, plastics, rags, rubber tires and bottles.[1]
LITTER
Garbage, refuse and rubbish as defined herein and all other waste material which, if thrown or deposited as herein prohibited, tends to create a danger to the public health, safety and welfare.
NONCOMMERCIAL HANDBILL
Any printed or written matter, any sample or device, dodger, circular, pamphlet, newspaper, magazine, paper, booklet or any other printed or otherwise reproduced original or copies of any matter of literature not included in the aforesaid definitions of a commercial handbill.[2]
PRIVATE PREMISES
Any dwelling, house, building, or other structure, designed or used either wholly or in part for private residential purposes, whether inhabited or temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant, and shall include any yard, grounds, walk, driveway, porch, steps, vestibule or mailbox belonging or appurtenant to such dwelling, house, building or other structure.
PUBLIC PLACE
Any and all streets, sidewalks, boulevards, alleys or other public ways and any and all public parks, squares, grounds and buildings.
REFUSE
All putrescent and nonputrescent solid wastes, including garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobiles, and solid market, construction and industrial wastes.
RUBBISH
Nonputrescent solid wastes consisting of both combustible and noncombustible wastes, such as paper, wrapping, cigarettes, cardboard, tin cans, wood, glass, bedding, crockery and similar materials.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
No person shall throw, discard or deposit litter in or upon any street, sidewalk or other public place within the City except in public or private waste receptacles authorized for collection of such waste.
Persons placing litter in public receptacles or in authorized private receptacles shall do so in such a manner as to prevent it from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public place or upon private property.
No person shall sweep into or deposit into any gutter, street or other public place within the City the accumulation of litter from any building or lot or from any public or private sidewalk or driveway. Persons owning or occupying property shall keep the sidewalk in front of their premises free of litter.
No person owning or occupying a place of business shall sweep into or deposit into any gutter, street or other public place within the City the accumulation of litter from any building or lot from any public or private sidewalk or driveway. Persons owning or occupying places of business within the City shall keep the sidewalk in front of their business premises free of litter.
No person shall drive or move any truck or other vehicle within the City unless such vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent any load, contents or litter from being blown or deposited upon any street, alley or other public place; nor shall any person drive or move any vehicle or truck within the City, the wheels or tires of which carry onto or deposit in any street, alley or other place mud, dirt, sticky substances, litter or foreign matter of any kind.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any park within the City, except in public receptacles and in such a manner that the litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any part of the park or upon any street or other public place. Where public receptacles are not provided, all such litter shall be carried away from the park by the person responsible for its presence and properly disposed of elsewhere as provided herein.
No person shall throw or deposit any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon any sidewalk, street or other public place within the City, nor shall any person hand out or distribute or sell any commercial handbill in any public place; provided, however, that it shall not be unlawful on any sidewalk, street or other public place within the City for any person to hand out or distribute, without charge to the receiver thereof, any noncommercial handbill to any person who is willing to accept it.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any occupied private property within the City, whether owned by such person or not, except that the owner or person in control of private property may maintain authorized private receptacles for collection in such a manner that litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public place or upon private property. The provisions of this section shall not apply to junkyards as previously defined herein.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any open or vacant private property within the City, whether owned by such person or not.
Any person violating this article shall be fined as set forth in Chapter 1, Article III, Penalties and Enforcement, of the City Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).