It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, deposit, scatter, or drop, or cause to be thrown, deposited, scattered, or dropped, in or upon any vacant lot, City easement, or open space within the City, any refuse, branches, brush, leaves, grass clippings or other matter normally collected by the City refuse crews.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Bowie 11-6-1989 by Ord. No. O-19-89 (Ch. 10 of the 1989 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
It shall be unlawful to litter the streets, roads, walks, parks, parking areas, recreation areas or other public areas within the City by causing or permitting to be discarded, dropped, spilled, scattered, leaked, thrown or let fall any paper, boxes, cans, bottles, refuse, trash, garbage, trimmings from lawns, hedges, shrubs or trees, or any fuel oil in the servicing of tanks, or any lubricating oil in the servicing or repair of motor vehicles or any earth clay, dirt, sod, gravel, broken stone, mortar, hay, straw, manure, shavings, sawdust, coal, ashes or any rubbish or loose material of any kind.
B.
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any land where excavation is being made, where excavated material is being deposited or where landscaping or construction work is being done, or for the owner, driver, operator, contractor, manager, agent, foreman, superintendent or person in charge or any truck, automobile, or other vehicle or any construction equipment, to cause or permit any earth clay, dirt, sod, gravel, broken stone, mortar, hay, straw, manure, or any loose material of any kind to be placed, deposited, scattered, dropped, leaked, spilled, let fall from any truck, automobile or other vehicle or any construction equipment or to be trod by the wheels of such vehicles or equipment upon any street, road, sidewalk, crosswalk, curb, gutter or parking area.
[Amended 8-2-2021 by Ord. No. O-3-21]
C.
Every person having charge of building construction or renovations, either as owner or contractor, shall remove or cause to be removed, at the expiration of each working day, from the City sidewalks, gutters, and roadways adjacent to such building construction or renovation, all earth, sand, gravel, dirt, mortar, stones, broken brick, shavings, rubbish and all other litter that may have been deposited or accumulated thereon as a result of such building construction or renovation.
[Amended 11-21-1994 by Ord. No. O-20-94; 8-2-2021 by Ord. No. O-3-21]
A.
Refuse containers shall be provided by the owner or occupant of a City residence. They shall be between 10 gallons and 32 gallons, made of metal or plastic, and equipped with handles. They shall be kept sanitary and in good condition, shall not exceed a weight of 50 pounds when filled, and must be covered at all times. Refuse must be placed inside plastic bags that are tightly tied or otherwise sealed and placed inside refuse containers covered with tight fitting lids.
B.
Refuse and household trash shall be placed for collection at the curb in front of the property, except that, for those properties whose rear property line abuts or is adjacent to an alley or public right-of-way where trash is collected from the rear of the property, refuse and household trash shall be placed at the curb in the rear of the property, but not in the street, alley or other public right-of-way. Refuse and household trash must be placed at the curb for collection by 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled day of collection but no earlier than 5:00 p.m. of the prior day. Refuse and household trash placed at the curb after 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled collection day may not be collected.
C.
Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, property occupants may use refuse containers that have a capacity of 48 to 64 gallons if the containers are equipped with a metal bar in the center rear that will allow them to be lifted mechanically.
D.
For purposes of this section, the term "refuse" shall mean animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food and any items that attract animals or vermin, including wrapped diapers, but not including unwrapped diapers or sewage, which the City will not collect.
E.
For purposes of this section, the term "household trash" shall mean any waste material from the operation of a home not included within the definition of refuse. Household trash shall include bulk trash, mattresses entirely wrapped in plastic, furniture, nonmetal cabinetry, wood or laminate countertops, nonmetal plumbing fixtures, carpet and padding four feet in width or under that is rolled and tied on both ends, mirrors and glass from furniture taped on both sides, yard toys, similar nonmetal items and waste building material from projects completed by the homeowner on the residential property, but shall not include yard waste, recycling or metal items, which the City collects separately, or asbestos, concrete, lumber, roof or siding shingles, windows, doors, drywall, tile, mirrors or glass from furniture not taped on both sides, carpet and padding exceeding four feet in width or not rolled and tied on both ends, dirt, sod, mulch, rocks, rubble, bricks, stones, unwrapped diapers or sewage, all of which the City will not collect.
F.
Waste building materials to be collected with household trash must be placed in contractor bags or trash receptacles, each of which must weigh less than 50 pounds.
[Amended 11-21-1994 by Ord. No. O-20-94; 8-2-2021 by Ord. No. O-3-21]
A.
For purposes of this section, "screening" shall consist of fences and walls lower than four feet in height and/or landscaping that collectively block direct visual access to an object from adjoining properties and public streets throughout the year.
B.
Refuse receptacles shall be stored on residential property either in an enclosed structure or at the rear of each residence except that:
(1)
In the case of an attached dwelling that has no side yard, where refuse collection is accomplished at the front curb, refuse receptacles may be stored in the front yard if screened from public view; and
(2)
Refuse receptacles may be stored in the side yard of the house, 10 feet or more from the front corner of the side of the house on which the receptacles are stored.
C.
Empty containers will not be returned to the storage location on the premises by City employees, and the owner or occupant of the premises shall return the empty containers to a permissible storage location prior to 10:00 p.m. on the day of collection.
Commercial receptacles shall be maintained in a manner to prevent rodent access and harborage, in sanitary and structurally sound condition, secured in a manner so as to prevent the scattering or discharge of any contained refuse material.
[Amended by Ord. No. O-6-01, effective 10-4-2001; 8-2-2021 by Ord. No. O-3-21]
A.
The City provides for yard waste collection to all homes in the corporate limits every Wednesday without special request. "Yard waste" includes bagged grass and leaves, and twigs and branches tied securely in bundles. Branches can be no larger than three inches in diameter and no longer than four feet in length. Yard waste does not include bamboo, dirt, rocks, concrete, bricks, stumps, and landscape timbers. Yard waste may not be placed at the curb prior to 5:00 p.m. the Tuesday evening before the scheduled collection and must be at the curb no later than 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Yard waste must be placed in paper bags for collection and must be protected from precipitation before collection; the City will not collect wet yard waste.
B.
The City provides for collection of metal items and up to four tires per calendar year from all homes in the corporate limits every Wednesday when requested. "Metal items" include household appliances, grills, bikes, hot water heaters, air conditioner units, and any other item that is 98% metal. Metal items do not include auto parts, metal fencing, propane tanks, fence posts, cylinders and drums or garden stakes. Residents must call the Public Works Department prior to 12:00 noon on the Tuesday before pickup to be on the special collection list. Items for special collection may only be placed at the curb between 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday immediately before the special collection date and 7:00 a.m. on the Wednesday special collection date. Items placed at the curb after 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled collection day may not be collected.
C.
The City provides collection of mixed (single stream) recycling items on certain days in each section of the City without special request. Items that will be collected for recycling include plastic, metal, and glass food and drink containers; paper; and cardboard. Residents are responsible for checking the City website or contacting the Public Works Department for an updated list of items that may and may not be included in mixed recycling collection, as the list changes from time to time. Mixed recycling items must be placed in the City-provided recycling containers. Items for recycling collection may only be placed at the curb between 5:00 p.m. the day before scheduled collection date and 7:00 a.m. on the day of collection. Items placed at the curb after 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled collection day may not be collected.
No person shall sweep into or deposit in any gutter, storm drain, drainage swale, street or other public place within the City the accumulation of litter, grass clippings, brush, trees or tree limbs, trash and/or other debris from any public or private sidewalk, residence or driveway. Persons owning or occupying property shall keep the sidewalk in front of their premises passable, free of litter, tree limbs, bushes and other vegetable matter.
No person shall post or affix any notice, poster or other paper or device calculated to attract the attention of the public to any public property, or upon any public structure or building, or light pole, except as may be authorized or required by law.
It shall be unlawful to empty, throw, pour, discard, dump or otherwise dispose onto, into or upon any portion of the storm drainage system within the City any motor oil, solvents or water pollutants.
It shall be unlawful to empty, throw, pour, discard, dump, bury or otherwise dispose onto, into or upon the ground any water pollutants if such disposal will result in the water pollutant draining, flowing or otherwise being carried into any portion of the storm drainage system within the City.
[Amended 8-2-2021 by Ord. No. O-3-21]
The City Manager is hereby authorized to notify in writing the owner or the person responsible for the maintenance of property to remove or properly dispose of the litter from the subject property within 10 days, inclusive of Sundays and holidays, after the date of such notice. Such notice shall advise the owner or responsible person that the City shall take action and the owner or responsible person shall bear the cost if they fail to remove or properly dispose of the litter. For purposes of this section, the term "litter" shall mean any of the items covered by § 10-2A of this chapter.
A.
Failure, neglect or refusal of any owner or responsible person so notified to properly dispose of litter within the time frame specified in § 10-11 after receipt of written notice shall constitute a violation, and a municipal infraction will be issued.
B.
Upon failure to remove and properly dispose of the litter within the time specified, the litter shall be removed by the City and the cost thereof shall be charged to the person so failing unless good cause to the contrary is shown by filing objection in writing with the City Manager on or before the expiration date of such notice and the City Manager, in his sole discretion, accepts such cause.
C.
If the litter is not removed and properly disposed of within the specified time and no written objections have been filed, then the City Manager is authorized to incur the necessary expense in removing the litter, and shall place a charge against the property of the person who fails to remove or dispose of such litter for such cost and proceed to collect the same by entering the same on the tax records as a tax upon such property or by suit for injunction or other relief if deemed necessary, or both.