(a) 
This article shall be known as the solid waste ordinance of the city.
(b) 
The word premises as used in this article shall be taken to mean residential and small commercial units, municipal facilities, commercial and industrial units, and all other places within the city limits, where garbage, trash or rubbish accumulates in ordinary quantities.
(c) 
The various kinds of solid waste shall be defined as follows:
Bags.
Plastic sacks designed to store refuse with sufficient wall strength to maintain physical integrity when lifted by the top. Total weight of a bag and its contents shall not exceed 35 lbs.
Bin.
The metal receptacle designed to be lifted and emptied mechanically for use primarily at selected municipal facilities and large commercial and industrial units.
Bulky waste.
Stoves, refrigerators (with all Chloro-Flouro-Carbon (CFC) removed), water tanks, washing machines, furniture and all other rubbish which is not specifically excluded from this definition and which is of a weight or volume greater than that which may be placed in a collection cart. The term bulky waste excludes construction debris, large dead animals, hazardous waste, and stable matter with weights or volumes greater than those allowed for bins or containers.
Cart and collection cart.
The receptacle provided by the city or its contractor for the disposal of garbage.
City.
The City of Navasota, Texas.
Commercial and industrial refuse.
All bulky waste, construction debris, garbage and rubbish generated by a producer at a large commercial and industrial unit.
Commercial and industrial unit.
All premises, locations or entities, public or private, requiring refuse collection within the corporate limits of the city which are not a residential unit or municipal facility.
Commercial garbage service.
Regular waste collection service to all premises, locations, or entities, public or private, requiring refuse collection within the corporate limits of the city which are not a residential unit or municipal facility.
Construction debris.
Waste building materials resulting from construction, remodeling, repair or demolition operations at a residential unit, municipal facility or large commercial and industrial unit.
Container for garbage, rubbish and yard waste collection.
A receptacle with the capacities designated on the agreement with city’s contractor for waste disposal that is designated for the purpose of curbside collection of garbage, rubbish and yard waste and is construed of plastic, metal or fiberglass, having handles of adequate strength for lifting, and having a tight fitting lid. The mouth of the container shall have a diameter greater than equal to that of the base.
Dead animals.
Animals which have expired from any cause. The term dead animals, does not include the remains of processed meats intended for human consumption, whether or not cooked.
Disposal site.
A waste material depository designated by the contractor for disposal services, including but not limited to sanitary landfills, transfer stations, incinerators, recycling facilities and waste processing/separation centers licensed, permitted or approved by all governmental bodies and agencies having jurisdiction and requiring such licenses, permits or approvals to receive for processing or final disposal of waste material and small dead animals.
Dispose.
To legally deposit waste or waste material generated by the customer and placed in a waste collection receptacle whose collection services are contracted by the city.
Excluded waste.
All large dead animals, hazardous waste, offal waste, stable matter, vegetable waste, and special waste.
Garbage.
Any small dead animal, not exceeding ten (10) pounds, every accumulation of waste (animal, vegetable or other matter) that results from the preparation, processing, consumption, dealing in, handling, packing, canning, storage, transportation, decay or decomposition of meats, fish, fowl, birds, fruits, grains or other animal or vegetable matter which is likely to attract flies or rodents, except bulky waste, construction debris, hazardous waste, rubbish or stable matter, except any matter referred to as excluded waste throughout this article.
Hazardous waste.
A form of excluded waste, in any amount, which is radioactive, volatile, corrosive, highly flammable, explosive, biomedical, infectious, biohazardous, or toxic. Hazardous waste shall include, but is not limited to waste that is defined, characterized, or designated as hazardous by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or appropriate state agency by or pursuant to state or federal law.
Institutional solid waste.
A form of excluded waste, originating from education, health care and research facilities such as schools, hospitals, nursing homes, laboratories and other similar establishments.
Large dead animals.
A form of excluded waste that includes animals or portions thereof equal to or greater than ten (10) pounds in weight that have expired from any cause, except those slaughtered or killed for human use.
Multi-family.
All residential dwelling units of more than one (1) unit considered to be condominiums, apartment houses or grouped housing.
Municipal facilities.
Only those specific municipal locations as set forth within the terms of the agreement with the contractor for disposal services.
Offal waste.
A form of excluded waste such as animal (land or marine) matter from establishments such as butcher shops, slaughterhouses, food processing and packing plants, rendering plants and fertilizer plants.
Producer.
An operator or occupant of a commercial or industrial facility or a residential unit who generates garbage, rubbish, yard waste, or recyclable materials.
Residential refuse.
All garbage, rubbish, and yard waste generated at a residential unit. The term residential refuse does not include bulky waste, construction debris, dead animals, and hazardous waste or stable matter.
Residential unit.
A dwelling unit within the corporate limits of the city intended for single-family occupancy or intended for occupancy by not more than one family, and as further described in the agreement with the contractor for disposal services. The term residential unit does not include a dwelling unit within a mobile home park which does not receive individual water or sewer utility service from the city.
Roll-off.
An open top container ranging from 20-40 yards used for the placement of construction debris and other types of waste.
Rubbish.
All wood waste, wood products, tree trimmings, grass cuttings, dead plants, weeds, dead trees or branches thereof, chips, shavings, sawdust, printed matter, paper, pasteboard, rags, straw, used and discarded mattresses, used and discarded clothing, used and discarded shoes and boots, combustible waste pulp and other products used for packaging or wrapping, ashes, cinders, floor sweepings, glass, mineral or metallic substances, and any other waste materials not included in the definition of bulky waste, construction debris, dead animals, garbage, refuse, hazardous waste or stable matter.
Small dead animals.
Animals or portions thereof less than ten (10) pounds in weight that have expired from any cause, except those slaughtered or killed for human use.
Solid waste.
Useless, unwanted or discarded materials with insufficient liquid content to be free flowing, that result from domestic, industrial, commercial, agricultural, governmental and community operations which require proper storage, collection, transportation and disposal to prevent environmental pollution inimical to public health, safety and welfare. Solid waste does not include sewage, earth or material used to fill land in accordance with construction codes, mining residues, slag, dissolved or suspended solids in industrial wastewater effluents which are not acceptable for disposal in [the] sanitary sewage treatment system or any material included in the definition of excluded waste.
Special waste.
A form of excluded waste such as nonhazardous, solid waste that is subject to additional governmental regulations or special handling requirements in collection, transportation, processing or disposal as a result of the characteristics of, or processes which generate such waste. Includes, but is not limited to:
(1) 
Waste iron from a commercial or industrial activity;
(2) 
Waste generated by an industrial process or a pollution control process;
(3) 
Waste which may contain free liquids;
(4) 
Waste which may contain residue and debris from the cleanup of a spill of petroleum, chemical or commercial products or wastes, or contaminated residuals;
(5) 
Articles from the cleanup of a facility which generates, stores, treats, recycles or disposes of chemical substances, commercial products or wastes;
(6) 
Wastes which are nonhazardous as a result of proper treatment pursuant to subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA);
(7) 
Asbestos containing or asbestos bearing material that has been properly secured under existing federal, state, provincial and local laws, rules and regulations;
(8) 
Containers that once contained hazardous substances, chemicals, or insecticides so long as such containers are empty as defined by RCRA;
(9) 
Municipal or commercial solid waste that may have come into contact with any of the foregoing;
(10) 
Filter cake sludge wastes from wastewater treatment processes;
(11) 
Wastes containing any regulated polychlorinated biphenyls; and
(12) 
Ash, sludge, tires and powders.
Stable matter.
A form of excluded waste such as manure and other waste matter normally accumulated in or about a stable, or other enclosure for poultry, livestock or other animals, and which results from keeping of animals, poultry or livestock.
Vegetable waste.
A form of excluded waste such as putrescible solid waste resulting from the processing of plants for food by commercial establishments such as canneries. This definition does not include waste products resulting from the preparation and consumption of food in places such as cafeterias and restaurants.
Waste.
All solid waste material of every kind or character including garbage, rubbish, bulky waste, yard waste, stable matter, dead animals, construction debris, offal waste, vegetable waste, hazardous waste, and special waste.
Yard waste.
Grass, weeds, leaves, tree trimmings, plants, shrubbery prunings and other similar plant or wood materials which are generated in the maintenance of residential yards and gardens.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 1, adopted 5/21/09)
(a) 
No person may permit any unsightly, unsafe or unsanitary accumulation of waste upon premises under the person’s control.
(b) 
Prior to the disposal, all waste must be stored securely to prevent being blown about and to prevent its accessibility to flies, rodents and scavenging animals.
(c) 
A person, or the person’s agent or employee, may not allow other persons to dispose or allow or permit the disposal of any solid waste within a residential or commercial collection container.
(d) 
A person, or the person’s agent or employee, may not dispose or permit the disposal of any solid waste at a place within the city limits or within one mile of the corporate limits of said city, or within three hundred (300) feet of a public road, right-of-way, any portion of the municipal separate stormwater sewer system or drainage way of the city, except at a state approved sanitary landfill, or the city designated recycle center.
(e) 
No person may dispose of waste except in accordance with the provisions of this article or through other lawful means.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 2, adopted 5/21/09)
The city retains the exclusive authority to provide residential refuse collection services within the corporate limits of the municipality. The city may provide such services directly or through the use of an independent contractor.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 3, adopted 5/21/09)
(a) 
It shall be the duty of every person, firm or corporation, owning, managing, operating, leasing or renting any premises or any places where garbage accumulates to use one (1) or more portable polycarts provided by the city or its contractor.
(b) 
Residential refuse intended for collection must be placed within bags in a collection cart provided by the city or its contractor. A collection cart may not be filled to a capacity which prevents full closure of the cart lid. Residential refuse not contained within a closed collection cart will not be collected.
(c) 
Collection carts shall be placed at the property lines or at such point as may be designated by the director of public works to be collected by the city or contractor vehicles. Barrels, bins, racks, garbage containers or receptacles, other than those provided by the city or its contractor placed for collection are prohibited. Collection carts must be removed from the curb on the same day as garbage was collected by the city or its contractor. All utility customers are required to have garbage service. Customers not connected to city utilities are not entitled to garbage or yard waste collection.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 4, adopted 5/21/09)
(a) 
The places of wholesale accumulation, such as killing and dressing plants for fowl, wholesale fruit and vegetable houses, storage or other places, where the daily accumulation of garbage, trash, junk, brush or rubbish is more than the ordinary quantities are required to remove same to a state approved landfill at their own expense. Commercial businesses shall be required to obtain sufficient rate of pick up so as to prevent the overflow of excessive amount of garbage which would cause a public nuisance, unhealthy or unsafe conditions.
(b) 
Heavy dead animals, such as cows, horses and mules, shall be delivered to a state approved sanitary landfill at the expense of the owner or person having same in charge.
(c) 
Heavy accumulations such as brick, broken concrete, lumber, ashes, clinkers, cinders, dirt and plaster, sand or gravel, automobile frames, and other bulky materials shall be disposed of at the expense of the owner, person, firm or corporation controlling same under the direction of the director of public works and in accordance with the rules and regulations relating thereto.
(d) 
Manure from cow lots, horse stables, poultry yards, pigeon lots, and waste oils from garages or service stations shall be disposed of at the expense of the party responsible for the same under the direction of the director of public works and in accordance with other rules and regulations regarding the same.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 5, adopted 5/21/09)
It shall be unlawful for any person to place any large dead animal, hazardous waste, offal waste, stable matter, vegetable waste, and special waste in refuse intended for collection by the city or its contractor.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 6, adopted 5/21/09)
(a) 
Where practical, collection carts and bulky waste intended for city collection should be placed at the customer’s property line immediately adjacent to the curb or edge of pavement of the abutting street or alley. Where steep slopes or other conditions prevent the collection container from remaining in an upright position on the customer’s premises, the container may be placed upon the adjoining street pavement provided that it does not present an obstruction to traffic or create a safety hazard. The collection cart should be oriented in the fashion indicated by clearly marked directions upon the container. When construction work is being performed in the right-of-way, collection containers shall be placed as close as practicable to an access point for the collection vehicle.
(b) 
The city or its contractor will not make collection of garbage, trash, brush or junk where same is not prepared for collection and placed as designated by the terms of this article.
(c) 
No waste intended for municipal collection shall be placed at curbside earlier between 5:00 p.m. of the day prior to the scheduled collection day, 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled collection day [sic]. The collection cart and any items not collected shall be removed from curbside on the day in which the collection is scheduled to occur. Collection carts, bulky waste and other refuse containers should be screened from public view except during the hours when placed for collection.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 7, adopted 5/21/09)
(a) 
The city has established a voluntary program of residential recycling for certain types of residential refuse. City customers may dispose of certain types of recyclable items according to recycle center guidelines.
(b) 
The disposal of brush at the city designated recycle center is limited to grass clippings, leaves, hedge trimmings, weeds, plants and limbs twelve (12) inches in diameter or less.
(c) 
Yard waste such as grass clippings, leaves, hedge trimmings, weeds and plants shall be placed in a trash bag when placed out for collection during the city’s scheduled yard waste collection.
(d) 
Heavy accumulations of brush exceeding the normal residential yard waste quantities of ten (10) cubic yards per month and tree limbs in excess of twelve (12) inches in diameter shall be disposed of at the expense of the owner, person, firm, or corporation controlling same under the direction of the director of public works and in accordance with other rules and regulations regarding the same.
(e) 
The collection of residential yard waste shall be separate from garbage collection and the commingling of the two is prohibited. The schedule for collection of residential yard waste shall be determined by the director of public works.
(f) 
Yard waste placed for collection shall be placed no sooner than the weekend prior to the collection week and by 7:00 a.m. on the first day of the scheduled week’s collection.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 8, adopted 5/21/09)
(a) 
Ownership of all refuse, bulky waste or recyclables, in conformance with the provisions of this article, placed for collection conditionally passes to the city or its collection contractor when placed at the curb for collection. Title to waste matter which is not subject to collection by the city under this article is retained by the person lawfully placing such waste for collection. Notwithstanding such provision, no person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in materials placed for collection and no precollection inventory of waste materials placed for collection shall be considered a search, regardless of whether or not title to the waste is retained by the person placing the item for collection.
(b) 
No person other than the city or its authorized collection agents may remove any item from a collection cart, commercial garbage collection container, or roll-off.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 9, adopted 5/21/09)
Small commercial establishments having limited disposal requirements may be provided municipal refuse collection services upon the same basis as that provided to residential units.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 10, adopted 5/21/09)
The rates as set forth in the master fee schedule shall apply to the city’s collection of refuse and bulky waste in the following categories:
(1) 
Single-container residential collection;
(2) 
Each additional residential collections container;
(3) 
Single-container small commercial collection (small);
(4) 
Each additional small commercial collection container (large).
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 11, adopted 5/21/09)
(a) 
All waste generated within the city other than residential refuse, bulky waste generated at a residential unit, and waste generated by commercial accounts accepted for city collection, shall be collected and disposed of by the city or its designated contractor.
(b) 
No person shall use any city street, alley or public right-of-way in any manner for purposes of engaging in the business of commercial garbage service unless such person shall have first obtained a franchise from the city for such purpose.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 12, adopted 5/21/09)
(a) 
Each customer of a commercial garbage service shall obtain the capacity of garbage collection containers which is adequate to satisfy the disposal demands of the customer.
(b) 
The commercial container shall be placed on an adequately sized concrete or asphalted slab and in conformance with the city building code.
(c) 
A commercial garbage collection container may not be placed within the right-of-way of a public street or alley or upon any other city property without the consent of the city.
(d) 
The commercial container and enclosure must be maintained and kept free of weeds, litter, junk and debris in accordance with the health and sanitation code.
(e) 
It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of a building or facility that is: (1) constructed on or after the effective date of this article; and (2) served by commercial garbage service, to place or allow any commercial garbage collection container on the premises such that the commercial garbage collection container is visible from a public street right-of-way or adjacent residential property.
(f) 
Subsection (e) of this section shall not apply to:
(1) 
A commercial garbage collection container that is entirely screened from view by an enclosure or opaque wall, fence, or other barrier at least six (6) feet in height and constructed in conformance with all applicable building code(s). Visibility shall be determined at ground level and not from a location on or within an elevated structure or the second or higher story of a building;
(2) 
A commercial garbage collection container that is placed adjacent to an alley and is not visible from another public street right-of-way or adjacent residential property;
(3) 
A commercial garbage collection container that is more than 250 feet away from the edge of the pavement of the nearest public street right-of-way;
(4) 
A commercial garbage collection container that is more than 250 feet away from the nearest property line of any adjacent residential property from which the container may be viewed;
(5) 
A commercial garbage collection container that has been temporarily placed at a construction site for the purpose of the collection and disposal of construction or demolition waste; or
(6) 
A commercial garbage collection container that is used solely for the purpose of a recycling program and is clearly marked to indicate such purpose.
(g) 
The director of public works or his designee may grant a variance to the requirements of this section if:
(1) 
The city has refused to provide garbage collection service to the premises; and
(2) 
There is no location upon the premises where the commercial collection container can be screened and remain accessible to the collection vehicle or equipment of the collection firm.
(h) 
A commercial garbage collection container may not be placed within the right-of-way of a public street or alley or upon any other city property without the consent of the city.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 13, adopted 5/21/09)
Any person violating any provisions of this article shall, upon conviction, be fined in any amount not to exceed $2,000.00, and each day a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 14, adopted 5/21/09)
The city council is hereby authorized to fix and establish by orders or resolutions, all charges to be assessed for collection of garbage, junk, trash, brush and rubbish, as herein provided, as well as the days upon which all pickups called for herein shall be made. All charges for such garbage service shall be made a part of the monthly utility bills and shall be payable in accordance therewith.
(Ordinance 584-09, sec. 16, adopted 5/21/09)