The purpose of this article is to:
(1) 
Provide a safe and healthful environment for all citizens within the city;
(2) 
Protect the health, safety, and well-being of all citizens by eliminating possible germ-breeding materials and conditions which may contribute to the spreading of diseases and infections to humans and animals; and
(3) 
Provide a means for the controlled and safe handling, storage, collection, transporting, and disposal of municipal solid waste within the city.
(Ordinance 439 adopted 1/27/93; Ordinance 607-02 adopted 3/26/02)
In this article:
Authorized sanitary landfill.
A controlled area of land for which a permit is issued and upon which solid waste is disposed of in conformance with federal and state law.
Bulky items.
Items too large for normal pickup which cannot be loaded by two workers.
Collection.
The act of picking up municipal solid waste at its point of generation or storage and placing it in a vehicle.
Commercial premises.
Any commercial or industrial enterprises operating within the corporate limits of the city, including any residential dwellings occupied by persons or a group of persons comprising more than four (4) families.
Commercial unit.
Any type of business or industry whether sales, service, or storage or any institution, including, but not limited to, a church, school, or hospital.
Contractor.
The person, firm, or corporation with whom the city has contracted to collect refuse from commercial premises.
Generator.
Any person who produces any waste materials regulated by this article.
Hazardous waste.
Any refuse, sludge, or other waste material or combination of refuse, sludge, or other waste materials in solid, semisolid, liquid or gaseous form, which, because of its quantity, concentrations, or chemical, physical or infectious characteristics, as defined in 40 CFR 261, may pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed. Categories of hazardous waste materials include, but are not limited to, explosives, flammables, oxidizers, and reactive wastes, poisons, irritants, and corrosives.
Household hazardous waste.
Any hazardous waste, as defined above, generated in a residential household, that is exempt from the regulations governing the storage, transport, and disposal of hazardous waste, due to the relatively small volume of generation by a single generator or household.
Person.
An individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, federal agency, corporation (including a government corporation), corporate official, partnership, association, state, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state, or any interstate body.
Refuse.
Garbage other than garbage or trash generated in a residential household, including but not limited to rubbish, brush, tree limbs, tree stumps and other solid waste from residential, commercial, industrial, and community generators which is collected in aggregate, but does not include special wastes, hazardous wastes, household hazardous wastes, recyclables, auto hulks, construction and demolition debris, mining wastes, agricultural wastes, tires, and other materials collected, processed, and disposed of as separate waste materials.
Residential household-generated garbage.
Normal everyday garbage or trash generated in a residential household. Normal garbage or trash does not include brush or tree limbs, rubbish, special wastes, hazardous wastes or any other refuse not generated in the home itself.
Residential unit.
One or more persons occupying a premises and living as a single housekeeping unit.
Special wastes.
(1) 
Medical waste, including infectious or pathological waste from laboratories, research facilities, and health and veterinary facilities;
(2) 
Dead animals or slaughterhouse waste;
(3) 
Sludge;
(4) 
Waste material determined to be or contains free liquid by the paint filter test;
(5) 
Waste from industrial process;
(6) 
Waste from a pollution control process;
(7) 
Waste transported in bulk tanker;
(8) 
Asbestos waste;
(9) 
Empty containers which have been used for pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or rodenticides;
(10) 
Residue or debris from the cleanup of a spill or release of chemical substances or commercial products;
(11) 
Soil, water, residue, debris or articles which are contaminated from the cleanup of a site or facility formerly used for the generation, storage, treatment, recycling, reclamation, or disposal of waste listed in this definition, including, but not limited to, soil contaminated from underground storage of petroleum products;
(12) 
Waste that requires other than normal handling, storage, management, or disposal.
(Ordinance 439 adopted 1/27/93; Ordinance 607-02 adopted 3/26/02)
(a) 
The contractor shall have the exclusive right to collect and dispose of all refuse accumulated on commercial premises within the city limits which is left for pickup by the occupant.
(b) 
Commercial collection routes shall be established according to city-designated routes and schedules.
(c) 
Collection of commercial refuse shall not start before 5:30 a.m. and must be completed before 6:00 p.m. on the same day.
(Ordinance 439 adopted 1/27/93; Ordinance adopting Code)
It shall be unlawful for a person owning, operating, managing, controlling, or occupying premises within the city to allow the accumulation of refuse on the premises, except as placed in approved containers. Accumulation of refuse outside of containers is declared a nuisance and must be removed within 10 days after written notice to remove is given to the owner or person in control of the premises. Penalties and fines for offenses shall be assessed according to this division.
(Ordinance 439 adopted 1/27/93)
No person shall transport any waste or cause waste to be transported over the streets in the city unless the waste is entirely covered sufficiently to prevent waste from falling to the ground.
(Ordinance 439 adopted 1/27/93)
This article does not prohibit a property owner or occupant from transporting refuse generated on the property to an authorized sanitary landfill, but such disposal does not relieve the person from subscribing to the city’s collection service.
(Ordinance 439 adopted 1/27/93)
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to burn any combustibles including but not limited to refuse, garbage, trash, rubbish, uncut grass, weeds, timber, leaves, or other natural or synthetic materials, within the limits of the city.
(Ordinance 1047-2014, sec. 2, adopted 10/28/14)
It shall be unlawful for any person owning or having under their control any property within the city to fail or refuse to remove or destroy an accumulation of trash, brush, tree limbs or other refuse on such property within ten (10) days after having been notified to do so by the sanitation superintendent or other person authorized to give such notice.
(Ordinance 579 adopted 3/27/01)
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, association of persons, owner, agent, or contractor to haul brush, tree limbs, logs or refuse of any kind from outside of the city into the corporate limits of the city and place such on any property in the city for the purpose of having the city sanitation department dispose of it at the expense of the city.
(Ordinance 579 adopted 3/27/01)
Any person, firm or corporation who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this article shall be fined as provided in section 1.01.009 for each offense. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ordinance 579 adopted 3/27/01)
No person shall hereafter collect kitchen garbage, trash, rubbish or any kind of junk whether contracting with the city or on an individual permit within the city limits without first having obtained from the city a permit for such purpose.
(Ordinance 1176-2018 adopted 2/13/18)
City.
The City of River Oaks located at 4900 River Oaks Blvd, River Oaks, Texas.
Individual collector.
A person permitted to collect and dispose of trash, garbage, rubbish or junk of any kind that is properly placed at the street for collection and disposal.
Private collector(s).
Person or persons, association of persons or commercial company or corporation whose purpose is to collect and dispose of trash, garbage, rubbish or junk of any kind that is properly placed at the street for collection and disposal.
(Ordinance 1176-2018 adopted 2/13/18)
Application for a permit to collect garbage, trash or rubbish or any kind of junk within the city limits shall be made by filing an application with the city permit department and shall set forth the name and address of the applicant, the trade name under which he does or proposes to do business, the number, kind and size of vehicles the applicant proposes to operate, the nature and character of service that the applicant proposes to render, rates if applicable to be charged for such service, location of dumping grounds, and if applicable, applicant’s financial ability for damages in the event of injury to persons or damage to property, by reason of negligence of employees, or negligent operation of motor vehicles.
(Ordinance 1176-2018 adopted 2/13/18)
All applications for an individual collector shall be reviewed by the city manager and the chief of police. Once approved, a permit shall be issued to the applicant signed by the city manager or designee. Unless otherwise determined to be necessary, the individual collector is not required to be bonded or furnish a certificate of insurance. There is no permit fee required for issuance of this permit. Permits for private collections for an individual collector is valid for one year from the date of issuance.
(Ordinance 1239-2019, sec. 86, adopted 8/13/19)