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;
(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;
(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)
An accumulation of trash, brush, limbs or logs on any property
within this city by any person owning or having under their control
such property is declared a nuisance.
(Ordinance 579 adopted 3/27/01)
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)