The purpose of the chapters in this Code of Ordinances pertaining to Solid Waste Control is to provide for the sanitary storage, collection and disposal of solid waste and, thereby, to protect the citizens of the City from such hazards to their health, safety, and welfare as may result from the uncontrolled disposal of solid waste.

   For purposes of this chapter, the following terms are defined:

   1.   “Banned substance” means any waste prohibited by the Code of Iowa from being disposed of in sanitary landfills, including yard waste, lead acid batteries, oil, and medical waste.

   2.   “Bundle” means a stack of brush or tree branches bound together.

   3.   “Commercial establishment” means and includes all businesses and operations in the City which are not defined as residences, including schools, churches, and apartment buildings.

   4.   “Composting” means a controlled microbial degradation of organic waste to produce a relatively nuisance-free product of potential value as a soil conditioner.

   5.   “Container” means a reusable and clearly marked receptacle constructed of plastic or metal materials.

   6.   “Degradable bags” are any untreated bags or biodegradable plastic bags acceptable to the composting station or facility and used by the licensed hauler.

   7.   “Director” means the director of the State Department of Natural Resources

   8.   “Discard” means to place, cause to be placed, throw, deposit, or drop.

   9.   “Dumpsters” means large metal containers with lids.

   10.   “Dwelling unit” means any room or group of rooms located within a structure and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used, or are intended to be used, for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating.

   11.   “Garbage” means all waste generated by normal residential and commercial day-to-day operations, and fitting in an approved bag, container, or properly bundled. The following items are specifically excluded from the garbage classification:

      A.   Furniture and appliances, including box springs and mattresses;

      B.   Dead animals;

      C.   Waste generated by kennel operations;

      D.   Vehicle parts, oil, grease;

      E.   Construction debris, paint;

      F.   Trees, dirt, rubble, yard waste;

      G.   Ammunition and other hazardous materials.

   12.   “Landscape waste” means any vegetable or plant waste except garbage. The term includes trees, tree trimmings, branches, stumps, brush, weeds, leaves, grass, shrubbery, and yard trimmings.

   13.   “Lead acid batteries” means those batteries which contain lead plates and acid.

   14.   “Licensed hauler” or “collector” means any person with a valid license obtained from the City and who is engaged in the business, process or any part thereof of storage, collection, transportation, and disposal of solid waste.

   15.   “Litter” means any garbage, rubbish, trash, refuse, waste materials, or debris not exceeding 10 pounds in weight or 15 cubic feet in volume. Litter includes, but is not limited, to empty beverage containers, cigarette butts, food waste packaging, other food or candy wrappers, handbills, empty cartons, or boxes.

   16.   “Medical waste” means that waste determined to be infectious by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

   17.   “Oil” means any petroleum based or synthetic oil.

   18.   “Owner” means, in addition to the record titleholder, any person residing in, renting, leasing, occupying, operating, or transacting business in any premises, and as between such parties the duties, responsibilities, liabilities, and obligations hereinafter imposed shall be joint and several.

   19.   “Refuse” means putrescible and non-putrescible waste, including, but not limited to, garbage, rubbish, ashes, incinerator residues, street cleanings, market and industrial solid waste, and sewage treatment waste in dry or semisolid form.

   20.   “Residence” means a single-family dwelling and any multiple-family dwelling up to and including four separate quarters. Garden type apartments and row type housing units shall be considered residential premises regardless of the total number of such apartments or units which may be included in a given housing development. Single-family attached dwelling units, having individual ownership, are deemed to be residences.

   21.   “Residential waste” means any refuse generated on the premises as a result of residential activities. The term includes landscape waste grown on the premises or deposited thereon by the elements, but excludes garbage, tires, trade wastes, and any locally recyclable goods or plastics.

   22.   “Rubbish” means non-putrescible solid waste consisting of combustible and non-combustible waste, such as ashes, paper, cardboard, tin cans, yard clippings, wood, glass, bedding, crockery, or litter of any kind.

   23.   “Sanitary disposal” means a method of treating solid waste so that it does not produce a hazard to the public health or safety or create a nuisance.

   24.   “Sanitary disposal project” means all facilities and appurtenances (including all real and personal property connected with such facilities) that are acquired, purchased, constructed, reconstructed, equipped, improved, extended, maintained, or operated to facilitate the final disposition of solid waste without creating a significant hazard to the public health or safety, and which are approved by the Director of the State Department of Natural Resources. “Sanitary disposal project” does not include a pyrolysis or gasification facility as defined in Section 455B.301 of the Code of Iowa.

   25.   “Solid waste” means garbage, refuse, rubbish, and other similar discarded solid or semisolid materials, including, but not limited to, such materials resulting from industrial, commercial, agricultural, and domestic activities. Solid waste may include vehicles, as defined by Section 321.1 of the Code of Iowa. Solid waste does not include any of the following:

      A.   Hazardous waste regulated under the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. § 6921-6934.

      B.   Hazardous waste as defined in Section 455B.411 of the Code of Iowa, except to the extent that rules allowing for the disposal of specific wastes have been adopted by the State Environmental Protection Commission.

      C.   Source, special nuclear, or by-product material as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended to January 1, 1979.

      D.   Petroleum contaminated soil that has been remediated to acceptable State or federal standards.

      E.   Steel slag which is a product resulting from the steel manufacturing process and is managed as an item of value in a controlled manner and not as a discarded material.

      F.   Material that is legitimately recycled pursuant to Section 455D.4A of the Code of Iowa.

      G.   Post-use polymers or recoverable feedstocks that are any of the following:

         (1)   Processed at a pyrolysis or gasification facility.

         (2)   Held at a pyrolysis or gasification facility prior to processing to ensure production is not interrupted.

   26.   “Yard waste” means debris such as grass clippings, leaves, garden waste, prunings, weeds, brush, and trees which are produced as part of yard and garden development and maintenance. Yard waste does not include tree stumps or any treated lumber such as landscape timbers or railroad ties.

   It is the duty of each owner to provide for the sanitary disposal of all refuse accumulating on the owner’s premises before it becomes a nuisance. Any such accumulation remaining on any premises for a period of more than 30 days shall be deemed a nuisance and the City may proceed to abate such nuisances in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 50 or by initiating proper action in district court.

   It is unlawful for any person to permit to accumulate on any premises, improved or vacant, or on any public place, such quantities of solid waste that constitute a health, sanitation, or fire hazard.

   No person shall allow, cause, or permit open burning of combustible materials where the products of combustion are emitted into the open air without passing through a chimney or stack, except as provided in Chapter 161.

   All yard waste shall be separated by the owner or occupant from all other solid waste accumulated on the premises and shall be composted on the premises or placed in authorized bags, containers, or bundles for collection. All such bags or containers to be collected shall be clearly marked or indicated that they are yard waste.

   All yard waste material to be composted on the premises on which it is generated or collected shall be done so in a manner so as not to create a nuisance or odor to a neighboring residence or business. Yard waste generated, composted, and disposed of on the same premises where it originated does not require a permit.

   Yard waste not composted and intended only for off-premises disposal shall be collected from residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional premises. All yard waste materials shall be placed in either the appropriately marked containers or specially marked degradable bags or tied bundles. All disposal of yard waste materials shall be done in accordance with the additional policies and guidelines established by the composting station or authority.

   1.   All banned substances shall be separated by the owner or occupant from all other solid waste accumulated on the premises.

   2.   All solid waste picked up by any person or licensed hauler, within the limits of the City, for disposal in the Des Moines Metro Landfill shall not contain banned substances.

   3.   If banned substances have not been separated from other solid waste prior to collection and transportation, the hauler of the waste shall be responsible for the separation and disposal. Banned waste shall be disposed of at the appropriate collection site or City approved facility and all other solid waste disposed of at the landfill.

   No person shall discard any litter onto or in any water or land, except that nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the authorized collection and discarding of such litter in or on areas or receptacles provided for such purpose. When litter is discarded from a motor vehicle, the driver of the motor vehicle shall be responsible for the act in any case where doubt exists as to which occupant of the motor vehicle actually discarded the litter.

   No person shall deposit in a solid waste container or otherwise offer for collection any toxic or hazardous waste. Such materials shall be transported and disposed of as prescribed by the Director. As used in this section, “toxic and hazardous waste” means waste materials, including, but not limited to, poisons, pesticides, herbicides, acids, caustics, pathological waste, flammable or explosive materials, and similar harmful waste which requires special handling and which must be disposed of in such a manner as to conserve the environment and protect the public health and safety.

   Every person owning, managing, operating, leasing, or renting any premises, dwelling unit, or any place where refuse accumulates shall provide and at all times maintain in good order and repair portable containers for refuse in accordance with the following:

   1.   Container Specifications. Waste storage containers shall comply with the following specifications:

      A.   Residential. Residential waste containers, whether they are reusable, portable containers or heavy-duty disposable garbage bags, shall be of not less than 20 gallons or more than 35 gallons in nominal capacity, and shall be leak-proof and waterproof. The total weight of any container and contents shall not exceed 75 pounds. Disposable containers shall be kept securely fastened and shall be of sufficient strength to maintain integrity when lifted, and reusable containers shall be in conformity with the following:

         (1)   Be fitted with a fly-tight lid that shall be kept in place except when depositing or removing the contents of the container.

         (2)   Have handles, bails, or other suitable lifting devices or features.

         (3)   Be of a type originally manufactured for the storage of residential waste with tapered sides for easy emptying.

         (4)   Be of lightweight and sturdy construction.

      B.   Galvanized metal containers, rubber or fiberglass containers, and plastic containers that do not become brittle in cold weather may be used.

      C.   Commercial. Every person owning, managing, operating, leasing, or renting any commercial premises where an excessive amount of refuse accumulates and where its storage in portable containers as required above is impractical, shall maintain metal bulk storage containers approved by the City.

   2.   Storage of Containers. Residential solid waste containers shall be stored upon the residential premises. Commercial solid waste containers shall be stored upon private property, unless the owner has been granted written permission from the City to use public property for such purposes. The storage site shall be well drained; fully accessible to collection equipment, public health personnel, and fire inspection personnel. All owners of residential and commercial premises shall be responsible for proper storage of all garbage and yard waste to prevent materials from being blown or scattered around neighboring yards and streets.

   3.   Location of Containers for Collection. Containers for the storage of residential solid waste awaiting collection shall be placed at the curb line by the owner or occupant of the premises served. Containers or other solid waste placed at the curb line shall not be so placed more than 12 hours in advance of the regularly scheduled collection day and shall be promptly removed from the curb line following collection and in no event later than 12 hours following the day of pickup. In the case of areas which have open ditch roads, placement shall be along the front property line of the premises adjacent to the driveway.

   4.   Nonconforming Containers. Solid waste placed in containers which are not in compliance with the provisions of this section will not be collected.

   5.   Yard Waste. Yard waste placed in the authorized bags, containers, or in tied bundles shall be placed three to six feet from other garbage or refuse prior to pick up. No yard waste materials shall be placed out for pickup more than 48 hours in advance of the regularly scheduled collection day.

   The number of bags, containers, or bundles of waste material placed out for collection shall be unlimited unless regulated or limited by the hauler of the waste materials.

   It is unlawful for any person to:

   1.   Unlawful Use of Containers. Deposit refuse in any solid waste containers not owned by such person without the written consent of the owner of such containers.

   2.   Interfere with Collectors. Interfere in any manner with solid waste collection equipment or with solid waste collectors in the lawful performance of their duties as such, whether such equipment or collectors be those of the City, or those of any other authorized waste collection service.

   3.   Incinerators. Burn rubbish or garbage except in incinerators designed for high temperature operation, in which solid, semisolid, liquid, or gaseous combustible refuse is ignited and burned efficiently, and from which the solid residues contain little or no combustible material, as acceptable to the Environmental Protection Commission.

   4.   Scavenging. Take or collect any solid waste which has been placed out for collection on any premises, unless such person is an authorized solid waste collector. Sworn law enforcement officers are exempt from this subsection, as they are authorized by the City to collect or pick up, or cause to be collected or picked up, any recyclable materials or solid waste based on Section 808.16 of the Code of Iowa, exception to search warrant requirement, garbage searches.

   The sanitary landfill facilities operated by the Metropolitan Solid Waste Agency are hereby designated as the official “Public Sanitary Disposal Project” for the disposal of solid waste produced or originating within the City.