§ 74-70. Definitions.

For the purposes of this article, certain terms and words are defined. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Approved receptacle for residential solid waste means a galvanized metal container or durable plastic container or durable plastic bag with the capacity of not less than 20 gallons and no more than 32 gallons, with the containers having two durable handles on the sides thereof and a removable tight-fitting top. All containers shall be waterproof. Oil or grease drums, paint cans and similar salvaged containers shall not be acceptable.

Approved receptacle for yard debris trimmings means a biodegradable paper bag, empty cardboard box, clean galvanized metal container or durable plastic container with a capacity of not less than 20 gallons and no more than 40 gallons. Containers shall have two durable handles on the sides thereof or a bail by which it may be lifted. Oil or grease drums, paint cans and similar salvaged containers shall not constitute an approved receptacle for yard debris trimmings.

Collector means a person who, under agreements, verbal or written, with or without compensation, does the work of collecting and/or transporting solid waste from industries, offices, retail outlets, businesses, institutions and/or similar locations or from residential dwellings; provided, however, that this definition shall not include an individual collecting and/or transporting waste from the individual's own single-family dwelling unit.

Commercial container means a manufactured container suitable for emptying by mechanical equipment and approved by the director. The following general standards are prescribed for commercial containers:

(1)

All containers must be steel, continuous welded and properly reinforced.

(2)

All lids will be flanged and reinforced for strength.

(3)

Pickup side of container shall be reinforced inside and outside at point of torque tub contact.

(4)

Inside reinforcement shall be pressed steel angle.

(5)

Bottoms shall be reinforced with 1½-inch drain plug installed flush to bottom.

(6)

All containers shall be primed and finished with enamel and epoxy paint.

(7)

Body dimensions as to length and height of container can vary with the size of container; however, all container widths will be 70 inches. Minimum gauges of steel shall be as follows:

Walls	12 gauge
Ends	12 gauge
Bottoms	12 gauge for 4 cu. ft. and below
	10 gauge for all over 4 cu. ft.
Lids	16 gauge
Doors	14 gauge

 

Commercial establishment means any hotel, motel, apartment house, rooming house, business, industrial, public or semipublic establishment of any nature or kind whatsoever other than a single dwelling unit/residential unit and condominiums.

Commercial front loader container means a manufactured container suitable for emptying by mechanical equipment and approved by the director.

Commercial/industrial solid waste means solid waste from commercial establishments that includes but is not limited to, material from industrial processes, manufacturing canneries, slaughterhouses, packing plants, poultry processing plants or similar industries, and food waste.

Compactor container means a manufactured commercial container of any size with a self-contained compacting mechanism or an external compactor which is designed to be used in conjunction with the individual home appliance.

Compactor roll-off container means a manufactured commercial container of any size with an internal or external mechanical compacting system that either detaches or is fully self-contained and is serviced by backing up to the container and hoisting it onto a commercial roll-off container vehicle.

Condominium means individual ownership units in a multifamily structure with a front and back entrance to each unit on the ground level.

Construction and demolition solid waste means solid waste from construction and demolition projects that include but is not limited to, remodeling, repair operations on houses, commercial buildings, multiple dwellings and other structures such as concrete, bricks, plaster, stone, earth, lumber, roofing materials, gutters, shavings and sawdust.

Conveyance means any automobile, plane, train, bus, bicycle, motorcycle or other method of transporting persons from one place to another.

Department means the public works department or its successor for purposes of this chapter.

Director means the director of public works department or designee.

Discard means to throw, abandon, place, deposit, discharge, dump, bury, burn or dispose of a substance.

Disposal facility means any facility or location where any treatment, utilization, processing or deposition of solid waste occurs.

Finance director means the director of the department of finance as established by the City Charter.

Garbage means waste including but not limited to, food waste, including waste accumulation of animal or vegetable matter used or intended for use as food, or that attends the preparation, use, cooking, dealing in or storing of meat, fish, fowl, fruit or vegetables.

Hazardous waste means solid or liquid waste that does not meet the toxic characteristic leachate procedure requirements and includes, but is not limited to, highly flammable or explosive wastes; toxic wastes; industrial sludge; and other waste material that the director determines to be a likely hazard to the public health, safety or environment, except radioactive waste materials.

Incinerator means the high temperature waste combustion unit designated to dispose of pathological matter.

Landfill means a method of disposing of solid wastes, other than putrescible wastes or hazardous wastes, on land by placing an earth cover thereon.

Litter means, but is not limited to, any organic or inorganic waste material, rubbish, refuse, garbage, trash, yard debris, hulls, peelings, debris, grass, weeds, ashes, sand, gravel, slag, brickbats, metal, plastic, and glass containers, broken glass, dead animals or intentionally discarded materials of every kind and description but the term litter does not include "waste" as that term is defined in O.C.G.A. § 16-7-51(6), as amended.

Multiple dwelling means a building designed for and containing two or more dwelling units.

Municipal solid waste means, but is not limited to, any solid waste derived from households, including garbage, trash and solid waste from single-family and multifamily residences, hotels and motels, bunkhouses, campgrounds, picnic grounds, and day use recreation areas. The term includes yard debris not separated for recycling and commercial solid waste but does not include solid waste from mining, agricultural, or silvicultural operations or industrial processes or operations.

Noncombustible trash means, but is not limited to, materials which are unburnable in the incinerator or at incinerator temperature of 800 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit such as mineral water, metal furniture, large metal scraps and wires, auto bodies or parts, and other similar materials.

Owner means any person or entity that generates solid waste on real property in the city and who is designated by the records of the office of the county tax commissioner as the owner of such real property within the city.

Plastic bag means a polyethylene or other heavy-duty plastic bag meeting the National Sanitation Foundation standard of at least 1½ mils and not exceeding a 32-gallon capacity.

Public or private property means the right-of-way of any road or highway; any body of water or watercourse or the shores or beaches thereof; any park, playground, building, refuge, or conservation or recreation area; timberlands or forests; and land use for business, residential, commercial, industrial, or farm purposes.

Putrescible waste means wastes that are capable of being decomposed by microorganisms. Examples of putrescible wastes include, but are not necessarily limited to, kitchen wastes, animal manure, offal, hatchery and poultry processing plant wastes and garbage.

Recycle means any process by which material that would otherwise become solid waste are collected, separated or processed and reused or returned to use in the form of raw materials or products.

Refuse means garbage, rubbish or commercial refuse.

Residential unit means any freestanding structure or shelter or any part thereof, used or constructed for use as a residence for one family.

Sanitary landfill means a method of disposing of putrescible waste on land for final disposition and/or management.

Sanitation or sanitary district means designated service areas established by this Code.

Scavenge means uncontrolled picking from discarded solid waste materials.

Solid waste means any garbage or refuse; sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility; and other discarded materials including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operation materials; solid or dissolved matter in domestic sewage; solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges that are point sources subject under 33 U.S.C. § 1342; or source, special nuclear, or byproduct material as defined by the Federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended and as defined by O.C.G.A. § 12-8-22(33), as amended.

Special industrial waste container means any container such as a metal box, bucket, an open bed container or special container used for transporting chemicals, paint, metals, glass, oil products, plastics or any type of material that requires special handling and cannot be incinerated.

Stationary compactor means an object of a refuse container system which compacts refuse at the site of generation into a pull-on detachable container.

Tax commissioner means the constitutional officer in DeKalb County charged with collecting both state, county and special taxes as established by Ga. L. 1927, p. 558, § 2.

Yard debris means leaves, brush, grass clippings, shrub and tree prunings, discarded Christmas trees, nursery and greenhouse vegetative residuals, and vegetative matter resulting from landscaping development and maintenance other than mining, agricultural, and silvicultural operations.

(Ord. No. 629, pt. I, 12-21-10)