(a) No department of the City of Ashtabula shall be obligated to collect, haul away or accept for disposal, any yard waste, to-wit: leaves, grass clippings, twigs, limbs, branches, weeds, seeds or other organic matter which is or was previously part of any plant or plants, including but not limited to trees, shrubberies, and any other plant or plants grown or suffered to grow in any lawn or garden, unless said yard waste is collected into paper or other biodegradable bags of a type and size approved by the City Manager.
(b) During the months of April, May, October and November of each year the Sanitation and/or Public Works Divisions are directed to collect at curbside any yard waste placed in such paper or other biodegradable bags approved by the City Manager. No fee shall be charged for said service during said months. No yard waste collections are required or authorized in any other months, except for the removal of Christmas trees in January and those pickups occasioned by a weather emergency resulting in a substantial accumulation of limbs, branches, twigs, etc.
(c) During the remainder of the year, to-wit: January through March, June through September, and December, the Sanitation Division shall accept yard waste, collected into such paper or other biodegradable bags approved by the City Manager, at the City Transfer Station. An appropriate receptacle shall be provided for such purpose during regular business hours. No fee shall be charged to residents of the City for said disposal of yard waste. Proof of residency must be provided. Non-residents shall be charged a fee substantially related to the cost of disposal, as determined from time to time by the City Manager, with a minimum fee of one dollar ($1.00) per bag.
(d) Tree limbs or branches which are impractical to place in bags may be disposed of by City residents in the same manner as bagged yard waste as long as they are cut in lengths of not more than four (4) feet and tied securely with biodegradable twine or rope into separate bundles weighing not more than 40 pounds per bundle.
(Ord. 2019-123. Passed 11-4-19.)