(A) Yard waste.
(1) Yard waste collection shall be provided only to single-family and special residential units served by the town. Yard waste collection shall not be provided to commercial cut limbs.
(2) There may be occasions when the amount of yard waste in a designated area exceeds processing capacity. When this occurs, the yard waste will be picked up at the earliest convenience or next scheduled pickup, whichever is sooner according to the availability of manpower and equipment. Yard waste shall be separated from curbside trash and shall not be placed together to constitute a single, separate collection in order for the town to carry out its other collection program. Collection forces shall collect an amount of yard waste that is customarily and reasonably associated with the residential unit(s) served so long as it is properly prepared or containerized and in compliance with these regulations.
(3) Yard waste, such as grass trimmings, twigs, hedge trimmings, plant trimmings, hay, straw, pine straw and pine cones, shall be collected at curbside provided that they are placed in neat piles.
(4) Loose leaves shall be piled loosely adjacent to and behind the curb or in front of a ditch (not in street, gutter or roadside ditch) for collection by special vacuum equipment. Loose piles of leaves will not be collected unless they are free of trash, such as broken glass, rocks, twigs, cans or other debris that might damage collection equipment. During the seasons when the leaves most commonly fall, the specialized leaf collection equipment will collect leaf refuse on a residential basis. During the fall collection period, no appoints for leaf collection can be made. During the fall the town crews start the collection at one end of town and collect throughout town until the whole town is collected. At which point, the route begins again. Refer to § 51.20(I) for penalties.
(5) All tree trimmings and limbs or portions thereof will be collected when the trimmings and limbs are cut from the stump or body of the tree and placed at the edge of the lot adjoining the street or alley. They must be cut in lengths not to exceed 6 feet and not be over 3 inches in diameter and shall not exceed the measurements hereinabove specified of 6 feet in length or 3 inches in diameter and shall be placed on the edge of the lot with the larger ends placed in the same direction and neatly piled substantially perpendicular to the curb. It will be considered excessive collection if the collection of limbs shall require more than 1 load with a truck or more than 1 hour with the chipper, extra loads or extra chipping will be performed at the rate set in the current schedule of fees, which will be invoiced by the Billing Department Town Hall according to the current schedule of fees. Town collection forces or its authorized agent will not collect tree stumps.
(6) The Town of Wilkesboro does not allow bagged yard waste of any kind.
(7) No materials, such as trees, shrubbery or underbrush resulting from land being cleared or building materials occurring from a construction.
(8) No commercially cut limbs or debris will be accepted curbside. No commercially cut limbs shall be placed for collection by the town but materials shall be disposed of by the contractor, builder or owner. In the event that the contractor or builder fails to remove material, the removal thereof shall be the responsibility of the owner of the property.
(a) If property is within the town limits, a contractor may haul their yard waste to the town compost site and disposed of for free.
(b) When excess compost/mulch is available, citizens will be allowed to pick up compost/mulch at the compost site. Citizens must provide their own vehicle for collection of compost/mulch.
(9) The solid waste division may decline to collect any yard waste that is not prepared or placed for collection in accordance with these regulations or exceeds the maximum amount. Damage to equipment due to improper preparation of material will result in a separate fine as determined by the schedule of fees.
(B) Curbside bulk item collection.
(1) (a) Residential and approved businesses that are paying for solid waste on their monthly utility bill are eligible for bulk item collection by the Town of Wilkesboro.
(b) Residents are allowed one free bulk item pick-up per year. Additional bulk item pick-ups will be performed for a fee. Fees are assessed on the current schedule of fees. Business bulk item pick-up will be assessed on a case-by-case basis as per the Public Works Director.
(2) Residents shall notify the Public Works Department of bulk items to be collected by the Town of Wilkesboro. Per notification, a truck will be delivered and, at the discretion of the Public Works Director, loaded by the resident. Each resident must complete and sign a Town of Wilkesboro Truck Policy Statement. Charges for collection will be invoiced by the Billing Department of Town Hall.
(3) The town will collect and dispose of the following properly prepared items on a scheduled basis based on request for services from the town's regular residential customers:
(a) Bulky items, such as discarded furniture and appliances not practical to containerize and appliances (white goods) will be picked up. The town will collect normal household discarded furniture and appliances, including sofas, chairs, beds, carpets, box springs and similar items. The cost for bulk item disposal will be indicated in the current schedule of fees.
(b) Items not collected by the town include, but are not limited to furnaces, central air conditioning units, roofing materials, tires, hazardous materials, lead acid batteries (such as vehicle or equipment batteries), or similar items. These items require special handling that local governments are not equipped to perform.
(c) Bulk items from a regular residential customer that became the property of a landlord will be removed by the town as a part of the bulk collection procedure detailed above with any fees incurred becoming the responsibility of the landlord.
(4) Special service collection for bulky items and/or scrap materials shall only be provided to single-family and special residential units. This service is not available for:
(a) Appliance and equipment changes that are related to the operation of a business or leasing of a property. Those business-related activities are the responsibility of the rental agent and/or owner of the property;
(b) Items from businesses operated from a residential unit;
(c) Items that are the consequence of a fire at a business or residential structure. The Public Works Director shall have the authority to provide special services collection when, as a result of a fire, there is only a single bulky item or what would otherwise be a normal collection amount as opposed to clearing the premises of burned or scrap material items; or
(d) Oxygen tanks and other medical equipment; propane tanks; large oil tanks used for household purposes; parts of campers, boats, camper shells, trailers; automotive parts, including but not limited to: motors, doors, tires, fenders, car or seats from residentially used premises and the like.
(5) The Public Works Director shall have the authority to determine whether bulky items or scrap material are subject to town collection and shall have the discretion to determine whether a request for service is consistent with the eligibility standards as described above. Special collection service requirements are as follows:
(a) Bulky item or scrap materials shall not be collected if it is too large to be placed on the solid waste service's division collection vehicle.
(b) Any appliance accepted for collection must be empty of its contents.
(c) Large furniture items shall be dismantled prior to collection so that a reasonable person can expect 2 individuals to easily load them onto or off of the special collection vehicle. The only exception to this policy is for pianos, which do not have to be dismantled for collection.
(d) Gasoline must be removed from all lawn mowers prior to collection.
(e) Tires must be removed from all bicycles prior to collection.
(f) All glass in windows, doors, mirrors and other items with large expanses of glass must have the glass taped with an X mark so that it will not shatter in the collection process.
(g) Any bulky item or scrap material collected shall be of the weight or size that a person would reasonably expect 2 individuals to easily pick each item up for disposal.
(6) The Public Works Director shall have the authority to require items to be prepared for ease of collection and to ensure the safety of the employees performing the collection task. An item not prepared properly may be refused for collection at the Public Works Director's discretion.
(7) It shall be unlawful to place trash refuse out for collection along with a scheduled bulk item pickup.
(Ord. passed - - ; Am. Ord. 2018-13, passed 9-10-2018)
Penalty, see § 51.99