§ 6-2-1. Definitions.

(a)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivatives shall have the meaning given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.

(b)

The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and the enforcement of this chapter:

(1)

Ashes means refuse from the burning of wood, coal, paper, and/or other combustible material which has been wetted and cooled to the touch prior to collection.

(2)

Blood and body fluids means liquid blood, serum, plasma, other blood products, emulsified human tissue, spinal fluids, and pleural and peritoneal fluids. Dialysates are not blood or body fluids under this definition.

(3)

Bulk containers means a metal container made of watertight construction with sliding doors opening on two (2) sides and hinged top, and constructed so that it can be emptied mechanically by specially equipped trucks. Containers shall be kept covered at all times. Hereinafter upon effective date of this section, all new bulk containers shall meet these specifications.

(4)

Bulky item means the occasional items that are inappropriate or too large for compacting in the garbage truck such as white goods, stoves, refrigerators, water heaters, gas grills, wheelbarrows, bicycles, lawn mowers, sofas, box springs, carpet/padding, and other furniture and appliances. Bulky item collection is not intended to remove the entire contents of a property or house. No tires will be accepted.

(5)

Business means a corporation, industry, company, retail, landlord, and/or other entity engaged in a for-profit endeavor.

(6)

Central Business District means that section of the city bounded by Russell Street on the south, Elm Street on the west to Church, thence north along Main Street to Montlieu on the north and Hamilton Street on the east.

(7)

City means the City of High Point.

(8)

Collection means the act of removing solid waste from a point of generation to an approved disposal site. Collection shall be at the curb for garbage, yard waste, recyclables and bulky items.

(9)

Commercial establishment means any retail, wholesale, institutional, religious, hotels, governmental or other nonresidential establishment at which solid waste may be generated.

(10)

Commercial waste means solid waste generated from institutions and commercial concerns such as hotels, stores, etc.

(11)

Construction or demolition when used in connection with "waste" or "debris" means solid waste resulting solely from construction, remodeling, repair, or demolition operations on pavement, buildings, or other structures, but does not include inert debris, land-clearing debris, or yard debris.

(12)

Detachable container means a unit varying in capacity between 20 cubic yards and 40 cubic yards which is used for collecting, storing, and transporting building materials, commercial waste, industrial waste, hazardous refuse, refuse, or yard trash. The unit may or may not use an auxiliary stationary packing mechanism for compaction of materials into the container and may be of the open or enclosed variety. The distinguishing feature of the detachable container is that it is picked up by a specially equipped truck and becomes an integral part of the truck for transporting the waste materials to the disposal site.

(13)

Flow control area is a designated geographic area within which the collection, transportation, storage, and disposal of all solid waste generated within said area shall be accomplished in accordance with a solid waste management plan.

(14)

Garbage means all putrescible waste, that is solid waste capable of being decomposed by microorganisms with sufficient rapidity as to cause nuisances from odors and gases, such as kitchen wastes, offal and carcasses, including animal offal and carcasses and recognizable industrial byproducts, but excluding sewage and human waste. Offal, carcasses, and pet feces shall be securely bagged for collection.

(15)

Generating facility means any facility where medical waste first becomes a waste, including but not limited to any medical or dental facility, funeral home, laboratory, veterinary hospital, and blood bank.

(16)

Group housing means apartments, condominiums, group developments.

(17)

Hazardous waste means a solid waste, or combinations of solid wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may:

a.

Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness; or

b.

Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed.

(18)

Inert debris means solid waste which consists solely of material that is virtually inert and that is likely to retain its physical and chemical structure under expected conditions of disposal.

(19)

Land clearing debris means solid waste (stumps, tree trunks, roots, dirt, large limbs, etc.) which is generated solely from land clearing activities.

(20)

Lead acid batteries means any battery containing lead, acid, or both.

(21)

Litter includes, but is not limited to, garbage refuse, waste material or any other discarded, used, or unconsumed substance which is not handled as specified herein.

(22)

Loose leaves means tree/plant foliage that has fallen from trees/plants and has been placed along the street in rows or piles, not in bags, for collection.

(23)

Loose tree limbs means large, heavy yard and/or tree trimmings or cuttings resulting from heavy pruning, tree or shrub removal, or plant breakage. These limbs have not been trimmed or cut to proper size, length, or bundled for collection.

(24)

Material recovery facility is a state permitted solid waste management facility that receives recyclables within the designated flow control area The facility also processes removed recyclables for sale to recycling markets.

(25)

Medical waste means any solid waste which is generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or testing of biologicals, but does not include any hazardous waste identified or listed pursuant to this article, radioactive waste, household waste as defined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations, section 261.4(b)(1) in effect on July 1, 1989, or those substances excluded from the definition of solid waste in this section.

(26)

Microbiological waste means cultures and stocks of infectious agents, including but not limited to specimens from medical, pathological, pharmaceutical, research, commercial, and industrial laboratories.

(27)

Multi-family residential unit means any apartment, group of apartments or condominiums used for residential dwelling places.

(28)

Nonresidential unit means any retail, manufacturing, wholesale, institutional, religious, nonprofit organization, governmental or other unit not primarily used for residential purposes.

(29)

Oil means any oil new or used which has been refined from crude oil or synthetic oil and, as a result of use, storage, or handling, has become unsuitable for its original purpose due to the presence of impurities or loss of original properties, but which may be suitable for further use and is economically recyclable.

(30)

Pathological waste means human tissue, organs and body parts, and the carcasses and body parts of all animals that were known to have been exposed to pathogens that are potentially dangerous to humans during research, were used in the production of biologicals or in vivo testing of pharmaceuticals, or that died with a known or suspected disease transmissible to humans.

(31)

Person means an individual, corporation, company, association, partnership, unit of local government, state agency, federal agency, or other legal entity.

(32)

Physical disability means a medical condition, verified by a registered physician, that makes an individual either physically unable to bring a rollout cart to the curbside for collection and/or that makes undertaking such an act clearly and seriously threatening to that person's health.

(33)

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

(34)

Recyclable material means those materials which are capable of being recycled can be marketed at a value greater than the costs associated with processing and shipping that material to a buyer, and which would otherwise be processed or disposed of as solid waste. Examples of recyclable materials are as follows: newspaper and accompanying inserts, magazines, chip board, corrugated cardboard, mixed and office paper (excluding sanitary products), telephone books, plastic bottles (#1 PET), plastic containers (#2 HDPE), steel cans, aluminum cans, glass containers, and yard waste (leaves, brush, grass clippings) and other materials determined to be recyclable by the public services director.

(35)

Rental trash trailer program means city service to provide a large trailer rental for residential property owners, customers, and tenants for a larger quantity of bulky items to be disposed. Service is for a fee .

(36)

Refuse means all non-putrescible waste.

(37)

Regulated medical waste means blood and body fluids in individual containers in volumes greater than 20 milliliters, microbiological waste, and pathological waste that have not been treated.

(38)

Rollout cart means a wheeled solid waste, yard waste, and/or recyclable receptacle compatible with city garbage collection equipment, and approved by the department of public services.

(39)

Scrap tire means a tire that is no longer suitable for its original, intended purpose because of wear, damage, or defect.

(40)

Sharps means and includes needles, syringes with attached needles, capillary tubes, slides and cove slips, and scalpel blades.

(41)

Sharps container means a container manufactured and approved for the disposal of sharps. The container must be rigid, leak-proof when in the upright position, puncture-resistant, and shall be labeled with a water resistant universal biohazard symbol.

(42)

Single-family attached housing is a project of one (1) or more residential structures, each containing two (2) or more attached single-family residences.

(43)

Single-family dwelling means any dwelling place occupied by one (1) family.

(44)

Sludge means any solid, semisolid, or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial, institutional, or industrial wastewater treatment plant, waste supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility, or any other waste having similar characteristics and effects.

(45)

Small dead animals means cats, dogs, small household pets, and other small animals of similar size weighing less than 100 pounds. Definition does not include livestock (cows, pigs, goats, horse).

(46)

Solid waste means any hazardous or nonhazardous garbage, refuse or sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility, domestic sewage and sludges generated by the treatment thereof in sanitary sewage collection, treatment, and disposal systems; and other material that is either discarded or is being accumulated, stored or treated prior to being discarded, or has served its original intended use and is generally discarded, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, institutional, commercial, and agricultural operations, and from community activities. The term does not include:

a.

Fecal waste from fowls and animals other than humans.

b.

Solid or dissolved material in:

1.

Domestic sewage and sludges generated by treatment thereof in sanitary sewage collection, treatment and disposal systems which are designed to discharge effluents to the surface waters;

2.

Irrigation return flows; and

3.

Wastewater discharges and the sludges incidental to and generated by treatment which are point sources subject to permits granted under section 402 of the Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (P.L. 92-500), and permits granted under G.S. 143-215.1 by the Environmental Management Commission. However, any sludges that meet the criteria for hazardous waste under RCRA shall also be a solid waste for the purposes of this article.

c.

Oils and other liquid hydrocarbons controlled under article 21A of chapter 143 of the General Statutes. However, any oils or other liquid hydrocarbons that meet the criteria for hazardous waste under RCRA shall also be a solid waste for the purposes of this article.

d.

Any source, special nuclear or byproduct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. Par. 2011).

e.

Mining refuse covered by the North Carolina Mining Act, G.S. 74-46 through 74-68 and regulated by the North Carolina Mining Commission (as defined under G.S. 143B-290). However, any specific mining waste that meets the criteria for hazardous waste under RCRA shall also be a solid waste for the purposes of this article.

(47)

Special wastes means solid wastes that can require special handling and management, including white goods, whole tires, used oil, lead-acid batteries, and medical wastes.

(48)

Tipping fee means the charge per ton approved by the city council for processing and disposal of solid waste as well as the capital and operation and maintenance costs associated with the materials recovery facility.

(49)

Tire means a continuous solid or pneumatic rubber covering encircling the wheel of a motor vehicle as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(23).

(50)

White goods include inoperative and discarded refrigerators, ranges, water heaters, freezers, and other similar domestic and commercial large appliances.

(51)

Yard waste means solid waste consisting solely of vegetative matter which includes, but is not limited to, tree limbs, grass clippings, weeds, bush clippings, leaves, brush, and etc. resulting from regular maintenance of yards, gardens, and landscaping maintenance activities. Yard waste does not include entire trees, large tree trunks, stumps, or clearing activities. It also does not include any material generated by commercial tree companies.

(Ord. No. 91-57, 7-18-91; Ord. No. 6586/08-71, 10-20-08)