City might require trash contracts, recycling availability
NEWARK – City lawmakers are considering requiring homeowners, landlords or tenants to contract for trash pickup and all licensed haulers to offer recycling services.
The Newark City Council’s Service Committee on Monday unanimously forwarded those provisions to the full council as part of a proposed updating of the city’s ordinance governing solid waste collection and disposal.
As proposed, the measure would require residents to place their trash containers at the curb no earlier than 7 p.m. the day before pickup and remove it before 11 p.m. the day of collection.
Councilwoman Carol Floyd said she will try to amend the bill to allow residents to take out their trash to the curb after 5 p.m. instead of 7 p.m., “just because in the wintertime it’s dark after 5 p.m.”
Violating that part of the ordinance could earn a $100 fine, but City Law Director Doug Sassen said enforcement would be “complaint-driven” and he viewed the provision chiefly as educational.
Commercial solid waste regulations already govern five or more rental units and require trash bins, Sassen said.
Current law requires only that responsible parties must ensure the proper disposal of solid waste generated on the site.
The pending proposal would require either the owner or the tenant of four or fewer residential units to hire a licensed trash hauler to handle disposal.
“One or the other,” Sassen said. “It doesn’t matter who. You have to work it out amongst yourselves.”
It also would require the owner or tenant to provide proof of that contract, if requested by the service director or his designee. A bill and canceled check should work, Sassen said.
Should a customer fail to pay for the service, the hauler would be required to make one last pickup and remove the container provided within seven days of terminating the obligation.
Councilman Marc Guthrie, D-at large, said he wants to see landlords remain responsible for trash disposal. He also noted that some senior citizens share trash bins with a neighbor and the proposal under consideration requires a contract.
Sassen said he does not see bin-sharing as a problem, as such neighbors have an agreement. Because the ordinance will be “complaint-fueled,” he said, there should be no complaint as long as the trash is being picked up.
Councilman Jeremy Blake, D-2nd Ward, spearheaded the proposal and worked out the details with Sassen and Service Director Dave Rhodes.
“Actually, neighborhood appearance is what fueled my fire,” Blake said.
Currently, Blake said, there are five main licensed trash haulers operating in the city: Big “O” Refuse, Rumpke of Ohio, Waste Management, Waste Away Systems and Shackleford’s Disposal.
All but Shackleford offer optional recyclable containers and pickup, Blake said, but the owner of that company has indicated he would be able to comply with that requirement within a reasonable time frame.
Sassen said that, although the ordinance as proposed would require proof of recycling availability before a hauler’s annual certification, which expires at the end of each year, he thinks the city would be tolerant “as long as we’re seeing good-faith efforts.”
The proposal could be introduced for its first reading Monday, but because it carries no emergency clause, a second reading and final vote are not likely until Aug. 4 at the earliest.
jwilliams6@newark
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