Spokane Municipal Code

Term

Definition

City

City means the City of Spokane.

Collection day

Collection day means the day of the week scheduled for municipal solid waste collection service to be provided to an area or premises.

Combined City utilities bill

Combined City utilities bill refers to the City of Spokane’s form of combining billing for municipal water, sewer, and solid waste handling service charges in a single statement.

Construction, demolition, and land-clearing waste (CDL Waste)

Construction, demolition and land clearing waste (CDL Waste) means any combination of recyclable or nonrecyclable construction, demolition and land clearing waste that results from and is incidental to construction, remodeling, repair or demolition of buildings, roads or other structures, or from land clearing for development, and requires removal from the site of construction, demolition or land clearing.

Construction waste

Construction waste means wood, concrete, drywall/wallboard, masonry, roofing, siding, structural metal, wire insulation, carpet, carpet pad, metal or PVC pipe, porcelain plumbing fixtures, steel, insulation, and other building material; and plastics, Styrofoam, twine, baling and strapping materials, cans, buckets, and other packaging materials and containers. It also includes sand, rocks and dirt that are used in construction. In no event shall construction waste include dangerous or extremely hazardous waste of any kind, putrescible garbage, sewerage waste, animal carcasses or asbestos.

Customer

Customer is the person making arrangements or on whose behalf arrangements are made for solid waste collection service from the department, provided a letter of authorization delegating management of a customer’s solid waste service is received and on file with their Utility Billing Account.

• Because solid waste collection service is mandatory for all premises, “customer” further includes all owners and occupants of premises generating or accumulating solid waste.

• Where arrangements have been made for billings to be sent to an address other than the premises served, “customer” further includes the addressee at such billing address.

Demolition waste

Demolition waste means solid, largely inert waste resulting from the demolition or razing of buildings, roads, and other man-made structures. Demolition waste consists of, but is not limited to, concrete, brick, bituminous concrete, wood and masonry, composition roofing and roofing paper, steel, and minor amounts of other metals, such as copper. Plaster (i.e., drywall, sheet rock, or plasterboard) or any other material or putrescible waste, other than wood, that is likely to produce gases or a leachate during the decomposition process, and asbestos wastes are not considered to be demolition waste for the purposes of this regulation.

Departments

Departments mean the Solid Waste Collection Department as defined in SMC 03.01A.450 for matters within its municipal departmental responsibility and the Solid Waste Disposal Department as defined in SMC 03.01A.470 for matters within its municipal departmental responsibilities.

Director

Director means the Director of Solid Waste Management for areas within Solid Waste Disposal Department and Solid Waste Collection Department functions, unless otherwise assigned, stated or indicated by context.

Flow Control

Flow control is the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System’s authority to designate where municipal solid waste in Spokane is processed, treated, and disposed of.

Franchise Hauling Restrictions

The City prohibits a person from providing solid waste collection and disposal unless allowed by state law or pursuant to a City franchise agreement or contract. Additionally, the City prohibits private junk removal and hauling services involving the collection or hauling of solid waste, including construction, demolition and land clearing wastes otherwise offered by the City Solid Waste Collection and Disposal departments. Additional franchise hauling restrictions may be found in SMC 13.02.0204.

Garbage

Garbage is solid and semi-solid putrescible, discarded materials such as kitchen, food, animal, and vegetable wastes.

Generator

Generator is any person originating solid waste. Generator also includes the owner and/or occupant of any premises on which solid waste originates or persists.

Health officer

Health Officer is the appointed health officer of the Spokane Regional Health District, an interlocal City-County agency established under the laws of the State of Washington or any equivalent successor official designated by the Mayor. The Director of Solid Waste Management may also exercise any health officer function for purposes of this chapter.

Incidental hauling

Incidental hauling is defined as less than thirty-three percent of the total bill for services and is an adjunct or secondary activity to the primary activity of demolition or construction activities.

Inert Waste

Inert Waste means non-combustible, non-dangerous solid wastes that are likely to retain their physical and chemical structure under expected conditions of disposal, including resistance to biological attack and chemical attack from acidic rainwater.

Land clearing waste

Land clearing waste means natural vegetation and minerals, such as stumps, brush, blackberry vines, tree branches, and associated dirt, sand, tree bark, sod and rocks.

Permitted facility

Permitted facility is defined as a facility permitted by the State of Washington or the Spokane Regional Health District in accordance with chapter 70.95 RCW and the Spokane County Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan.

Person

Person in this chapter is an all-inclusive reference to any individual or group, firm, association, partnership, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, public or private corporation, or any other entity.

Premises

Premises means a specific lot or area of real property served by the department or any such lot or area in general. Premises includes permanent and transient human dwellings and places of accommodation, commerce or recreation.

Premises with multi-unit dwellings

Premises with multi-unit dwellings means an area of one or more premises operating in whole or part under unified management or ownership with housing facilities for more than a single-family residence. Such facilities include duplex or multiplex dwellings, apartments, condominiums, trailer parks, or other accounts, including planned unit developments, where billed under a master meter arrangement for water service. Distinguished from this definition for purposes of requirements affecting premises with multi-unit dwellings are hotels, motels, hospitals, nursing homes, or other congregate-care or institutional facilities, which are generally served as a commercial-service account.

Recyclable materials

Recyclable materials (or “recyclables” or “single-stream recyclables”) means materials which are source-separated from the general waste stream for recycling or reuse, as opposed to disposal, and accepted under a recycling program operated by the department. The Director of Solid Waste Management or their designee has the authority to adjust items included in the City’s recycling program or conditions for municipal acceptance, considering chapter 70.95 RCW or any other regulatory requirements, the Spokane County Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan, prevailing market conditions for the materials involved, and administrative convenience or efficiency.

Refuse

Refuse is non-putrescible discarded materials, such as rubbish, ashes, or other miscellaneous wastes.

Separated wastes

Separated wastes are discarded materials of a uniform content, quality or consistency approved by the City for acceptance as separated wastes. Different rates may apply for separated wastes. Types of separated wastes may change from time to time, depending on market conditions, operational efficiency and other factors, at the City’s discretion. Currently identified categories are:
 

1. Separated yard and garden waste, also referenced as “clean green” wastes;
    
2. other composts;

3. baled refuse or refuse which has been tied in bundles for collection;

4. small animal carcasses;

5. Demolition debris, which is materials such as concrete, brick, metals, wood, and glass such as resulting from the demolition of a building or other structure.

6. Waste tires - tires that are no longer suitable for their original intended purpose because of wear, damage, or defect.

Solid Waste

Solid Waste (or “waste”) means all putrescible and non-putrescible solid and semisolid wastes including, but not limited to, garbage, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, swill, sewage sludge, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles or parts thereof, and recyclable materials, per RCW 70.95.030 (22).  

Specialized solid waste handling equipment

Specialized solid waste handling equipment is defined as:

1. Front load waste collection vehicle;

2. Rear load waste collection vehicle;

3. Side load waste collection vehicle;

4. Tilt-frame collection vehicle for the hauling of roll-off waste; containers or waste compactors;

5. Private roll-off waste container;

6. Intermodal container used for solid waste disposal;

7. Container carrier truck or container delivery truck for the hauling of solid waste containers; or

8. Solid waste containers for the collection of solid waste are one-yard, two-yard, three-yard, four-yard, six-yard, or eight-yard size.

Spokane County Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan

Spokane County Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan sometimes referenced as “Spokane Solid Waste Plan” or in shorter terms, means a plan prepared by Spokane County in cooperation with the City of Spokane and others pursuant to the requirements of RCW 70.95.080 guiding the City of Spokane’s goals and priorities for implementing and evaluating municipal solid waste management functions.

Transfer Station

Transfer Station is a permanent, fixed supplemental collection and transportation facility owned by Spokane County used by persons and collection vehicles to deposit solid waste into a larger transfer vehicle for transport to a permanent disposal site.

Waste-to-Energy Facility (WTE)

Waste-to-Energy Facility, also known as the Waste-to-Energy Plant, is the Spokane incinerator operated as a solid waste disposal and energy-recovery facility. The Waste-to-Energy Facility is part of the Department of Solid Waste Disposal and is overseen by the Director of Solid Waste Management.