§ 70-81. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Collection means the aggregating of solid waste from its principal source and includes all activities up to such time as the solid waste is delivered to the place at which it is processed or disposed.

Commercial establishment means any hotel, motel, apartment building, roominghouse, business, industrial, public or semipublic establishment of any nature or kind whatsoever other than a one- or two-family dwelling unit or condominium.

Composting means the controlled biological decomposition of organic matter into a stable, odor-free humus.

Construction/demolition waste means discarded building materials and rubble resulting from construction, remodeling, repair and demolition operation of pavements, houses, commercial buildings and other structures. Such wastes include, but are not limited to, asbestos-containing waste, wood, bricks, metal, concrete, wallboard, paper, cardboard, inert waste, landfill material and other nonputrescible wastes which have a low potential for groundwater contamination.

Disposal facility means any facility or location where the final disposition of solid waste occurs, and includes but is not limited to landfill and solid waste thermal treatment technology facilities.

Dispose means to discharge, deposit, inject, dump, place or get rid of any solid waste into or on any land or water so that such solid waste or any constituent thereof may enter into the environment to transfer to the control of another.

Garbage means all household or domestic waste, including waste from the preparation and cooking of food, vegetable, fruit and meat scraps, ashes, cans and bottles, paper, floor sweepings, cardboard and other such material to be disposed of from residents, churches, schools, office buildings, business establishments and similar places.

Governing authority means Fulton County, its board of commissioners, and where delegated by the board of commissioners, the directors of the Fulton County Department of Public Works and the Fulton County Board of Health.

Hauling contractor means any person, firm, association, entity or organization who collects, removes or disposes of solid waste, other than his own, whether or not under a written contract and whether or not for compensation.

Illegal dumping means to dispose of any solid waste in a manner that is not in accordance with this division, state laws and federal regulations, rules and orders.

Industrial waste means solid waste generated by manufacturing or industrial processes or operations that is not a hazardous waste regulated under the Georgia Hazardous Waste Management Act (O.C.G.A. § 12-8-60 et seq.). Such wastes include, but are not limited to, waste resulting from the following manufacturing processes: Electric poser generations; fertilizer and agricultural chemicals; food-related products; leather and leather products; nonferrous metal and foundry products; organic chemicals, plastics and resins; pulp and paper; rubber and miscellaneous plastic products; stone, glass, clay and concrete products; textiles; transportation equipment; and water treatment. This term does not include mining waste or oil and gas waste.

Landfill means a method of disposing of solid waste, other than putrescible waste or hazardous wastes, on land by placing an earth cover thereon.

Open dump means a disposal facility of which solid waste from one or more sources is consolidated and left to decompose, burn or otherwise create a threat to human health or the environment.

Owner means any person, firm or corporation owning, leasing, renting, occupying, or managing any premises in the jurisdiction of the Board of Commissioners of Fulton County.

Person means any individual, trust, firm, association, joint-stock company, corporation (including a government corporation), partnership, organization, municipality, commission or county, or any agency, board, department or bureau of this state or any other state or of the federal government.

Plastic bag means a polyethylene or other heavy duty plastic bag meeting the National Sanitation Foundation Standard of at least 1.5 mils and not exceeding a 30-gallon capacity, with securing twist ties.

Putrescible waste means wastes that are capable of being decomposed by microorganisms. Examples of putrescible waste include but are not necessarily limited to kitchen wastes, animal manure, offal, hatchery and poultry wastes, and garbage.

Recovered material means those materials which have known use, reuse or recycling potential; can be feasibly used, reused or recycled; and have been diverted or removed from the solid waste stream for sale, use, reuse or recycling, whether or not requiring subsequent separation and processing.

Recycling means any process by which 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.

Registered contractor means a hauling contractor duly registered by the Fulton County Department of Public Works as having met all criteria necessary to provide solid waste handling in unincorporated Fulton County.

Residential unit means any freestanding structure or shelter or any part thereof used or constructed for use as a residence for one family.

Sanitary landfill means a disposal site where putrescible solid wastes are disposed of by means of placing an earth cover thereon and which is approved by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for such purposes.

Solid waste means any garbage, construction/demolition waste, industrial waste, industrial putrescible waste, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility; and other discarded material including solid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations and community activities, but does not include recovered materials; solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage; solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges that are point sources subject to permit under 33 U.S.C. 1342; or source, special unclear or byproduct material as defined by the federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954, amended (68 Stat. 923).

Solid waste handling means the storage, collection, transportation, treatment, utilization, processing or disposal of solid waste or any combination of such activities.

Solid waste handling facility means any facility, the primary purpose of which is the storage, collection, transportation, treatment, utilization, processing or disposal, or any combination thereof, of solid waste. Such a facility shall not include one handling the processing of recovered material.

Yard trimmings means leaves, brush, grass clippings, shrub and tree prunings, discarded Christmas trees, nursery and greenhouse vegetative residuals and vegetative matter resulting from landscaping development and maintenance other than mining, agricultural and silvicultural operations.

(Ord. No. 96-1223, art. IV, 12-4-96; Ord. No. 18-0340, Att. A, 5-16-18)

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.