Ordinance committee approves updates to residential waste code, removes ‘‘scavenging prohibited’’ clause

The Waukesha Ordinance & Licensing Committee voted March 23 to approve revisions to municipal code section 13.055, which governs residential solid waste and recyclables collection, with one negotiated change: the committee struck a new subsection that would have banned scavenging from curbs.

Alex Damien, the city’s director of public works, opened the discussion and turned the floor over to Emma Hastings, interim solid waste coordinator, who said the bulk of the edits reflect a recent change in the city’s curbside contractor and updates tied to a new solid waste fee. “We added a definition for ‘dwelling unit’ and special eligibility rules so properties that already receive private dumpster service can be handled appropriately,” Hastings said.

Ald. Alicia Helvinsleben and other committee members questioned why the ordinance uses a four-or-more dwelling-unit cutoff; Damien and Hastings said the threshold is driven by service logistics in the contract and is written into the city’s agreement with Johns, the new contractor, which was selected after an RFP because it was the lowest qualified bidder.

City legal staff flagged a conflict between a newly drafted subsection 8 (titled “scavenging prohibited”) and an older code provision dating from 1991 that permits pickup of items left on terraces for collection during certain hours, provided the activity is performed responsibly. The city attorney recommended deleting the new subsection to avoid contradictory ordinances and potential legal challenges to citations. “We can’t have contradictory ordinances out there; a defense attorney would pick up on it,” the attorney said.

During discussion, a committee member said curb scavenging has occasionally benefited residents (citing an anecdote about a washing machine picked up shortly after being left at the curb). The committee broadly agreed that the city should avoid contradictory provisions and that clarifying title/ownership language could be handled later in a targeted code revision. Ald. Helvinsleben moved to approve the ordinance as presented except for striking the new subsection 8 and renumbering subsequent sections; the motion carried unanimously.

The committee did not identify a specific council timetable in the meeting record; the action was approved at the committee level and will proceed according to the city’s ordinance-adoption process.