(1) The collection, transportation and disposal of medical, biomedical, biohazardous and/or infectious waste from generators within the city shall not be exclusive to the city-operated sanitation system. In addition to the city, any licensed hauler of such materials authorized to operate in the city may provide such services.

(2) It shall be the responsibility of the generator of such wastes to arrange for their proper collection, transportation and disposal.

(3) Any licensed hauler operating in the city for the purposes of collection, transportation and disposal of such wastes shall be subject to all license requirements of the city and shall be responsible to pay any utility tax imposed by the city on the occupation of garbage or solid waste collection.

(4) For purposes of this section, medical, biomedical, biohazardous and infectious waste is considered to be any biologic material produced within a health care facility for which special precautions are taken within that facility to reduce potential exposure of the health care facility staff, to include but not limited to the untreated solid waste as defined by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission in WAC 480-70-050 as follows:

(5) A “generator of medical, biomedical, bio-hazardous and infectious waste” is defined as any person, firm, partnership, corporation, public entity, joint venture or otherwise which produces any of the defined wastes. Nothing herein shall prevent an individual exempted from the definition of a generator from electing to employ a licensed hauler to collect, transport and dispose of that person’s medical, biomedical, biohazardous and/or infectious waste.

(6) A “generator of waste” as defined in this section that disposes of such waste by other than the city or an approved collector, transporter and disposer shall be deemed to have committed a civil infraction for each violation with a nondeferrable, nonsuspendable penalty for violation as provided herein. (Ord. 456 § 1, 2012; Ord. 358 § 25, 2003)