Leader Staff
City officials Wednesday added a few new rules to its yard waste collection policy and revised its fee schedule for property owners who fail to cut their grass or shovel their snow.
Shawano residents will now have a limit on the yard waste they can put out for collection.
The Shawano Common Council unanimously approved an ordinance rewrite that limits properties to six cans or containers of yard waste per week.
Each of those cans or containers should have no more than 50 pounds of waste in them, under the new rules.
Public Works Coordinator Eddie Sheppard said some properties were putting out as many as 20 bags of yard waste per week.
The rules only apply outside of designated spring and fall cleanup times.
The city will continue to pick up yard waste and grass clippings at no cost.
Yard waste should be placed at the curb in biodegradable bags or in garbage cans or containers with a yard waste sticker affixed. Garbage cans or containers may not be larger than 25 gallons in size.
In related business, the Common Council lowered the fees that can be assessed when the city is forced to cut grass or shovel sidewalks on properties where the owners fail to take care of those chores.
The city will charge a fee of $50 for the first offense and $75 for each subsequent offense. Previously the city was charging a $150 fee for each occurrence.
Sheppard said the new fee schedule is more reasonable.