The purpose of this article shall be to protect and promote the health,
safety and welfare of the people of the Town of Wappinger by controlling littering
and regulating the storage of garbage and refuse within the Town of Wappinger.
For the purpose of this article, the following words, phrases and terms
and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent
with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words
used in the plural number include the singular, words used in the singular
number include the plural and words in the masculine include the feminine.
The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
AUTHORIZED PRIVATE RECEPTACLE
A litter storage and collection receptacle of steel, aluminum or
plastic of 10 to 30 gallons' capacity with tight cover or larger steel
container with closed lid.
GARBAGE
Putrescible animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the handling,
preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
LITTER
Garbage, refuse and rubbish, as defined herein, and all other waste
materials which, if thrown or deposited as herein prohibited, tend to create
a danger to public health, safety and welfare or tend to create blight.
PARK
A park, playground, recreation center or any other public area in
the town, owned by the Town and devoted to active or passive recreation.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company
or organization of any kind.
PRIVATE PREMISES
Any house, building or other structure not owned or operated by the
town, whether inhabited or temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant,
including any yard, ground, parking lot, walk, driveway, porch steps, vestibule
or mailbox belonging or appurtenant to such house, building or other structure.
PUBLIC PLACE
Any and all streets, highway rights-of-way, sidewalks or other public
ways and any and all public or quasi-public parks, spaces, grounds and buildings,
including school grounds.
REFUSE
All putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes, except body wastes,
including garbage, rubbish, ashes, incinerator residue, street cleanings,
offal, dead animals, abandoned automobiles and any parts thereof, agricultural
wastes, commercial wastes, industrial wastes and construction and demolition
debris.
RUBBISH
Nonputrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible and noncombustible
wastes, such as but not limited to paper wrappings, cardboard, tin cans, wood,
glass, bedding and crockery.
TOWN
The Town of Wappinger.
VEHICLE
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may
be transported or drawn upon a highway or public street.
[Amended 9-13-1999 by L.L. No. 6-1999]
A. Litter in public places, placement in receptacles.
(1) No person shall throw or deposit litter in or upon any
public place within the town, except in public receptacles or in authorized
private receptacles for collection. No person shall throw or deposit litter
in any private receptacle which he does not own without the consent of the
owner thereof.
(2) Persons placing litter in public receptacles or in authorized
private receptacles shall do so in such a manner as to prevent it from being
carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public
place or upon private property.
(3) No person shall sweep into or deposit in any gutter or
other public place within the Town the accumulation of litter from any building
or lot or from any public or private sidewalk or driveway.
(4) No person shall sweep into, throw, deposit or cause to
be deposited in any gutter or other public place within the Town any accumulation
of dirt, mud, stone or combination thereof. The owner of the property, the
lessee of property and, as the case may be, the operator of any business thereon,
including the business of building construction, shall take all steps necessary
to prevent dirt, mud and stone from being deposited in any gutter or other
public place by any person, vehicle or natural means such as but not limited
to erosion and runoff from said property. Nothing contained in this subsection
shall be construed as prohibiting the use in a reasonable manner of sand or
stone for the purpose of reducing the hazard of or providing traction on snow,
ice or sleet.
B. Litter from vehicles.
(1) No person shall throw or deposit litter from any vehicle
upon any public place within the Town or upon private property.
(2) No person shall drive or move any truck or other vehicle
within the Town unless such vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent
any load, contents or litter from being blown or deposited upon any public
place or private property. All vehicles shall be properly covered pursuant
to the Vehicle and Traffic Law of the State of New York and any other laws,
rules or regulations.
C. Litter in parks, rivers and streams.
(1) No person shall throw or deposit litter in any park within
the Town except in public receptacles and in such a manner that the litter
will be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any
part of the park or upon any other public or private place. Where public receptacles
are not provided, all such litter shall be carried away from the park by the
person responsible for its presence and properly disposed of elsewhere as
provided herein.
(2) No person shall throw or deposit litter in any pond,
river, stream or any other body of water in a park or elsewhere within the
town.
D. Litter on private property.
(1) No person shall throw or deposit litter on any private
property within the town, whether owned by such person or not and whether
occupied or vacant, except that the owner or person in control of private
property may maintain authorized private receptacles for collection in such
a manner that litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited by
the elements upon any street, highway right-of-way, sidewalk or other public
place or upon private property.
(2) The owner or persons in control of private property or
any portion thereof shall at all times maintain the premises, or that portion
controlled by him, free of litter, except when stored properly in authorized
private receptacles for collection, when such persons shall have actual notice
thereof or when said litter shall have been present a sufficient length of
time to constitute constructive notice.
[Amended 9-13-1999 by L.L. No. 6-1999; 3-22-2004
by L.L. No. 5-2004]
Any person, firm or corporation who or which shall violate any of the provisions of this article or any rule or regulation made pursuant thereto shall be guilty of a violation and shall be punished by a fine in the amount set forth in Chapter
122, Article
V, §
122-20BB(3) of the Code or imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both. Each day of continued violation of this article, after written notice thereof, shall constitute a separate additional violation. In addition, the Town may also institute an action or proceeding, including an injunction, to compel compliance with or prevent violations of this article.