[Adopted 6-21-1990 by Ord. No. 882 (Ch. 20, Part 2, of the
1987 Code of Ordinances)]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "North Versailles
Township Recycling Ordinance."
This article is enacted pursuant to the Solid Waste Management
Act, P.L. 380, No. 97, July 7, 1980, and the Municipal Waste Planning,
Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, No. 101, July 28, 1988.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq. and
53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq., respectively.
The purposes of this article are:
A.
To compel waste reduction and recycling as a means of managing municipal
waste, conserving resources and supplying energy.
B.
To protect the public health, safety and welfare from the short-
and long-term dangers of collection, transportation, processing and
storage of municipal waste.
C.
To utilize, wherever feasible, the capabilities of private enterprise
in accomplishing the desired objectives of an effective, comprehensive
solid waste management program.
D.
To establish and implement within North Versailles Township a recycling
program to return valuable materials to productive use, to conserve
energy and to protect capacity at municipal waste processing or disposal
facilities.
E.
To recycle at least 25% of all municipal waste and source-separated
recyclable materials generated in North Versailles Township on and
after January 1, 1997.
F.
To reduce the weight or volume of municipal waste generated per capita
in North Versailles Township so that by January 1, 1997, it should,
to the greatest extent practicable, be less than the weight or volume
of municipal waste generated per capita on the effective date of this
article.
G.
To educate each person living or working in North Versailles Township
on the economic, environmental, and energy value of recycling and
waste reduction, and to require citizens, through a variety of means,
to participate in such activities. Failure to participate will result
in fines, imprisonment or both.
H.
To the greatest extent practicable, to procure and use products and
materials with recycled content, and to procure and use materials
that are recyclable.
The following words and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise:
The restoration, reclamation, recovery, etc., of a natural
resource adversely affected by the activity of a person.
Empty all-aluminum beverage or food cans, foil and/or other
types of food containers.
The mean daily volume received at a facility taking into
account weather, seasonal variations, scheduled community cleanup
days and other factors.
The entity or person authorized to collect and gather any
material described in this article.
Those properties used primarily for commercial or industrial
purposes, and those multiple-dwelling residential buildings containing
four or more units.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and its departments, boards,
commissions and agencies, commonwealth-owned universities, and the
State Public School Building Authority, the State Highway and Bridge
Authority, and any other authority now in existence or hereafter created
or organized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Plastic beverage carriers that degrade by biological processes,
photodegradation, chemodegradation or degradation by other natural
processes. The degradation process may not be one which produces or
results in a residue or by-product considered to be a hazardous waste.
The Department of Environmental Protection of the commonwealth
and its authorized representatives.
The deposition, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking or
placing of solid waste into or on land or water in a manner that the
solid waste or a constituent of the solid waste enters the environment,
is emitted into the air or is discharged in the waters of this commonwealth.
A study which analyzes a specific municipal waste processing
or disposal system to assess the likelihood that the system can be
successfully implemented, including, but not limited to, an analysis
of the prospective market, the anticipated costs and revenues of the
system, the municipal waste system that the system will rely upon
and various options available to implement the system.
Bottles and jars made of clear, green or brown glass. Expressly
excluded are noncontainer glass, plate glass, automotive glass, light
bulbs, blue glass and porcelain and ceramic products.
All white paper, bond paper and computer paper used in commercial,
institutional and municipal establishments and in residences.
The municipality other than the county within which a municipal
waste landfill or resource recovery facility is located or is proposed
to be located.
Those facilities that house or serve groups of people including,
but not limited to, hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, day-care
centers, schools and universities.
Leaves, garden residues, shrubbery and tree trimmings, and
similar material, but not including grass clippings.
Counties, cities, boroughs, towns, townships, school districts,
and any other authority now in existence or hereafter created or organized
by the commonwealth.
All municipal, school or other authorities now in existence
or hereafter created or organized by any county, city, borough, township
or school district or any combination thereof.
Any and all other public bodies, authorities, councils of government,
officers, agencies or instrumentalities of the foregoing, whether
exercising a governmental or proprietary function.
The entire process, or any part thereof, of storage, collection,
transportation, processing, treatment and disposal of solid wastes
by any person engaging in such process.
Properties having four or more dwelling units per structure.
A source-separation and collection program for recycling
North Versailles Township waste or source-separated recyclable materials,
or a program for designated dropoff points or collection centers for
recycling North Versailles Township waste or source-separated recyclable
materials that is operated by or on behalf of North Versailles Township.
The term includes any source-separation and collection program for
composing yard waste that is operated by or on behalf of North Versailles
Township. The term shall not include any program for recycling construction/demolition
waste or sludge from sewage treatment plants or water supply treatment
plants.
Any garbage, refuse, industrial or institutional lunchroom
or office waste and other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid
or contained gaseous materials, resulting from operation of residential,
municipal, commercial or institutional establishments and from community
activities and any sludge not meeting the definition of residual or
hazardous waste in the Solid Waste Management Act from a municipal,
commercial, or institutional water supply treatment plant, wastewater
treatment plant or air pollution control facility. The term does not
include source-separated recyclable materials.
Any facility that is designed, operated or maintained for
the disposal of municipal waste, whether or not such facility possesses
a permit from the Department under the Solid Waste Management Act.
The term does not include any facility that is used exclusively for
disposal of construction/demolition waste or sludge from sewage treatment
plants or water supply treatment plants.
As used herein shall be deemed to include the type commonly
referred to as newsprint and distributed at stated intervals, usually
daily or weekly, having printed thereon news and opinions and containing
advertisements and other matters of public interest. All such items
must be bundled separately and securely tied. Magazines and periodicals
are not considered newspaper.
A person engaged in solid waste processing or disposal. Where
more than one person is so engaged in a single operation, all persons
shall be deemed jointly and severally responsible for compliance with
the provisions of this article.
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution
or cooperative enterprise, municipality, municipal authority, federal
government or agency, state institution or agency (including, but
not limited to, the Department of General Services and the State Public
School Building Authority), or any other legal entity whatsoever which
is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. In any provisions
of this article prescribing a fine, imprisonment or penalty, or any
combination of the foregoing, the term "person" shall include the
officers, directors or persons in control of any incorporation or
other legal entity having officers and directors.
Plastic rings or similar plastic connectors used as holding
devices in the packaging of beverages, including, but not limited
to, all carbonated beverages, liquors, wines, fruit juices, mineral
waters, soda and beer.
Contamination of air, water land or other natural resource
of North Versailles Township that will create or is likely to create
a public nuisance or which will render the air, water, land or other
natural resource harmful, detrimental or injurious to the public health,
safety or welfare, or which would be injurious to domestic, municipal,
commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate
beneficial uses, or injurious to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish
or other life.
Any product generated by a business or consumer which has
served its intended end use, and which has been separated or diverted
from solid waste for the purposes of collection, recycling, and disposition.
The term includes industrial by products that would otherwise go to
disposal or processing facilities. The term does not include internally
generated scrap that is commonly returned to industrial or manufacturing
processes.
Any technology used for the purpose of reducing the volume
or bulk of municipal waste or any technology used to convert part
or all of such waste materials for off-site reuse. Processing facilities
include, but are not limited to, transfer facilities, composting facilities
and resource recovery facilities.
Those activities required to be conducted prior to constructing
a processing or disposal facility that has been shown to be feasible,
including, but not limited to, public input and participation, siting,
procurement and vendor contract negotiations, and market and municipal
waste supply assurance negotiations.
Any commonwealth agency or local public agency.
Materials generated by residences and commercial, municipal
and institutional establishments which are specified herein and which
can be separated from municipal waste and returned to commerce to
be reused as a resource in the development of useful products. Recyclable
materials may include, but are not necessarily limited to, clear glass,
colored glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office
paper, newsprint, corrugated paper, leaf waste, plastics, and any
other items selected by North Versailles Township or which may be
specified in future revisions to Act 101.[1] The recyclable materials selected may be revised from
time to time at the sole discretion of North Versailles Township.
The collection, separation, recovery and sale or reuse of
metals, glass, paper, leaf waste, plastics and other materials which
would otherwise be disposed or processed as municipal waste, or the
mechanized separation and treatment of municipal waste (other than
through combustion) and creation and recovery of reusable materials
other than as a fuel for the operation of energy.
A facility employing a technological process that separates
or classifies municipal waste and creates or recovers reusable materials
that can be sold to or reused by a manufacturer as a substitute for
or a supplement to virgin raw materials. The term "recycling facility"
shall not mean transfer stations or landfills for solid waste or composting
facilities or resource recovery facilities.
Any garbage, refuse, discarded material or other waste, including
solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials resulting
from an industrial, mining and agricultural water supply treatment
facility, wastewater treatment facility or air pollution control facility,
provided that it is not hazardous. The term shall not include coal
refuse as defined in the Act of September 24, 1968 (P.L. 1040, No.
318), known as the "Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act."[2] The term shall not include treatment sludges from coal
mine drainage treatment plants, disposal of which is being carried
on pursuant to and in compliance with a valid permit issued pursuant
to the Act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known as the "Clean
Streams Law."[3]
A processing facility that provides for the extraction and
utilization of materials or energy from municipal waste that is generated
off-site, including, but not limited to, a facility that mechanically
extracts materials from municipal waste, a combustion facility that
converts the organic fraction of municipal waste to usable energy,
and any chemical and biological process that converts municipal waste
into a fuel product. The term also includes any facility for the combustion
of municipal waste that is generated off site, whether or not the
facility is operated to recover energy. The term does not include:
Any composting facility.
Methane gas extraction from a municipal waste landfill.
Any separation and collection center, dropoff point or collection
center for recycling, or any source separation or collection center
for composting leaf waste.
Any facility, including all units in the facility, with a total
processing capacity of less than 50 tons per day.
Any waste, including, but not limited to, municipal, residual
or hazardous wastes, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous materials. The term does not include coal ash or drill cuttings.
The Act of July 7, 1988 (P.L. 380, No. 97).[4]
Materials that are separated from municipal waste at the
point of origin for the purpose of recycling.
The containment of any municipal waste on a temporary basis
in such a manner as not to constitute disposal of such waste. It shall
be presumed that the containment of any municipal waste in excess
of one year constitutes disposal. This presumption can be overcome
by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
The Township of North Versailles, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
The off-site removal of any municipal waste at any time after
generation.
Any method, technique or process, including, but not limited
to, neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological
character or composition of any municipal waste so as to neutralize
such waste or so as to render such waste safer for transport, suitable
for recovery, suitable for storage or reduced in volume.
Design, manufacture or use of a product to minimize weight
of municipal waste that requires processing or disposal, including,
but not limited to:
A.
Responsibilities. North Versailles Township has the power to assure
the proper and adequate transportation, collection and storage of
municipal waste which is generated or present within its boundaries,
to assure adequate capacity for the disposal of municipal waste generated
within its boundaries by means of the procedure set forth in § 1111
of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act.[1] North Versailles Township does hereby adopt and implement
a program for the collection and recycling of municipal waste or source-separated
recyclable materials.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.111.
B.
Powers. In carrying out its duties under this section, the Township
of North Versailles may adopt resolutions establishing procedures,
regulations and standards for the recycling, transportation, storage
and collection of municipal wastes, or source-separated recyclable
materials which shall not be less stringent than, and not in violation
of or inconsistent with, the provisions and purposes of the Solid
Waste Management Act, the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and
Waste Reduction Act and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
In the absence of regulations, this article shall be construed and
carried out pursuant to the terms herein.
C.
Duties. The Township of North Versailles may implement the provisions
of this article by collecting, transporting processing or marketing
source-separated materials or may contract, subject to competitive
bidding, with any person to carry out the recycling, transportation,
collection and storage of municipal waste and source-separated recyclable
materials. Any such successful contractor or bidder shall be responsible
for transportation, collection and storage activities and facilities
and to see to compliance with this article and all applicable laws.
North Versailles Township hereby requires that all municipal
waste generated within its jurisdiction be disposed of or processed
at designated, permitted and lawfully licensed facilities.
The Township of North Versailles hereby establishes and implements
a source separation and collection program for recyclable materials
in accordance with Section 1501 of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling
and Waste Reduction Act.[1] The source-separation and collection program shall include
the following:
A.
Persons are hereby required to separate newspapers, aluminum, steel
and bimetal cans, all glass containers, plastic pop bottles and plastic
milk containers from other municipal waste generated at their homes,
apartments and other residential establishments and to store such
material until collection. Recyclable materials shall be designated
periodically by simple resolution from the following: clear glass,
colored glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office
paper, newsprint, corrugated paper and plastics. Nothing in this article
shall be deemed to impair the ownership of separated materials by
the person who generated them unless and until such materials are
placed at curbside or such other designated location for collection
by the contractor. When so placed, the materials become the property
of the Township.
B.
Recyclable materials shall be placed at the curbside in containers
provided by the Township for collection. Any containers provided for
collection of recyclable materials shall be the property of the Township
of North Versailles and used only for the collection of recyclable
materials. Any person, resident or entity who moves within or from
the Township shall be responsible for returning the allocated container(s)
to the Municipal Building or shall pay the replacement cost of said
container(s). Use of recycling containers for any purpose other than
the designated recycling program or use of the recycling containers
by any person other than the person allocated such container(s) shall
be a violation of this article. It is ordained that the reasonable
cost of a container is $100, which value may be reestablished from
time to time by the Township at its sole discretion.
C.
Persons are hereby required to separate leaf waste from other municipal
waste generated at their homes, apartments and other residential establishments
until collection unless those persons have otherwise provided for
the composting of leaf waste.
D.
Effective September 26, 1990, all multifamily residences not receiving
Township garbage collection shall separate and recycle at least three
of the following: clear glass, colored glass, aluminum, steel and
bimetallic cans, high-grade office paper, newsprint, corrugated paper
or plastics. In addition, all residential establishments not receiving
Township garbage collection shall separate leaf waste from other waste
and provide for disposal of said leaf waste in compliance with Municipal
Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act[2] effective September 26, 1990. The owner, landlord, or
agent of an owner or landlord of multifamily rental housing properties
with four or more units may comply with its responsibilities for recycling
by establishing a collection system for recyclables at each property.
The collection system must include suitable containers for collecting
and sorting materials, easily accessible locations for the containers
and written instructions to the occupants concerning the use and availability
of the collection system. Owners, landlords and agents of owners and
landlords who comply with this article shall not be liable for the
noncompliance by occupants of their building. Owners, landlords, or
agents of an owner or landlord shall submit a recycling plan to the
Township for approval by September 1, 1990. Such plan shall indicate
materials for collection, location, type, and size of containers to
be used, sources for marketing recyclables, occupants of the recycling
collection system. The plan must be implemented and go into effect
by September 28, 1990. Owners, landlords, or agents of an owner or
landlord shall submit an annual report to the Township by January
31 of each year reporting the tonnage of materials recycled during
the previous calendar year.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq.
E.
Persons are hereby required to separate high-grade office paper,
aluminum, corrugated paper and leaf waste and other material deemed
appropriate which is generated at commercial, municipal or institutional
establishments and from community activities and to store the material
until collection. Commercial, institutional and municipal establishments
within it municipal boundaries must provide for the recycling of materials
they are required by this article to recycle. All occupants of commercial
and institutional establishments shall recycle high-grade office paper,
aluminum, corrugated paper, leaf waste and other materials deemed
appropriate by the Board of Commissioners. Said occupants shall submit
a recycling plan to the Township for approval by September 1, 1990.
Such plan shall indicate materials for collection, location, type
and size of containers to be used method for disposal of leaf waste
and sources for marketing recyclables. The plan must be implemented
and go into effect by September 28, 1990. Occupants of said establishments
shall submit an annual report to the Township by January 31 of each
year reporting the tonnage of materials recycled during the previous
calendar year. Commercial and institutional solid waste generators
must, annually, apply for a permit to do so and pay a fee established
pursuant to resolution and provide written documentation to the Township
of the total number of tons recycled or estimated to be recycled.
F.
The contractor shall collect recyclable materials from curbside or
similar locations designated by resolution at least once every other
week from each residence or other person generating municipal waste
in the Township. The method and means of collection may be changed
from time to time by simple resolution at the sole discretion of the
Board of Commissioners of North Versailles Township.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.1501.
The Township of North Versailles shall establish a comprehensive
and sustained public information and education program concerning
recycling program features and requirements. As a part of this program
and at least 30 days prior to the initiation of the recycling program
and at least once every six months thereafter until the Township deems
it no longer necessary, all persons occupying residential, commercial,
institutional and municipal premises within its boundaries shall be
notified of the requirements of this article. Advertisement in a newspaper
circulating in the Township, posting notice in public places where
public notices are customarily posted and notice with other official
notifications periodically mailed to residential taxpayers or any
combination of the foregoing shall be deemed to be sufficient, legal
notice of this article and all applicable laws.
North Versailles Township may conduct its own collection or
contract with a landfill, a resource recovery facility or other entity
under contract with the Township and/or may establish one or more
dropoff centers for the collection, removal and sale of at least three
recyclable materials. The materials shall be designated from time
to time by the Township by resolution from the following: clear glass,
colored glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office
paper, newsprint, corrugated paper and plastics. The center shall
be located at a facility or in a place that is easily accessible to
persons generating municipal waste that is processed or disposed at
the facility. Each dropoff center must contain bins or containers
where recyclable materials may be placed or temporarily stored. If
the operation of the dropoff center requires attendants, the center
shall be open for reasonable periods of time. Each operator shall,
at least 30 days prior to the initiation of the dropoff center program
and at least once every six months thereafter, provide public notice
of the availability of the dropoff center. The operator shall place
an advertisement in a newspaper circulating in the Township or provide
notice in another manner approved by the Commissioners. Any or all
of the above standards may be removed or revised from time to time
at the sole discretion of the Township.
On or before February 15 of each year, a report shall be submitted
to Allegheny County which shall describe the weight or volume of materials
that were recycled by the recycling program in the preceding calendar
year.
No recyclable material or any material regulated by this article
shall be appropriated, taken, used or picked up by anyone other than
an authorized collector as defined and regulated by this article;
no such material may be collected or conveyed over the streets, alleys
and thoroughfares of North Versailles Township by any person or persons
other than North Versailles Township or its duly authorized employees
or collector, excepting multiple-family dwellings, townhouses, apartments,
churches, schools, and commercial and industrial establishments as
provided for in this article.
The unauthorized removal of recyclable materials from containers
placed for lawful collection shall be considered scavenging and a
violation of this article. Once a container(s) is placed for lawful
collection, then the recyclable materials contained therein become
the property of the Township; and further, the collection of any recyclable
materials once the same have been placed at the curbside for collection
by any one other than the designated hauler or the Township constitutes
a violation of this article. The recyclable container(s) shall be
used only for the collection of recyclable materials.
Any person, other than a municipal official exercising his official
duties, who violates any provision of this article or any resolution
enacted hereunder, any order issued hereunder, or the terms or conditions
of any contract awarded in the implementation of this article shall,
upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than
$100 and not more than $1,000 and costs and, in default of the payment
of such fine and costs, to undergo imprisonment for not more than
30 days. A separate offense shall be deemed to have been committed
on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues. In
addition, theft or removal of recyclable materials at the curbside
or of recycling containers may be prosecuted under the Pennsylvania
Crimes Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 101 et seq.
