Township of Union, PA Article III Waste Hauler Licensing

[Adopted 9-25-1991 by Ord. No. 90]

§ 218-20 Short title.

This article shall be known and referred to as the "Municipal Waste Hauler Licensing Ordinance."

§ 218-21 Definitions.

A. The following words and phrases, as used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them herein, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

ACT 97

The Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act of 1980 (P.L. 380, No. 97, July 7, 1980).[1]

ACT 101

The Pennsylvania Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988 (Act 1988-101, July 28, 1988).[2]

COLLECTOR or WASTE HAULER

Any person, firm, partnership, corporation or public agency engaged in the collection or transportation of municipal waste.

COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT

Any establishment engaged in nonmanufacturing or nonprocessing business, including, but not limited to, stores, markets, offices, restaurants, shopping centers and theaters.

DEPARTMENT or DEP

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENT

Any establishment engaged in manufacturing or production activities, including, but not limited to, factories, foundries, mills, processing plants, refineries, mines and slaughterhouses.

INSTITUTIONAL ESTABLISHMENT

Any establishment or facility engaged in services, including, but not limited to, hospitals, nursing homes, schools and universities.

LEAF WASTE

Leaves, garden residues, shrubbery and tree trimmings and similar materials, but not including grass clippings.

LICENSED COLLECTOR or LICENSED WASTE HAULER

Any municipal waste collector or hauler possessing a current license issued by the appropriate agency as provided by law.[3]

MUNICIPAL WASTE

Any garbage, refuse, industrial, lunchroom or office waste and other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material, 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 under Act 97 from any municipal, commercial or institutional water supply treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant or air pollution control facility. The term does not include any source-separated recyclable materials.

MUNICIPAL WASTE LANDFILL

Any facility that is designed, operated and maintained for the disposal of municipal waste and permitted by the Pennsylvania DEP for such purposes.

MUNICIPALITY

The Township of Union.

PERSON

Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution, cooperative enterprises, municipal authority, municipality, state institution and agency, or any other legal entity recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. In any provision of this article prescribing a fine, penalty or imprisonment, or any combination of the foregoing, the term "person" shall include the officers and directors of any corporation or other legal entity having officers and directors.

PROCESSING

Any technology used for the purpose of reducing the volume or bulk of municipal or residual waste or any technology used to convert part or all of such materials for off-site reuse. Processing facilities include, but are not limited to, transfer stations, composting facilities and resource-recovery facilities.

RECYCLING

The collection, separation, recovery and sale or reuse of metals, glass, paper, leaf waste, plastics and other materials which would otherwise be disposed of or processed as municipal waste, or the mechanical separation and treatment of municipal waste (other than by combustion) and creation and recovery of reusable materials other than as a fuel for the creation of energy.

SCAVENGING

The unauthorized and uncontrolled removal of any material stored or placed at a point for subsequent collection or from a solid waste processing or disposal facility.

SOURCE-SEPARATED RECYCLABLE MATERIALS

Materials that are separated from municipal waste at the point of origin or generation for the purpose of recycling.

TRANSPORTATION

The off-site removal of any municipal waste at any time after generation.

[1] Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq.

[2] Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq.

[3] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

B. For the purpose of this article, the singular shall include the plural, and the masculine shall include the feminine and neuter.

§ 218-22 Prohibited activities.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to collect or transport municipal waste from any residential, public, commercial, industrial or institutional establishment within Union Township without first securing a license to do so from the appropriate agency as provided by law.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

B. It shall be unlawful for any person to collect or transport municipal solid waste from any sources within Union Township in a manner not in accordance with the provisions of this article and the minimum standards and requirements established in Chapter 285 of the DEP's Municipal Waste Management Regulations.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: See 25 Pa. Code Chapter 285.

C. It shall be unlawful for any person to transport any municipal waste collected from within Union Township to any processing or disposal facility other than those facilities which are properly permitted by the Pennsylvania DEP or other applicable regulatory agency.

D. It shall be unlawful for any person to scavenge, without prior approval from the municipality, any material from any municipal waste or source-separated recyclable materials that are stored or placed for subsequent collection within Union Township.

§ 218-23 Standards for collection and transportation.

All collectors or waste haulers operating within the Township must comply with the following minimum standards and regulations:

A. All trucks or other vehicles used for collection and transportation of municipal waste must comply with the requirements of Act 97 and Act 101 and Department regulations adopted pursuant to Act 97 and Act 101, including Title 25 Pennsylvania Code Chapter 285, Subchapter B, Regulations for the Collection and Transportation of Municipal Waste.

B. All collection vehicles conveying municipal waste shall be operated and maintained in a manner that will prevent creation of a nuisance or a hazard to public health, safety and welfare.

C. All collection vehicles conveying putrescible municipal waste shall be watertight and suitably enclosed to prevent leakage, roadside littering, attraction of vectors and the creation of odors and other nuisances.

D. All collection vehicles conveying nonputrescible municipal waste shall be capable of being enclosed or covered to prevent litter and other nuisances.

E. All collection vehicles conveying municipal waste shall bear signs setting out the name and business of the person or municipality owning the vehicle and the specific type of municipal waste transported by the vehicle. All such signs shall have lettering which is at least six inches in height as required by Act 101.

F. All collection vehicles and equipment used by licensed collectors or haulers shall be subject to inspection by the Township or its authorized agents at any reasonable hour and without prior notification.

§ 218-24 Licensing requirements. [1]

A. No person shall collect, remove, haul or transport any municipal waste through or upon roads, alleys or streets in the Township without first obtaining a license from the appropriate agency as provided by law.

B. The Township of Union shall reserve the right to designate specific municipal waste processing or disposal facilities where all licensed collectors must transport and dispose of all municipal waste collected within the Township of Union.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

§ 218-25 Reporting requirements.

A. All licensed collectors shall promptly report to the municipality any significant changes in the collection vehicles or equipment covered under the license and in any insurance coverage.

B. All licensed collectors shall maintain current, up-to-date records of the customers served within Union Township. Such records and customer lists shall be subject to inspection and made available to the municipality or its authorized agents upon request.

C. Each licensed collector shall prepare and submit a semiannual report to the Township. The report for the first half of the year (January through June) shall be submitted on or before July 31, and the report for the second half of each year (July through December) shall be submitted by January 31 of the following year. At a minimum, the following information shall be included in each report:

(1) Total weight of each type of municipal waste collected from all sources within the municipality during each month of reporting period.

(2) Name of each processing or disposal facility used during the reporting period and total weight of each type of municipal waste delivered to each site during each month of the reporting period.

§ 218-26 Violations and penalties. [1]

Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this article that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

§ 218-27 Injunctive powers.

The Township of Union may petition the Washington County Court of Common Pleas for an injunction, either mandatory or prohibitive, to enforce any of the provisions of this article.