[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of
the Town of Old Lyme 4-16-2019.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This enactment also superseded former Ch. 139,
Solid Waste, adopted 6-18-1990, as amended.
A.
This chapter shall be known as the "Town of Old Lyme Solid Waste
and Recycling Ordinance."
B.
Regulation and control of the storage, collection, transport and
disposal of solid waste and recyclables are necessary for the protection
of the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Town.
C.
It is consequently found and declared that all solid waste and recyclables
originating within the limits of the Town of Old Lyme shall be collected,
transported and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this
chapter.
D.
The Board of Selectmen, Town of Old Lyme, is appointed as the local
governing body having legal jurisdiction over the management of solid
waste and recyclables within its corporate boundaries and shall appoint
a Director to administer the regulations set forth in this chapter.
Said Director shall serve at the pleasure of the Board of Selectmen.
The Director's term shall not necessarily be coterminous with
that of the Board of Selectmen that appoints him/her.
E.
The Board of Selectmen may make contracts for the exercise of its
corporate powers with respect to the collection, transportation, volume
reduction and disposal of solid waste and recyclables for a period
not exceeding 25 years.
The following terms shall have the following meanings:
The Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority ("MIRA")
established pursuant to Chapter 446E of the Connecticut General Statutes,
as it may be amended from time to time.[1]
Stumps, waste from construction, demolition activity or land
clearing and discarded furniture, and such other materials of like
nature as the Board of Selectmen may by resolution declare to be bulky
waste.
Contractual standards for solid waste delivered to the Mid-Connecticut
System are as follows:
It must be solid waste emanating from within the corporate boundaries
of this municipality;
It must not be of such a quantity, quality or other nature as
to impair materially the operation or capacity of the Mid-Connecticut
System or any portion thereof, normal or reasonable wear and usage
excepted;
It must not be of such a quantity, quality or other nature as
to impair materially the strength or the durability of the structures,
equipment or works which are a part of the Mid-Connecticut System
or any portion thereof;
It must not be of such a quantity, quality or other nature as
to create flammable or explosive conditions in the Mid-Connecticut
System or any portion thereof;
It must not contain chemical or other properties which are deleterious,
as determined by the Authority, or capable of causing material damage
to any part of the system or to personnel; and
It must not include any hazardous waste or bulky waste.
The facility for disposing of solid waste generated within
the Town of Old Lyme, and includes landfill, bulky waste, intermediate
recycling center and any future facilities, including a transfer station
or other site as may be temporarily substituted or required by the
Authority.
The person appointed by the Board of Selectmen to administer
and enforce this chapter.
That amount of money to be charged for each ton of solid
waste delivered to the Mid-Connecticut System as established by the
procedures authorized in the municipal service agreement.
Any waste material which may pose a present or potential hazard
to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored,
transported or disposed of or otherwise managed, including hazardous
waste identified in accordance with Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.), as
amended.
Any waste material which may pose a present or potential hazard
to human health or the environment when improperly disposed of, treated,
stored, transported, or otherwise managed, including A) hazardous
waste identified in accordance with Section 3001 of the Federal Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. § 6901
et seq.), B) hazardous waste identified by regulation by the Department
of Energy and Environmental Protection, and C) polychlorinated biphenyls
in concentrations greater than 50 parts per million, but does not
mean by-product material, source material or special nuclear material,
as defined in C.G.S. § 22a-151, or scrap tires.
Pathological, biological, cesspool or other human wastes, human
and animal remains, and radioactive, toxic and other hazardous wastes,
such as cleaning fluids, crankcase oils, cutting oils, paints, acids,
caustics, poisons, drugs, fine powdery earth used to filter cleaning
fluid and refuse of similar nature, which, according to federal, state
or local rules or regulations from time to time in effect, require
special handling in their collection, treatment or disposal, pursuant
to Chapter 446e of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.[2]
The system for the processing of solid waste and the recovery
of energy therefrom constructed by the Authority pursuant to the municipal
service agreement.
The municipal solid waste management services contract between
this municipality and the Authority [formerly Connecticut Resources
Recovery Authority ("CRRA")], dated as of 1984.
Discarded material which may be reclaimed, such as cardboard,
storage batteries, glass food containers, metal food containers, newspapers,
office paper, scrap metal, waste oil and leaves and any other material
designated as such by regulations adopted by the Commissioner of the
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection pursuant to C.G.S.
§ 22a-241b, as they may be amended from time to time.
Includes any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business
of collecting and transporting commercial, household or industrial
solid waste and recyclables for hire within this municipality.
Used or discarded items which consist predominantly of ferrous
metals, aluminum, brass, copper, lead, chromium, tin, nickel or alloys
thereof, including but not limited to white goods.
As used in this chapter, single-stream recycling refers to
a collection system that mixes all recyclable paper fibers and containers
together in a bin at the curb and in the collection truck.
Unwanted or discarded materials consistent with the meaning
given that term by C.G.S. §§ 22a-207(3) and 22a-260(7),
excluding semisolid or liquid materials collected and treated in a
sewerage system.
That facility constructed by the CRRA and operated by MIRA
as part of the Mid-Connecticut System and located at Essex, Connecticut.
All waste and recyclables collected for a fee in this municipality
shall be collected, conveyed and disposed of by persons licensed jointly
by this municipality and the Authority to perform such work and in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter. No other person shall
collect, convey over any street or dispose of any solid waste and
recyclables in this municipality, except that the actual producers
of solid waste and recyclables or the owners of premises in this municipality
upon which solid waste and recyclables have accumulated may personally
collect, convey and dispose of such solid waste and recyclables upon
complying with the other provisions of this chapter and with any other
applicable ordinances and regulations. No solid waste and recyclables
collected from outside this municipality shall be disposed of under
a license or registration issued pursuant to this chapter.
A.
No person shall remove recyclable materials, including but not limited
to scrap metal, newspapers, glass bottles, cans, tires and other collectibles,
from the designated disposal site without authorization from the Director.
B.
Upon placement of recyclables at the curb in a recycling container,
or other designated means of separation and storage, it shall be a
violation of this chapter for any person, partnership, firm or corporation,
other than the depositor or authorized agents of the Town or as approved
by the Director, to collect or pick up, or cause to be collected or
picked up, such recyclables.
C.
Penalties and sanctions shall be as available under § 139-13 of this chapter. In addition, the Board of Selectmen may require an offender to pay restitution to the Town of Old Lyme in an amount not to exceed the value of any materials illegally removed.
D.
Nothing in this chapter shall abridge the right of any person, partnership,
firm or corporation to give or sell their recyclables, including deposit
beverage containers, to any person, partnership, firm, corporation
or recycling program lawfully operated for profit, nonprofit, or charitable
purposes, provided that such materials shall not have been set out
on the curb or at any designated collection or pickup site or designated
disposal site authorized by the Town or its designated agent.
A.
Containers for single-family residential solid waste and recyclables.
(1)
The Town of Old Lyme shall provide (or has provided) free of charge
to each residence: one plastic watertight container for receiving
and holding solid waste between collections; and one plastic watertight
container for receiving and holding recyclables between collections.
Each such container has been/shall be imprinted with the Town Seal
and a serial number.
(2)
The owner and/or occupant of each single-family premises for which
the Town provides/has provided such container(s) shall be responsible
to maintain each container in good condition and to follow instructions
given by the Board of Selectmen, or its designated representative,
for appropriate placement of the containers for automated curbside
residential solid waste and single-stream recycling collection.
(3)
The Town shall provide a replacement container(s) to a residence
when the Town deems it necessary. Replacement containers shall be
provided at a price to be determined by the Board of Selectmen. Each
container provided by the Town, including replacement containers,
shall remain Town property at all times; may be used only for the
storage of solid waste and recyclables; and may not be removed from
the premises for which it was provided.
(4)
Curbside collection schedules shall be established and amended by
the Board of Selectmen, in consultation with its solid waste haulers.
B.
Containers for commercial solid waste and recyclables.
(1)
The standard container for commercial solid waste shall be a watertight, verminproof galvanized or plastic receptacle, with a tight lid, except that commercial establishments, with the approval of the Director, may provide for a large covered container designed to be emptied into a refuse truck. For the purposes of this Subsection B, "commercial solid waste" is any solid waste the source of which is other than residential.
(2)
All business, commercial and manufacturing facilities, including
without limitation restaurants, schools and colleges, and public buildings
of any sort, shall provide visible and clearly labeled separate solid
waste and recycling containers on their premises, in a location(s)
consistent with the requirements of any zoning permit for the premises.
(3)
Any person and/or legal entity conducting a large public or private
event, such as, for example, the Midsummer Festival, or an event to
be attended by more than 500 people at any one time, shall provide
separate solid waste and recycling containers in sufficient numbers
and sizes on the site of the event. All containers shall be visible
and clearly marked and shall be removed from the site as soon as practicable
after the end of the event.
C.
Permitted uses of containers for single-family residential solid
waste and recyclables containers for commercial solid waste and recyclables.
(1)
Containers provided by the Town and/or permitted to be used for the collection of residential and commercial solid waste and recyclables under this chapter must be used for their intended purposes, and may not be used for any other. Nothing but acceptable household solid waste is to be placed in a solid waste container for pickup, and nothing but CT DEEP approved recyclable materials may be placed in a single-stream recycling container for pickup. Containers found to contain unacceptable materials (e.g., bulky waste, hazardous waste, grass clippings, lawn debris, building materials, appliances, etc.) will not be picked up and will be left at the curbside, and the owner and/or occupant of the premises shall be subject to the provisions of § 139-13 of this chapter.
A.
Public places. No person shall place any solid waste or recyclables
in any street, alley or other public place or upon any private property,
whether owned by such person or not, within this municipality except
in proper containers or otherwise properly prepared for collection
or under express approval granted by the Director; nor shall any person
throw or deposit any solid waste or recyclables in any stream or any
other body of water.
B.
Accumulation of solid waste. Any accumulation of solid waste on any
premises other than in proper containers is hereby declared to be
a nuisance and is prohibited. Failure to remove any accumulation of
solid waste within 10 days after written notice by registered mail
to remove the same shall be deemed a violation of this chapter.
C.
Scattering of solid waste. No person shall cast, place, sweep or
deposit anywhere within this municipality any solid waste in such
a manner that it may be carried or deposited by the elements or wildlife
upon or in any street, sidewalk, alley, sewer, parkway, waterway or
other public place.
D.
Hazardous wastes. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation
to place hazardous wastes or similarly dangerous substances into any
solid waste or recyclables container or to submit any such substance
to the transfer station or the Mid-Connecticut System.
E.
Bulky waste. Bulky waste may not be collected or mixed with material
to be burned or processed at a resource recovery facility or incinerator.
Applicable charges shall be paid by the person/firm delivering the
waste.
F.
Recyclables. Recyclables may not be collected or mixed with other
municipal waste and shall be delivered to the designated disposal
site.
A.
Recyclable materials. Each refuse collector must collect mandatory
recyclable materials from his customers in the manner specified in
this chapter.
B.
Separation of materials; collection. Recyclable materials shall be
separated from other solid waste and placed at the curb or other designated
place for collection on the days designated by the collector. The
collector shall determine and provide public notice of the schedule
for collecting all recyclable materials.
C.
Separation at dumpster. Multifamily dwelling units and commercial,
industrial or other nonresidential entities not utilizing curbside
collection must have an area conveniently located and approved by
the Director, in sufficient quantity and condition, designated for
recyclable materials. Each container shall be marked as to the material
it is to receive. The type, location, signing and number of containers
shall be in accordance with a plan presented to the Director by the
property owner.
D.
Methods of separating and packing. All recyclable materials shall
be separated from solid waste.
E.
Inspections. Each load of solid waste shall be subject to inspection
by the Director before and after dumping at the designated disposal
site to ensure that recyclable materials have been removed.
F.
Transport. Recyclable materials must be contained for transportation
from the source to the designated disposal site, in either a truck
separate from those that pick up municipal solid waste or in a separate
compartment of a truck that picks up municipal solid waste. "Separate
compartment" means an area with its own floor, walls and lid.
G.
Delivery sites. Recyclables shall be delivered to the sites designated
by the Board of Selectmen.
A.
Licensing.
(1)
All refuse collectors shall make application to the Board of Selectmen,
in the manner designated by the Board of Selectmen, for a license
to operate in this municipality and shall provide the Board of Selectmen
and the Director with the business name of the applicant and the names
of other municipalities in which the applicant hauls refuse. Licenses
will be issued jointly by the Board of Selectmen and the Authority
to qualified refuse collectors. The Board of Selectmen shall act on
an application within a reasonable time after its receipt of an application
that contains all of the information required by this chapter and
by state statutes and regulations, including the payment of the required
application fee.
(2)
A license will be denied if any of the following conditions exist:
(a)
The applicant has been irresponsible in the conduct of solid
waste or recyclable collection and hauling operations as evidenced
by previous suspensions and/or revocations of licenses.
(b)
The applicant lacks suitable equipment with which to collect
solid waste and recyclables safely and in compliance with this chapter.
(c)
The applicant has not fully complied with refuse collection
licensing requirements or paid fees as respects this municipality
or any other municipality or the Authority.
(d)
The collector has consistently demonstrated a lack of cooperation
and good faith effort to execute the Town recycling program.
(e)
The applicant does not have at the time any state and/or federal
licenses required to do business as a refuse collector. It shall be
a condition of any license issued hereunder that the licensee maintain
all such state and federal licenses in good standing at all times.
B.
Licenses. Nontransferable licenses will be issued for a period of
one year, unless sooner revoked, commencing on the first day of July.
No refuse collector shall engage in the business of collecting refuse
or recyclables in this municipality without such a license currently
in force.
C.
Registration of vehicles and containers. Each licensed refuse collector
(hereinafter "licensee") shall obtain from the Director a separate
registration for each vehicle and each container he operates to transport
solid waste and recyclables within this municipality. Vehicles and
containers will be subject to such inspection for compliance with
this chapter as the Director may require prior to issuance of a registration
number. Registrations shall not be transferable from vehicle to vehicle
or from container to container; provided, however, that the Director
may allow such temporary transfer of registrations in hardship situations,
such as a breakdown of a registered vehicle.
D.
Registration term; fee: renewal. All registrations shall be issued
for a period of one year, unless sooner revoked, commencing on the
first day of July. The registration fee shall be set by the Board
of Selectmen.
E.
Reinspection. Whenever a container or vehicle registered hereunder
is sold or transferred to another licensee during the registration
year, said container or vehicle shall be reinspected within seven
days after such transfer date, but no additional fee shall be required.
F.
Display of registration. The registration number issued shall be
conspicuously displayed on the left front of the body of each vehicle
or container so registered or as may be directed by the Director.
G.
Identification of vehicles and containers. Each licensee shall prominently
display at all times on a door of each registered vehicle or container
in letters at least four inches in height the business name, address
and telephone number of the licensee.
H.
Transfer of route. When any licensee shall transfer, by sale or otherwise,
all or part of his route to another licensee, the transferor shall
forthwith give written notice to the Director at least 10 business
days before the date of the sale or transfer stating the name of the
transferee and the intended date of transfer.
I.
Notification of transfer. When any licensee shall sell or transfer
all or part of his route to any refuse collector not licensed in this
municipality, the licensee shall, within seven days after the transfer,
notify the Director in writing of the business name and address of
the transferee and route or routes transferred.
J.
Routes serviced. As a prerequisite to the issuance or renewal of
any license, a refuse collector shall furnish to the Director the
geographical routes within this municipality that such refuse collector
services or intends to service.
A.
Generally, failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter
shall be grounds for revocation or suspension of any license or registration
issued under the provisions of this chapter in addition to any other
penalty which may be imposed by law.
B.
Notice required. Revocation or suspension shall become effective
five calendar days after receipt of written notice from the Director.
C.
Request for review; effect of failure to file. If a refuse collector
objects to revocation or suspension of his license or registration,
he may within five calendar days after receipt of said notice file
a written request for review with the First Selectman of this municipality.
Failure to file such request for review in a timely manner shall make
the Director's action final and binding upon such refuse collector.
D.
Timely filing. Timely filing of such request for review shall operate
as an automatic stay of revocation or suspension action, pending the
finding of the Board of Review as hereinafter described; provided,
however, that if the Director or the Authority shall, in the notice
of revocation or suspension, find that a stay will be deleterious
to the public health, safety or welfare, then such stay shall not
take effect.
E.
Board of Review; hearing. The First Selectman of this municipality
shall promptly designate a Board of Review consisting of one member
of the Board of Selectmen and one licensee who shall choose a third
member. Within 15 days after being so constituted, said Board shall
decide, after giving the refuse collector whose license or registration
is in question a full and fair opportunity to be heard, whether the
revocation or suspension is sustained. The decision of the Board of
Review shall be final and binding upon the refuse collector.
F.
Names and addresses of customers to be furnished upon revocation
or suspension. When a refuse collector receives written notice that
his license or registration is revoked or suspended, he shall furnish
to the Director, within 24 hours, the names and addresses of his customers
to ensure continuity of service.
G.
Refusal of permission to use the transfer station. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary herein, the Director shall have power to
deny admission to the transfer station to any refuse collector when,
in his opinion, such refuse collector has violated this chapter or
any other applicable rule of regulation.
Each licensee shall furnish to his customers, upon request,
a list of rates for the various services he provides.
A.
The Director shall administer the licensing and registration of any
refuse collector engaged in the collecting and transporting of solid
waste and recyclables in this municipality.
B.
As a condition of approval of an application for a license or a license
renewal, the Board of Selectmen shall require that the applicant have
and maintain insurances of the types and in the amounts it deems reasonable
and necessary. A licensee's failure to maintain such insurances
for the time required by the Board of Selectmen shall be a ground
for revocation.
C.
The Director may promulgate additional rules on all collection, recycling
and disposal procedures from time to time as he deems proper, but
such rules shall not be inconsistent with this chapter.
D.
The Director shall be responsible for informing the Authority of
any action taken by him or this municipality independently of the
Authority under the provisions of this chapter.
A.
Place of delivery; payment. Each licensee collector shall deliver
all solid waste meeting the contractual standards within the territorial
limits of this municipality to the transfer station and pay the disposal
charge to the Authority. All other solid waste shall be delivered
to such place as the Director may from time to time designate, and
any applicable charge shall be paid by the licensee. All recyclables
shall be delivered to such place as the Director designates.
B.
Failure to pay. Any licensee failing to pay the Authority or this
municipality any disposal charge within 30 days after the date of
a bill therefor shall pay the Authority and/or this municipality,
as the case may be, in addition to the disposal charge shown on such
bill, interest on such disposal charge at the rate of 1% per month
or fraction thereof commencing on the date of such bill, plus all
costs of collection, including attorneys' reasonable fees, incurred
by this municipality. A failure to pay shall also be grounds for revocation
or suspension of a license.
C.
Prohibition on delivery. No licensee shall deliver any solid waste
meeting the contractual standards to any place other than the transfer
station unless the transfer station is incapable of accepting such
solid waste at the time of delivery, in which event such solid waste
shall be delivered to the place designated by the Director.
D.
Construction and maintenance of vehicles and containers. All vehicles
registered to collect and transport solid waste shall be automatic
unloading vehicles of a watertight construction and shall be maintained
free of obnoxious odors and accumulated solid waste. Any such vehicle
with a capacity in excess of 10 cubic yards shall be of a closed construction.
A container utilized primarily for nonliquid solid waste need not
be of watertight construction but shall be completely enclosed. If
any such vehicle shall have a capacity of less than 10 cubic yards
it may have an open top, provided that it is covered when it is in
motion to prevent the escape of solid waste.
E.
Responsibility to provide service; refusal to provide. Licensees
are hereby made jointly responsible for providing collection service
to any resident of this municipality. If any resident of this municipality
shall be refused collection services or is dissatisfied with collection
service for cause, he may make application to the Director, who shall
have the right to direct said licensee to provide service or to designate
another licensee to provide service, and the licensee so selected
shall comply with the Director's designation. In making such
designation, the Director shall give primary consideration to those
licensees who service customers in the same or a contiguous locality.
F.
Delinquent customers. A licensee may refuse to provide collection
service to any customer who is more than 30 days delinquent in the
payment of the licensee's fee. If the delinquent customer shall
discharge his delinquency, then the licensee shall immediately restore
collection services to the customer.
G.
Designation of licensee to provide service. In the event solid waste
and recyclable collection service is not provided to a geographical
area of this municipality, the Director shall designate a licensee
or licensees to provide service to such geographical area, and such
licensee or licensees shall comply with the Director's designation.
H.
Customers' containers. Licensees shall leave their customers'
containers in a neat upright position and off the highway.
I.
Spilled solid waste and/or recyclables. Refuse collectors shall clean
up solid waste or recyclables that may spill when being carried or
transferred.
A.
The owner and/or occupant(s) of any premises other than a single-family
residence shall be fined not more than the maximum amount allowed
by law for each offense, in addition to any other penalty which may
be imposed by law.
B.
Violations at single-family residences. Enforcement of violations
of this chapter at single-family residences shall be as follows: i)
for a first violation, a written warning shall be issued to the owner
and/or occupant; and b) for each violation thereafter, a penalty of
$25 may be imposed on the owner and/or occupant and the right to use
the Town waste disposal facilities shall be forfeited until the penalty
is paid.
C.
Persons who wish to contest an enforcement action hereunder may appeal
in writing to the Director, who shall have the authority based on
the facts of each case to approve, reject or modify the enforcement
action.
Except as otherwise specified in this chapter, the Director
shall enforce all provisions of this chapter regulating the collection
and transportation of refuse and recyclables and concerning the disposal
and recycling of refuse at the designated disposal site.
Curbside pickup of residential solid waste and single-stream
recycling is provided by the municipality by private contract.
The Authority, or the Director, may require the licensee to
post a letter of credit, bond or such other security as may reasonably
be required to protect the municipality or Authority, as the case
may be, from the potential nonpayment of disposal fees by the refuse
collector.
A.
The licensee, by accepting a license issued under this chapter, agrees
to hold harmless the Authority and this municipality and all of its
boards, commissions, agencies, officials and employees from loss,
damage or injury arising from delivery by that licensee of unacceptable
or hazardous wastes to the transfer station or from any other act
or omission of the licensee connected with its performance under this chapter
and/or the relevant state statutes and regulations. The Director,
with the guidance of the Authority, shall establish such procedures
as may be appropriate to protect the transfer station, the Mid-Connecticut
System and their operators and employees from injury or damage arising
from such deliveries.
B.
Any person entering the Town-designated disposal site shall be construed
to be on the premises at his own risk, and the Town shall not be legally
liable for any injuries or damages occurring to said persons or vehicles
while on said premises.
