[Adopted 9-12-1988 by Ord. No. 747 (Secs. 12-20 to 12-37 of the 1979 Code)]
As used in this article, the following terms
will be defined as follows:
The process by which a city or town plans for and carries
out the separation, weighing, collection, hauling and disposal of
solid waste generated within that city or town.
An item of solid waste larger than two feet by two feet by
four feet or heavier than 50 pounds.
Any waste as defined in the Rhode Island Hazardous Waste
Management Act, R.I.G.L. § 23-19.1-4, or in regulations
adopted pursuant thereto, and as they may be amended.
Hazardous municipal solid waste.
A recycling program for municipal solid waste as set forth
in a local recycling plan approved by the state pursuant to the municipal
recycling regulations as amended.
Recyclable materials which are required to be removed from
municipal solid waste at the source and placed in or on top of the
set-out container provided by the state for transport to the nearest
materials recovery facility for recycling.
Solid waste generated by the residents of a municipality
in the course of their daily living, the disposal of which the governing
body of the municipality has undertaken in the discharge of its duties
to protect the health of the municipality. Municipal solid waste does
not include solid waste generated by residents of a municipality in
the course of their employment or that generated by any manufacturing
or commercial enterprise.
Materials separated from municipal solid waste for reuse
as specified by the Director of DEM and listed in Section 4 of municipal
recycling regulations and within this article.[1] The materials to be included may change from time to time
depending upon new technologies, economic conditions, waste stream
characteristics, environmental effects or mutual agreement between
the state and municipalities.
Anyone residing in the Town of Johnston for any period of
time who generates solid waste for which the Town accepts responsibility
for disposal.
Garbage, refuse and other discarded solid materials generated
by residential, institutional, commercial, industrial and agricultural
sources but not including solids or dissolved material in domestic
sewage or sewage sludge, nor hazardous waste as defined in the Hazardous
Waste Management Act, Chapter 19.1 of the General Laws.
The removal by the generator of recyclable materials including
mixed recyclables from all other solid waste generated by the household,
and conveyance of the recyclables to the curbside or other designated
location by the municipality or its agents.
A facility operated by or for a municipality whose purpose
is the temporary storage and accumulation of municipal solid waste
prior to its transport to and disposal at a corporation landfill or
resource recovery facility.
Major kitchen or laundry appliances including, but not limited
to, stoves, washers, refrigerators, and dryers. Nothing in this definition
shall waive compliance with the rules and regulations for generation,
transportation storage and disposal of hazardous waste.
A.Â
There is hereby established a program for the mandatory
separation of certain recyclable materials from municipal solid waste
by the residents of the Town of Johnston and the collection of segregated
municipal solid waste at the resident's curbside, or at other specified
locations. The collection of separate recyclables shall be made periodically
under the supervision of the Federal Funds Coordinator and Recycling
Coordinator.
B.Â
The Federal Funds Coordinator shall oversee the implementation
of this article. The Federal Funds Coordinator shall receive the assistance
of the Department of Public Works, the Recycling Coordinator, and
the Johnston School Department. One of the prime duties of the Recycling
Coordinator shall be to encourage public education about recycling
through the media and through the schools.
The Town of Johnston, on advice of the Town
Council and the Recycling Committee, shall appoint an individual,
either part- or full-time, to coordinate the recycling program with
the Department of Public Works, private trash haulers and recycling
facilities, and to provide recycling education for residents and school
children. These tasks shall be accomplished in a manner consistent
with state and federal regulations.
[Amended 6-8-1998 by Ord. No. 1031]
A.Â
Mixed recyclables. The Town shall provide for the
collection of mixed recyclables once a week from residents in dwellings
with one to four units. Said materials shall be placed at the curbside
in designated containers. For the purposes of this regulation, the
mixed recyclables to be collected are: glass food and beverage containers,
newspaper, tin-coated steel cans/steel cans, aluminum, plastic soda
bottles and milk jugs. The mixed recyclables to be collected shall
also include the following:
(1)Â
Scrap metal: anything that is all metal, empty aerosol
cans, paint cans.
(2)Â
Plastics: symbols 1 and 2, juice bottles, deli containers,
colored and noncolored detergent containers. [NOTE: Remove all lids;
they are not recyclable.]
(3)Â
Milk and juice cartons, and drink boxes.
(4)Â
Mixed paper: mail, envelopes, magazines, catalogs,
phone books, writing paper, and paperbacks.
(5)Â
Cardboard: boxes and other corrugated cardboard. [NOTE:
Needs to be broken down to 1Â 1/2 by 2Â 1/2.] Thin cardboard,
for example: cereal boxes, cookie boxes, shoe boxes and toilet paper
rolls.
(6)Â
Clothing: towels, linens, curtains, rags, clothing,
stockings, handbags, belts, and shoes. [NOTE: No women's shoes. No
grease or soiled clothing. No rugs or carpets.]
B.Â
White goods. The Town of Johnston shall provide for
mandatory recycling of white goods.
The Town of Johnston shall prominently publish
the initial schedule for said collection and shall publish a new schedule
thereafter whenever there is a change in either materials to be collected,
collection procedures, or schedules.
A.Â
Recyclable materials. Recyclable materials shall be
deposited at the curb in special recycling containers provided by
the Town to the residents. These containers shall initially be provided
free of charge and thereafter for a fee specified by the Town of Johnston
for replacements.
B.Â
If there are more recyclables than can be accommodated
in the container, these shall be placed in containers stacked close
to said special recycling container to facilitate collection with
recyclable materials.
C.Â
Recyclable materials shall be prepared for collection
according to directions published by the Town.
The Town shall require the separation of recyclables
as a condition of licensing or authorizing public events at which
significant solid waste will be generated for which the Town accepts
responsibility for disposal.
Business firms shall be subject to state and
federal recycling regulations.
[Amended 8-11-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-13]
A.Â
All residents,
taxpayers and others doing business in the Town of Johnston shall
separate recyclables from the nonrecyclable portion of their solid
waste and prepare them for recycling according to directions published
by the Town.
B.Â
Any person
who generates municipal solid waste or accepts responsibility for
collecting, storing, or disposing of municipal solid waste shall segregate
their solid waste.
C.Â
Once municipal
solid waste, including recyclables, has been placed at the curbside,
such solid waste becomes the property of the Town. No person engaged
in the business of separation, recovery, collection, removal, storage,
or disposition of solid waste shall pick up or procure any recyclable
materials as defined under this article or a valid regulation within
the Town except as specifically authorized by the Director of Public
Works. This restriction shall also include any resident, taxpayer,
or other person who might engage in such practice for personal gain.
D.Â
The Town
reserves the right to deny collection of municipal solid waste from
any household that shall not comply with segregated recycling regulations
and/or shall not set out for collection recyclable containers with
required segregated materials therein.
Residents are allowed to give recyclables to
individuals and to private and nonprofit organizations that have been
duly licensed and whose collections are reported in a manner specified
by the Town of Johnston to be in compliance with DEM reporting requirements.
A.Â
On the second and any subsequent violations for failure
to separate recyclable and nonrecyclable materials or for leaving
recyclables prepared in a manner inconsistent with the Town's rules
for preparation, collectors shall pick up solid waste and attach a
notice to refuse containers advising the resident of his or her duties
under the law. Trash haulers shall keep a record of the street address
of those who receive said warning notices.
[Amended 6-14-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-9]
B.Â
Collectors shall advise the Town of Johnston of those
residents who consistently refuse to separate their solid waste or
consistently refuse to prepare recyclable materials in a manner consistent
with the Town's rules for preparation. The Town of Johnston shall
send a letter to said residents advising of their duty under the law
and warning that solid waste collection will cease if the waste is
not separated. Finally, if there is no compliance, the Recycling Coordinator
shall advise the collectors to leave solid waste at said violator's
curbside until separation and/or proper preparation commences.
C.Â
A noncomplying resident continues to be under a duty
to remove his or her solid waste from the street and dispose of same
properly so as not to create any hazard or nuisance.
No person having custody or control of residential,
industrial or business premises from which solid waste, including
recyclables, is collected for disposal by the Town of Johnston shall
permit or cause any solid waste, including recyclables, within his
or her control to become a hazard to public travel, health, or safety,
or to become a nuisance of any sort.
A.Â
Once municipal solid waste has been deposited in the
designated place, be it curbside or transfer station, said solid waste
becomes the property of the Town.
B.Â
No person engaged in the business of separation, recovery,
collection, removal, storage, or disposition of solid waste shall
pick up or procure any recyclable materials as defined under this
article or a valid regulation within the Town of Johnston except as
specifically authorized by the Town of Johnston.
C.Â
This restriction shall also include any resident,
taxpayer, or other person who might engage in such practice for personal
gain.
The Town of Johnston may issue permits to private
parties or charitable organizations to collect recyclable materials
on the condition that a report is filed by said party or organization
detailing the amount of each material collected, in compliance with
DEM reporting requirements and provided that the Town of Johnston
determines that said collection does not defeat the purpose or cost
effectiveness of the Town's recycling program nor conflict with the
Town's local implementation program.
The Recycling Coordinator shall implement a
public education and information program consisting of speaking engagements,
school presentations, preparation of press releases, direct mailings,
special events, and other such efforts to inform the public of the
benefits of recycling and the mechanics of its implementation in their
community in accordance with 5-4.a. and 8.3f.8. of the Rhode Island
Municipal Recycling Regulations, as amended.
The Town of Johnston shall establish an accurate
system to keep monthly records of weights of total municipal solid
waste and of recyclables which are separated from the total municipal
solid waste stream, which records shall be submitted on a quarterly
basis to DEM.
The Town of Johnston shall give notice to DEM
of any significant change in solid waste disposal arrangements.
All qualified persons engaged in the business
of collection and hauling of solid waste and operation of transfer
stations within Town boundaries shall be licensed in compliance with
the state's rules and regulations for solid waste disposal facilities
and the provisions of this article. Licensees shall:
A.Â
Maintain the segregation of municipal solid waste
which they collect or haul;
B.Â
Maintain any separated recyclables which are brought
to state-owned recycling facilities to be delivered in processable
condition; and
C.Â
Deliver to state-owned recycling facilities all separated
recyclables which are designated by a city or town to go to such facility.
The Town of Johnston is empowered to supervise,
facilitate and contract with either state recycling facilities as
mandated by the general laws of the State of Rhode Island or with
commercial firms for the receipt and processing of recyclable material
in a manner consistent with the Town's local implementation program
that yields the best rate of recycling and the most cost effective
result for the Town.