[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Lopatcong 7-2-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-09.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Littering — See Ch. 143.
Solid waste disposal — See Ch. 195.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 169, Recycling, adopted 4-20-1988 by Ord. No. 1988-7, as amended.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
COMINGLED
A combining of nonputrescible source-separated recyclable materials for the purpose of recycling.
COMMERCIAL USE
An activity involving the sale of goods or services carried out for profit.
DESIGNATED RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
Those materials designated within the Warren County District Solid Waste Management Plan to be source separated for the purpose of recycling.
ELECTRONIC WASTE
A computer central processing unit and associated hardware including keyboards, modems, printers, scanners and fax machines; a cathode ray tube, a cathode ray tube device, a flat panel display or similar video display device with a screen that is greater than four inches measured diagonally and that contains one or more circuit boards, including a television, and cell phones.
HOTEL
Any building including but not limited to any related structure, accessory building, and land appurtenant thereto, and any part thereof, which contains 10 or more units of dwelling space or has sleeping facilities for 25 or more persons and is kept; used, maintained, advertised as, or held out to be, a place where sleeping or dwelling accommodations are available to transient or permanent guests. This definition shall also mean and include any hotel, motor hotel, motel, or established guesthouse, which is commonly regarded as a hotel, motor hotel, motel, or established guesthouse, as the case may be, in the community in which it is located; provided, that this definition shall not be construed to include any building or structure defined as a multiple dwelling in this act; registered as a multiple dwelling with the Commissioner of Community Affairs as hereinafter provided, and occupied or intended to be occupied as such nor shall this definition be construed to include a rooming house or a boarding house as defined in the "Rooming and Boarding House Act of 1979," P.L. 1979, c. 496 (C.55:13B-1 et al.) or, except as otherwise set forth in P.L. 1987, c. 270 (C.55:13A-7.5, 55:13A-7.6, 55:13A-12.1, 55:13A-13.2), any retreat lodging facility, as defined in this section.
MULTIFAMILY DWELLING
Any building or structure of complex of buildings in which three or more dwelling units are rented or leased or offered for rental or lease for residential purposes (see N.J.S.A. 13:1E-99.13a.) except hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests as those terms are defined under Subsection (j) of Section 3 of the "Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law," P.L. 1967, c. 76 (C.55: 13A-1 et seq.).
MUNICIPAL RECYCLING COORDINATOR
The person or persons appointed by the municipal governing body and who shall be authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter, and any rules and regulations which may be promulgated hereunder.
MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE (MSW) STREAM
All solid waste generated at residential, commercial, and institutional establishments within the boundaries of the Township of Lopatcong.
RECYCLABLE MATERIAL
Those materials which would otherwise become solid waste, and which may be collected, separated, or processed and returned to the economic mainstream in the form of raw materials or products.
SOURCE-SEPARATED RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
Recyclable materials which are separated at the point of generation by the generator thereof from solid waste for the purposes of recycling.
SOURCE SEPARATION
The process by which recyclable materials are separated at the point of generation by the generator thereof from solid waste for the purposes of recycling.
A. 
Mandatory source separation. It shall be mandatory for all persons who are owners, tenants, or occupants of residential and nonresidential premises, which shall include but not be limited to retail and other commercial locations, as well as government schools, and other institutional locations within the Township of Lopatcong, to separate designated recyclable materials from all solid waste. Designated recyclable materials shall be deposited separate and apart from other solid waste generated by the owners, tenants, or occupants of such premises and shall be placed separately at the curb in a manner and on such days and times as maybe hereinafter established by regulations promulgated by the Recycling Coordinator.
B. 
Exemptions. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 13:1E-99.16(d), the governing body of a municipality may exempt persons occupying commercial or institutional premises within its municipal boundaries from the source separation requirements of the ordinance which requires persons generating municipal solid waste within its municipal boundaries to source separate from the municipal solid waste stream, the specified recyclable materials if those persons have otherwise provided for the recycling of all designated recyclable materials. To be eligible for an exemption, pursuant to this chapter, a commercial or institutional generator of solid waste shall file an application for exemption with the municipal recycling coordinator on forms to be provided for this purpose. The form shall include, at a minimum, the following information: the name of the commercial or institutional entity; the street address location and lot and block designation; the name, official title and phone number of the person making application on behalf of the commercial or institutional entity; the name, address, official contact person and telephone number of the facility which provides the service of recycling those designated recyclable materials, and a certification that the designated recyclable materials will be recycled, and that, at least on an annual basis, said recycling service provider shall provide written documentation to the municipal recycling coordinator of the total number of tons collected and recycled for each designated material.
The collection of recyclable material shall be in the manner prescribed as follows:
A. 
All containers and brown paper bags containing recyclable materials shall be placed, prior to collection, between the curb and the sidewalk, or in the absence of curb and sidewalk, as near to the street as not to constitute a danger, where such receptacles shall be readily accessible to the collector without providing obstruction to pedestrians. The owner or occupant of the premises shall keep all receptacles clean and in safe handling condition. Receptacles or other items to be disposed of shall be placed as noted above anytime after 6:00 p.m. of the day immediately preceding the day of collection, but no later than 6:00 a.m. of the day of collection. After collection, any containers shall be removed from the curbside by no later than 9:00 p.m. of the day of collection.
B. 
All receptacles or dumpsters shall be maintained in accordance with the Health Code of the Township of Lopatcong.
A. 
The Mayor and Township Council may use municipal personnel to collect recyclable material set forth herein at curbside and/or from a drop-off center and shall sell said recyclable material if a market exists therefore and is allowable under the Laws of the State of New Jersey.
B. 
The Mayor and Township Council may elect to enter into agreements with qualified persons or corporations authorizing them to collect said recyclable materials provided that the amount of money realized exceeds the cost of collection.
A. 
Recyclable materials, as defined herein, shall be the property of the Township of Lopatcong once placed on the curbside or brought to a drop-off center.
B. 
It shall be a violation of this chapter for any person unauthorized by the Mayor and Township Council to pick up or caused to be picked up said recyclable material, as defined herein. Each such collection in violation hereof shall constitute a separate and distinct offense punishable as hereinafter provided.
Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, any person, partnership or corporation who is owner, lessee or occupant of a residential or nonresidential property may donate or sell said recyclable material as defined herein, to any person, partnership or corporation, whether or not operating for profit. Said person, partnership or corporation, however, shall not pick up said recyclable materials at the curbside or at a drop-off center.
A. 
The owners/occupants of single-family and two-family dwellings shall be responsible for compliance with this chapter.
B. 
For multifamily units, the management or owner is responsible for setting up and maintaining the recycling system, including the designation of a building/complex recycling coordinator who will oversee the recycling system which includes the collection of recyclable materials.
C. 
Violations and penalty notices will be directed to the owner, occupant, or management, in those instances where the violator is not easily identifiable. The management shall issue notification and collection rules to new tenants when they arrive and every six months during their occupancy.
A. 
All commercial, business, or industrial facilities shall be required to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
The arrangement for collection of designated recyclables hereunder shall be the responsibility of the commercial, institutional or industrial property owner or their designee, unless the municipality provides for the collection of designated recyclable materials. All commercial, institutional or industrial properties which provide outdoors litter receptacles and disposal service for their contents shall also provide receptacles for designated recyclable materials, for those materials commonly deposited, in the location of the litter receptacle, and shall provide for separate recycling service for their contents.
C. 
Annually, every business, institution, or industrial facility shall report to the Municipal Recycling Coordinator the recycling activities undertaken at their premises, including the amount of recycled material, by material type, collected and recycled and the vendor or vendors providing recycling service. The forms to be used will be provided by the Municipal Recycling Coordinator.
D. 
All food service establishments, as defined in the Health Code, shall, in addition to compliance with all other recycling requirements, be required to recycle grease and/or cooking oil created in the processing of food or food products, and maintain such records as may be prescribed, for inspection by any code enforcement officer.
A. 
Any application to the Planning Board of the Township of Lopatcong for subdivision or site plan approval for the construction of multifamily dwellings of three or more units, single-family developments of 50 or more units or any commercial, institutional, or industrial development for the utilization of 1,000 square feet or more of land, must include a recycling plan. This plan must contain, at a minimum, the following:
(1) 
A detailed analysis of the expected composition and amounts of solid waste and recyclables generated at the proposed development.
(2) 
Locations documented on the application's site plan that provide for convenient recycling opportunities for all owners, tenants, and occupants. The recycling area shall be of sufficient size, convenient location and contain other attributes (signage, lighting, fencing, etc.) as may be determined by the Municipal Recycling Coordinator.
(3) 
Provisions shall be made for the indoor, or enclosed outdoor, storage and pickup of solid waste, to be approved by the municipal engineer.
B. 
Prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy by the Township of Lopatcong, the owner of any new multifamily housing or commercial, institutional, or industrial development must supply a copy of a duly executed contract with a hauling company for the purposes of collection and recycling of source-separated recyclable materials, in those instances where the municipality does not otherwise provide this service.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for solid waste collectors to collect solid waste that is mixed with, or contains visible signs of, designated recyclable materials. It is also unlawful for solid waste collectors to remove for disposal those bags or containers of solid waste which visibly display a warning notice sticker or some other device indicating that the load of solid waste contains designated recyclable materials.
B. 
It shall be the responsibility of the resident or occupant to properly segregate the uncollected waste for proper disposal or recycling. Allowing such unseparated solid waste and recyclables to accumulate will be considered a violation of this article and the local sanitary code.
C. 
Once placed in the location identified by this chapter, or any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter, no person, other than those authorized by the municipality shall tamper with, collect, remove, or otherwise handle designated recyclable materials.
A. 
The position of Recycling Coordinator is hereby created and established within the Township of Lopatcong.
B. 
The Recycling Coordinator shall be appointed by the Mayor and Township Council for a term of one year, expiring December 31 of each year. The term of the person first appointed Recycling Coordinator shall expire December 31 of the year of that person's appointment.
C. 
The Recycling Coordinator, subject to the approval of the Mayor and Township Council, shall establish and promulgate reasonable regulations ad to the manner, days and times for the collection, sorting, transportation, sale and/or marketing of said recycling material in order to encourage the preservation of material resources while minimizing the cost of the recycling program to the Township of Lopatcong.
The Municipal Board of Health, the Recycling Coordinator, the Zoning Officer, the Building Inspector, the Housing Officer, or other code enforcement officer, the police department, and the Warren County Department of Health are hereby individually and severally empowered to enforce the provisions of this chapter. An inspection may consist of sorting through containers and opening of solid waste bags to detect, by sound or sight, the presence of any recyclable material.
A. 
Any person, corporation, occupant, or entity that violates or fails to comply with any provision of this chapter or any of the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine not less than $250, nor more than $2,000 or up to 90 days in jail or a period of community service not to exceed 90 days, or any combination thereof.
B. 
Each day for which a violation of this chapter occurs shall be considered a separate offense.
C. 
Fines levied and collected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be immediately deposited into the Municipal Recycling Trust Fund (or equivalent). Monies in the Municipal Recycling Trust Fund shall be used for the expenses of the municipal recycling program including enforcement and education.