The short title of this article shall be the
"City of Butler Recycling Ordinance" and the same may be cited in
that manner.
The following words and phrases used throughout
this article shall have the following meanings:
The Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction
Act of 1988.[1]
Empty, all-aluminum beverage or food cans.
Empty food or beverage containers constructed of steel and/or
aluminum.
The entity, or entities, authorized by the City Council of
the City of Butler to collect recyclable materials from residences,
or authorized by commercial, municipal and institutional establishments
that do not receive collection services from or through the City to
collect recyclable materials from those properties.
Those properties used primarily for commercial or industrial
purposes, and those multiple-dwelling residential buildings containing
more than four dwelling units.
Events that are sponsored by public or private agencies or
individuals that include but are not limited to fairs, bazaars, socials,
picnics and organized sporting events attended by 200 or more individuals
per day.
Structural paper material with an inner core shaped in rigid
parallel furrows and ridges.
Empty steel or tin-coated food or beverage containers.
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.
Those facilities that house or serve groups of people, including
but not limited to hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, day-care
centers, schools and universities.
Automotive, truck and industrial batteries that contain lead.
Leaves from trees, bushes and other plants, garden residues,
clipped shrubbery and tree trimmings, but not including grass clippings.
Printed matter containing miscellaneous written pieces published
at fixed or varying intervals. Expressly excluded are all other paper
products of any nature.
Any properties having more than four dwelling units per structure.
Public facilities operated by the City of Butler or other
governmental and quasi-governmental authorities.
The City of Butler.
Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or other material,
including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials,
resulting from operation of establishments and from community activities,
and any sludge not meeting the definition of residual or hazardous
waste in the Solid Waste Management Act.[2]
Paper of the type commonly referred to as "newsprint" and
distributed at fixed intervals, having printed thereon news and opinions,
containing advertisements and other matters of public interest. Expressly
excluded are newspapers which have been soiled, color comics, glossy
advertising inserts and advertising inserts printed in colors other
than black and white often included with newspapers.
Owners, lessees and occupants of residences and commercial,
municipal and institutional establishments.
Empty plastic food and beverage containers. Due to the wide
variety of types of plastics, the City may stipulate specific types
of plastic that may be recycled.
Materials generated by residences and commercial, municipal
and institutional establishments that are specified by the City and
can be separated from municipal waste and returned to commerce to
be reused as a resource in the development of products. Recyclable
materials may include but are not limited to clear glass, colored
glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office paper,
newsprint, corrugated paper, plastics and any other items selected
by the City or specified in future revisions to Act 101. The recyclable
materials selected by the City may be revised from time to time as
deemed necessary by City Council.
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 mechanized separation and treatment of municipal waste (other
than through combustion) and creation and recovery of reusable materials.
Any occupied single or multifamily dwelling having no more
than four dwelling units per structure for which the City provides
municipal waste collection service.
Those materials separated at the point of origin for the
purpose of being recycled.
A material whose original purpose has been completed and
which is directed to a disposal or processing facility or is otherwise
disposed of. The term does not include source-separated recyclable
materials or material approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection for beneficial use.
A.Â
The City of Butler hereby establishes a recycling
program for the mandatory separation and collection of recyclable
materials from all residences and commercial, municipal and institutional
establishments and from community activities located in the City for
which waste collection service is provided by the City or any other
collector.
B.Â
Collection of recyclable material(s) shall be made
at least twice a month by the City, a designated agent contractor,
or any other approved solid waste collector operating in the City
and authorized to collect recyclable materials from residences or
from commercial, municipal and institutional establishments or from
community activities. The recycling program shall contain a sustained
public information education program.
C.Â
The City further establishes a program for the mandatory
separation, collection, composting or other approved method(s) of
leaf waste. This program shall consist of a dropoff compost area for
use by City residents and curbside collection of leaf waste each autumn
by the City's Streets Department.
D.Â
City Council is empowered to set program regulations
and make changes to program regulations as necessary. Subsequent changes
may be made by resolution or by amending this article.
Disposal by persons of lead acid batteries with
other municipal waste is prohibited and shall be a violation of this
article.
A.Â
Recyclable materials.
(1)Â
All persons who are residents of the City shall separate
all of those recyclable materials designated by the City from other
waste produced at their homes, apartments, and other residential establishments,
store such materials for collection, and shall place the same for
collection in accordance with the guidelines established hereunder.
(a)Â
Persons in residences must separate recyclable
materials from other refuse. Recyclable materials shall be placed
at the curbline in containers provided by the City's collector. Any
containers provided to residences for collection of recyclable materials
shall be the property of the collector and shall be used only for
the collection of recyclable materials. Any resident who moves within
or from the City shall be responsible for leaving the allocated container
within the residence 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 container(s) by any person
other than the person allocated such container shall be a violation
of this article.
(b)Â
An owner, landlord or agent of an owner or landlord
in a multifamily rental housing property with more than four units
must comply with its recycling responsibilities by establishing a
collection system at each property. The collection system must include
suitable containers for collecting and sorting the recyclable materials,
easily accessible locations for the containers, and written instructions
to the occupants concerning the use and availability of the collection
system.
(2)Â
If recyclable materials are collected by a collector
other than the City or its authorized agent, owners, landlords and
agents of owners or landlords shall submit an annual report to the
City reporting the tonnage of materials recycled during the previous
year.
B.Â
All persons must separate leaf waste from other municipal
waste generated at their homes, apartments, residential establishments,
and commercial, municipal and institutional establishments and from
community activities for collection unless those persons have otherwise
provided for composting or other approved method of processing leaf
waste.
C.Â
Persons must separate high-grade office paper, aluminum,
corrugated paper and such other materials as may be designated by
the City generated at commercial, municipal and institutional establishments
and from community activities and store the recyclable materials until
collection. A person may be exempted from this subsection if that
person submits documentation to the City annually indicating that
the designated recyclable materials are being recycled in an appropriate
manner other than that stated herein.
D.Â
If recyclable materials are collected by a collector
other than the City or its authorized agent, the collector shall provide
the occupants of said establishments with the tonnage of materials
recycled during the previous year.
It shall be a violation of this article for
any person, firm or corporation, other than the City or one authorized
by the City or other entity responsible for providing for collection
of recyclable materials, to collect recyclable materials placed by
residences or commercial, municipal and institutional establishments
for collection by the City or an authorized collector, unless such
person, firm or corporation is licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
and has written permission from the generator to make such collection.
In violation hereof, unauthorized collection from one or more residences
or commercial, municipal and institutional establishments on one calendar
day shall constitute a separate and distinct punishable offense as
hereinafter provided.
Any residence or commercial, municipal or institutional
establishment may donate or sell recyclable materials to any person,
firm or corporation whether for profit or not, provided that the receiving
person, firm or corporation, shall not collect such donated recyclable
materials from the collection point of a residence or commercial,
municipal or institutional establishment without prior written permission
from the City or other entity responsible for authorizing collection
of recyclables to make such a collection.
Disposal by persons of recyclable materials
and/or leaf waste with municipal waste is prohibited and shall be
a violation of this article. The collected recyclable materials shall
be taken to a recycling facility. Disposal by collectors or operators
of recycling facilities of source-separated recyclables in landfills
or burning in incinerators is prohibited unless markets do not exist
and the collectors or operators have notified the City Clerk or his
designee, in writing.
A.Â
The City Council or its designee is hereby authorized
to make reasonable rules and regulations for the operation and enforcement
of this article as deemed necessary, including but not limited to:
(1)Â
Establishing recyclable materials to be separated
for collection and recycling by residences, and additional recyclable
materials to be separated by commercial, municipal and institutional
establishments.
(2)Â
Establishing collection procedures for recyclable
materials.
(3)Â
Establishing reporting procedures for amount of materials
recycled.
(4)Â
Establishing procedures for the distribution, monitoring
and collection of recyclable containers.
(5)Â
Establishing procedures and rules for the collection
or other processing of leaf waste.
(6)Â
Entering into an agreement(s) with public or private
agencies or firms to authorize them to collect recyclable materials
and/or leaf waste in combination with nonrecyclable materials.
B.Â
The City's Code Enforcement Officer is designated
as the City's agent for enforcement of this article, and the City
Clerk is designated as the City's recycling coordinator and the proponent
for this chapter.
C.Â
Any person, firm or corporation who or which violates
the provisions of this article and who or which fails to abate such
violation upon due notice by the Chief of Police or any duly authorized
City official shall, upon conviction thereof before a District Justice,
be subject to a fine of up to $500 and costs of prosecution and, in
default of payment of such fine and costs, shall be subject to imprisonment
in the county jail for up to 90 days. Each day that a violation continues
after due notice to abate the same has been served, in accordance
with the terms and provisions of this article, shall be deemed a separate
offense.
[Amended 6-23-2016 by Ord. No. 1730]
