This chapter shall govern and control all aspects
of the collection, storage, transportation, processing, and disposal
of municipal waste, and recycling, in Greene Township. It contains
regulations applicable to haulers of municipal waste, collectors of
recyclables, individuals, commercial, municipal, and institutional
establishments, and community activities.
This chapter is being enacted in an effort to
implement a recycling program in order to return valuable materials
to productive use, to conserve energy and to protect capacity at municipal
waste processing and disposal facilities.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
One who performs an act for his immediate family or for another
person gratuitously (without any form of monetary or material compensation
therefor).
Empty, all-aluminum beverage and food containers.
A person desirous of being licensed as a hauler or of being
issued a recyclable collection permit, as the case may be.[1]
Empty food or beverage containers consisting of both steel
and aluminum.
Discarded "white goods" (major appliances), televisions,
mattresses, furniture and similar household items.
Trees, shrubs and other native vegetation which are cleared
from land during or prior to the process of construction. The term
does not include demolition wastes and dirt-laden roots.
[Added 9-28-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-7]
The process by which organic solid waste is biologically
decomposed under controlled anaerobic or aerobic conditions to yield
a humus-like product.
A facility using land for processing of municipal waste by
composting.
A general term referring to any person who collects, for
removal from premises, municipal waste or recyclables.
Of or pertaining to any wholesale, retail, industrial, manufacturing,
transportation, or financial or professional service or office enterprise,
business, or establishment.
An activity or event sponsored or organized by a public or
private nonprofit organization for recreational, educational, cultural,
or civic purposes, which may be attended by members of the public,
whether or not an entrance or participation fee is charged therefor.
Structural paper material with an inner core shaped in rigid
parallel furrows and ridges, of the type normally used to make packaging
cartons and boxes.
A method of collection of residentially generated recyclables
and municipal waste by which the owners or occupants of certain residential
properties may dispose of their recyclables by placing them at curbside
(within the public right-of-way fronting along their property), at
times designated by the Greene Township Supervisors, for collection
and removal by an authorized collector thereof for delivery to a recycling
center.
The incineration, deposition, injection, dumping, spilling,
leaking, or placing of municipal waste into or on the land or water
in a manner such that the municipal waste or a constituent thereof
enters the environment, is emitted into the air, or is discharged
to the waters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Any site, location, area, building, structure, transfer station,
or premises to be used for municipal waste disposal.
All putrescible animal and vegetable matter resulting from
the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
All empty food and beverage jars or bottles made from silica
or sand, soda ash, and limestone, the product being transparent or
translucent (either clear, green or brown); excluding, however, blue
glass, flat glass, plate glass, glass commonly known as "window glass,"
automotive glass, and ceramic and porcelain products.
Any white paper other than newsprint, magazines, or other
chemically coated paper or corrugated paper, of the type commonly
used for letter-writing stationery, note paper, plain paper photocopying
machines, computer printers, and other general-purpose paper, whether
or not any printed or written matter is contained thereon.
Of or pertaining to any establishment engaged in service
to persons, including but not limited to hospitals, nursing homes,
orphanages, schools, universities, churches, and social or fraternal
societies and organizations.
The owner of residential property, or such owner's authorized
agent.
[2]Printed matter, also known as "periodicals," containing miscellaneous
written prices published at fixed or varying intervals, printed on
glossy or chemically coated paper. Expressly excluded are newspapers
and all other paper products of any nature whatsoever.
A type of residential property either under single ownership
or organized as a condominium or cooperative form of housing, which
contains four or more dwelling units.
Of or pertaining to any office or other property under the
control of any branch or arm of the federal government of the United
States of America, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or any political
subdivision of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including but not
limited to Greene Township, any counties, cities, boroughs, townships,
and municipal authorities.
An all-encompassing, most general term meaning 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, except farm-produced
manure, other agricultural waste, and food processing waste used on
land where such materials will improve the condition of the soil,
the growth of crops, or the restoration of the land for the same purposes,
and any sludge not meeting the definition of "residual or hazardous
waste" as defined in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management
Act;[3] but excluding recyclables.
Paper of the type commonly referred to as "newsprint" and
distributed at fixed or stated intervals, usually daily or weekly,
having printed thereon news and opinions and containing advertisements
and other matters of public interest. The term "newspaper" expressly
excludes glossy advertising inserts, magazines, glossy or other chemically
coated paper, office paper, and any other paper products of any nature.
A fire in which any solid waste is burned in the open or
in a receptacle other than a furnace or an incinerator permitted by
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
[Amended 3-26-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-4]
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution,
cooperative enterprise, municipality, municipal authority, federal
government or agency, state institution or agency, or any other legal
entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject of rights
and duties. In any provisions of this chapter prescribing a fine,
imprisonment or penalty, 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.
Plastic rings or similar plastic connectors used as holding
devices in the packaging of beverages, including but not limited to
all carbonated beverages, liquors, wines, fruit juices, mineral waters,
soda, and beer.
Empty plastic food and beverage containers, the specific
types of which may, from time to time, be designated by resolution
of the Greene Township Supervisors.
Any technology used for the purpose of reducing the volume
or bulk of municipal waste, or any technology used to convert part
or all of such waste materials for off-site reuse. Processing facilities
include but are not limited to transfer stations, composting facilities,
and resource recovery facilities.[4]
Materials designated as recyclable in this chapter, or required
by the terms of this chapter (or any amendment hereto) to be kept
separate from municipal waste and recycled.
The collection, separate maintenance, recovery and sale or
reuse of recyclables 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 other than a fuel for the operation of energy.
A facility designed to, and which does, act as a collection
center for the processing, storage, and shipment of recyclables. The
term specifically excludes transfer stations and landfills for solid
waste and composting facilities and resource recovery facilities;
and specifically excludes charitable organizations that accept recyclables
for collection but do not process such recyclables.
Of or pertaining to any dwelling unit used as a place of
human habitation and which is not commercial, municipal, institutional,
or a community activity. Home occupations incidental to be residential
use within a building are considered "residential."
A processing facility that provides for the extraction and
utilization of materials or energy from municipal waste that is generated
off-site, including but not limited to a facility that mechanically
extracts materials from municipal waste, a combustion facility that
converts the organic fraction of municipal waste to usable energy,
and any chemical and biological process that converts municipal waste
into a fuel product. The term also includes any facility for the combustion
of municipal waste that is generated off-site, whether or not the
facility is operated to recovery energy. The term does not include:
Any composting facility.
Methane gas extraction from a municipal waste
landfill.
Any separation and collection center, dropoff
point or collection center for recycling, or any source separation
or collection center for composting leaf waste.
Any facility, including all units in the facility,
with a total processing capacity of less than 50 tons per day.
Leaves, branches, trees, sawdust, chips, shavings, wood,
woodenware, leather, rags, grass, straw, and all solid combustible
matter not included in this section under the definition of "garbage."
Waste, including but not limited to municipal, residual or
hazardous wastes, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous materials.
Empty food or beverage containers made of steel, tin-coated
steel, or other ferrous metal food or beverage containers.
The containment of any municipal waste on a temporary basis
in such a manner as not to constitute disposal of such municipal waste.
It shall be presumed that the containment of any municipal waste in
excess of one year constitutes disposal. This presumption can only
be overcome by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
Greene Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
The off-site removal of any municipal waste at any time after
generation thereof.
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 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection for beneficial use.
[Amended 3-26-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-4]
Leaves, grass clippings, garden residue, tree trimmings,
clipped shrubbery and other vegetative material.
[Added 9-28-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-7]
A facility that is used to compost leaf waste, or leaf waste
and grass clippings, garden residue, tree trimmings, chipped shrubbery
and other vegetative material. The term includes land affected during
the lifetime of the operation, including but not limited to areas
where composting actually occurs, support facilities, borrow areas,
offices, equipment sheds, air and water pollution control and treatment
systems, access roads, associated on-site or contiguous collection
and transportation activities, and other activities in which the natural
surface has been disturbed as a result of or incidental to operation
of the facility.
[Amended 9-28-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-7]
[1]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "authorized
collector," which immediately followed this definition, was repealed
6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7.
[2]
Editor's Note: The former definitions of "leaf
composting facility" and "leaf waste," which immediately followed
this definition, were repealed 9-28-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-7. The former
definition of "licensed hauler," which immediately followed this definition,
was repealed 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101
et seq.
[4]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "recyclable
collection permittee," which immediately followed this definition,
was repealed 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to store, dump,
discard, or deposit, or to permit the storage, dumping, discarding,
or depositing of, any solid waste or recyclables upon the surface
of the ground or underground within the Township, except in proper
containers for purposes of storage or collection, and except where
the waste or recyclables are of such size or shape as not to permit
their being placed in such containers. It shall be unlawful for any
person to dump or deposit any solid waste or recyclables in any stream,
body of water or on any public right-of-way within the Township.
B.
The presence of any articles containing a person's
name among solid waste or recyclables shall create a rebuttable presumption,
for purposes of this chapter, that said solid waste or recyclables
are the property of the person whose name is found therein. This presumption
can only be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
C.
Every owner of property or occupant thereof responsible
for such property's day-to-day operation or maintenance shall pick
up and discard in an appropriate receptacle any municipal waste, recyclables,
or other debris deposited or accumulated on the sidewalk or gutter
in front of or adjacent to such property. All owners or operators
of commercial, industrial, institutional and municipal establishments
in the Township shall take all reasonable precautions to prevent the
deposition and accumulation of debris in front of their premises,
and in furtherance of that end, may place appropriate waste containers
on the sidewalks in front of or adjacent to their premises at a point
which will not create a hazard to traffic or pedestrians. Any such
receptacles so placed shall be emptied on a regular basis and maintained
in a neat and clean appearance.
D.
Nothing contained herein shall prohibit a farmer from
carrying out the normal activities of his farming operation, including
composting and spreading of manure or other farm-produced agricultural
waste, provided that such activities are conducted in accordance with
all applicable laws, rules and regulations.
A.
The storage of all municipal waste shall be practiced
so as to prevent the attraction, breeding, or harborage of insects
or rodents and to prevent conditions which may create potential hazards
to the public health or which may create fire and other safety hazards,
odors, unsightliness, or public nuisance.
B.
Any person accumulating or storing municipal waste
on private or public property in the Township for any purpose whatsoever
shall place the same, or cause the same to be placed, in sanitary
closed or covered containers in accordance with the following standards:
(1)
Containers used for the storage of municipal waste
shall be of metal, plastic or fiberglass construction; rust and corrosion
resistant, equipped with lids and waterproof (except that lids shall
be optional on large bulk containers commonly known as "dumpsters").
(2)
All garbage shall be drained of excess liquids and
wrapped in paper or be placed in plastic bags before being placed
in the waste storage containers described above, and all ashes shall
be free of any burning material before being deposited for collection.
(3)
No person except the occupants of the property on
which a waste container is placed, a hauler authorized by the occupant,
a Township official, employee or agent shall remove the lids of the
container and/or remove the contents thereof.
[Amended 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7]
(4)
All hazardous waste, including but not limited to
municipal waste of a highly flammable or explosive nature, or highly
infectious or contagious municipal waste, shall not be stored for
ordinary collection, but shall be specially disposed of in accordance
with the directions of the Township or of any state or federal authority
having jurisdiction thereof.
(5)
Containers, other than bulk containers, shall be placed
in such locations as may be agreed upon by the occupant and the hauler
authorized by the occupant to collect municipal waste except that
no such container may be placed upon the cartway or in the public
right-of-way of any state or Township road without the express permission
of the state or the Township as appropriate.
[Amended 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7]
(6)
Bulk containers (such as dumpsters) shall be placed,
whenever possible, at ground level and at a point on the property
being serviced by the collector which will enable clear and easy access
to the container by the collector's vehicle.
(7)
Bulk containers shall not be permitted to overflow
or to have waste strewn or left about them on the ground. A violation
of this provision shall be deemed a violation of this chapter by the
person on whose property the bulk container is located, if it is located
on private property.
A.
All owners of property within the Township shall provide
for the regular preparation, collection and removal of all municipal
waste generated at such properties in one of the approved manners
set forth herein. Upon request of the Township, all persons or entities
generating municipal waste within the Township and which are required
by this chapter to make provision for the collection and removal of
said waste shall furnish to the Township written proof that the municipal
waste required by this chapter to be properly removed is being disposed
of at a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection permitted
facility. Such proof may consist of weight slips, invoices from the
waste disposal facilities or contracts with a hauler properly licensed
by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
[Amended 9-23-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-5]
B.
If a person or establishment (being so authorized
by the terms hereof) collects and removes their own municipal waste,
they shall do so at a minimum of every 30 days or at shorter intervals,
in order to prevent odors, vectors or accumulations of refuse or garbage
that are unsafe, unsightly, or potentially harmful to the public health.
Any municipal waste so removed shall be disposed of in accordance
with the requirements of this chapter.
C.
Every owner or occupant of residential property and
every other person who, or establishment which, does not collect and
remove their own municipal waste, as aforesaid, shall contract with
a hauler for the regular, scheduled curbside collection and removal
of the municipal waste at least once each week. Municipal waste shall
be prepared for collection and be collected and removed from such
persons’ or establishments’ properties at least once each
week, except where conditions beyond the control of the hauler prevent
it.
[Amended 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7]
D.
No person other than the contracted hauler shall collect
or remove municipal waste from any other person’s property.
[Amended 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7]
E.
All agreements for collection, transportation, and
disposition of municipal waste shall be by private contract between
the owner or occupant of the property where the waste is generated
and the licensed hauler who is to collect such waste.
F.
Haulers shall not collect residential municipal waste
from any properties within the Township limits on Sunday.
[Amended 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7]
G.
Nothing herein shall limit the right of the Township
to implement public collection of solid waste either by entering into
contracts or by engaging in any collection practice permitted by law.
H.
Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to prohibit
any person from hauling municipal waste on an irregular and unscheduled
basis to a facility permitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
Department of Environmental Protection, and which is approved for
disposal in the Franklin County Solid Waste Plan (or to a transfer
station from which it will be taken and ultimately disposed of at
such a facility), provided that such hauling shall be in addition
to, and not in place of, the regular removal of municipal waste as
required by this section, and provided that such is not in violation
of any county or other municipal law or regulation.
[Amended 3-26-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-4]
I.
Nothing in this section shall modify the requirements
in this chapter pertaining to separation and disposal of recyclables.
Nothing in this section shall impair the ability of the Township to
provide a system of placement for removal and public collection of
leaf waste, or the Township residents to utilize such system of public
collection of leaf waste, anything herein contained to the contrary
notwithstanding.
A.
Any person transporting municipal waste within the
Township shall prevent or remedy any spillage from vehicles or containers
used in the transport of such municipal waste.
B.
All haulers of municipal waste within Township boundaries
who shall allow waste to leak from, fall from or be blown from a transporting
vehicle or container shall be guilty of a summary violation as otherwise
defined in this chapter and be subject to the penalties hereinafter
set forth.
[Amended 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7]
C.
The transfer of waste from one collection vehicle
to another may not take place in the Township, except on private property
in those areas of the Township designated for such by the Township.
No such transfer may take place on any public right-of-way, and no
such transfer operation may block traffic, create litter, or in any
other manner constitute a nuisance, create a health hazard, or violate
any other ordinance of the Township or provision of statutory law.
No person shall ignite, cause, feed, permit
or maintain any open fire for the destruction of solid waste on any
property under his control, except as hereinafter provided.
A.
Exceptions to open burning prohibition.
[Amended 7-9-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-5; 9-28-2004 by Ord. No.
2004-7]
(1)
A fire set to prevent or abate a fire hazard, when
approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
and set by or under the supervision of a public officer.
(2)
Any fire set for the purpose of instructing personnel
in firefighting, when approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection.
(3)
A fire set for the prevention and control of disease
or pests, when approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection.
(4)
A fire set in conjunction with the production of agricultural
commodities in their unmanufactured state on the premises of the farm
operation.
(5)
A fire set for the purpose of burning, clearing and
grubbing waste in accordance with 25 Pa. Code 129.14.
(6)
A fire set solely for recreational or ceremonial purposes.
(7)
A fire set solely for cooking food.
B.
The Board of Supervisors shall have the power to determine
that hazardously dry weather conditions exist, from time-to-time,
during which open fires would be hazardous to the health, comfort,
safety, and property of the citizens of Greene Township. When the
Board makes such a determination, it shall cause there to be published
a notice that all open burning within the Township shall be prohibited
until such time as the Board determines that the hazardously dry weather
conditions no longer exist. When the Board determines that such conditions
no longer exist, it shall cause there to be published public notice
of that determination. The public notice referenced above shall be
given by the Board by publication in at least one newspaper of general
circulation within Greene Township one time and by posting such notice
at the Greene Township Municipal Building. The prohibition against
open fires shall take effect upon publication of such notice and shall
continue in effect until publication of the notice that the prohibition
has been terminated.
[Added 9-10-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-7]
Any collector or other person who desires to
place any large bulk container commonly known as a "dumpster" on a
street or other public right-of-way in the Township shall, prior to
such placement, obtain from the Township a permit authorizing such
placement. One such permit shall be obtained for each dumpster to
be placed on any public street or right-of-way. A fee shall be collected
by the Township for each such permit issued, in an amount to be established
by resolution of the Township. The permits required hereunder shall
be in the form of a sticker or other device capable of being affixed
to the dumpster for which the permit is issued, and the permit shall
be so affixed to the dumpster by the permittee in accordance with
instructions of the Township pertaining thereto. The permits issued
pursuant to this section shall be nontransferable and may be used
only by the permittee to whom originally issued, for the dumpster
and at the location for which originally issued.
[Amended 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7]
The Township is hereby authorized to collect
municipal waste from Township property, to provide public litter baskets
on sidewalks in the Township and to dispose of such waste in either
a receptacle of a contracted hauler or at designated disposal sites.
[Added 9-23-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-5]
All waste haulers must dispose of all waste collected within
Greene Township only at a facility permitted by the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection.
[Amended 3-26-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-4; 9-28-2004 by Ord. No.
2004-7]
Unless otherwise providing for composting, all
persons shall keep yard waste separate from all other forms of municipal
waste and separate from recyclables. Such waste shall be set out for
collection in a manner to be designated by the collector and shall
be disposed of by the collector at a yard waste composting facility
operating in accordance with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection Regulations and Guidelines for Yard Waste Composting Facilities.
Nothing herein shall require any person to gather yard waste or prevent
any person from utilizing yard waste for compost, mulch or other agricultural
purposes.
