[Adopted by the Municipal Council 4-4-2006 by Ord. No.
06-01]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Items of solid waste which, due to their size, shape or weight,
cannot be collected as a part of the normal weekly municipal waste
collection and, therefore, require special handling. For example,
large household appliances, such as stoves and refrigerators, plumbing
fixtures, furniture, large crates, tires, tools, machinery or parts
thereof, and similar items in size shall be considered "bulky waste."
That street or alley within which vehicles are permitted,
including travel lanes, but not including shoulders, curbs, gutters,
sidewalks or drainage swales.
The governmental jurisdiction and legal entity of the Municipality
of Norristown.
Any establishment engaged in a nonmanufacturing or nonprocessing
business, including, but not limited to, stores, markets, office buildings,
restaurants, shopping centers, theaters, and multifamily rental housing
properties with four or more units.
The end product from bacterial action on organic materials,
such as the aerobic or anaerobic decomposition of municipal solid
waste.
[Added 8-21-2007 by Ord. No. 07-09]
Organic waste which is capable of undergoing composting.
[Added 8-21-2007 by Ord. No. 07-09]
A microbial degradation of organic waste to produce a relatively
nuisance-free product of potential value as a solid conditioner.
[Added 8-21-2007 by Ord. No. 07-09]
A permitted plant, establishment, set of equipment or other
operation to produce compost.
[Added 8-21-2007 by Ord. No. 07-09]
Paper or pasteboard contracted into parallel grooves and
ridges, commonly referred to as "cardboard," which is used for wrapping,
packing, shipping and/or storage.
The rescheduled collection and transport of recyclable materials
placed at curbline or other similar location by residential establishments
or approved small businesses.
One or more rooms in a residence or dwelling, which room
or rooms have fixed cooking facilities arranged for occupancy by one,
two or more persons living together.
Any building or structure that can be occupied or lived in.
Any establishment engaged in manufacturing or processing,
including but not limited to factories, foundries, mills, processing
plants, refineries, mines and slaughterhouses.
Any building or structure that cannot be occupied or lived
in.
Those facilities that house or serve groups of people, including
but not limited to hospitals, nursing homes, child day-care centers,
libraries, nonprofit associations, schools and universities. This
definition shall not include standard residential units.
A person (as defined in this § 274-69) who is in possession of all pertinent permits and licenses which may be required by the Municipality of Norristown for the collection, transportation, storage or disposal of recyclables within the Municipality.
A building used or designed as a residence of more than four
families living independently of each other and doing their own cooking
therein, including apartment houses, group quarters, townhouses and
condominium complexes.
Public facilities operated by the Municipality of Norristown
and other governmental authorities.
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;
and any sludge not meeting the definition of residual or hazardous,
commercial or institutional water supply treatment plant, wastewater
from a municipal, commercial or institutional water supply treatment
plant, wastewater treatment plant or air pollution control facility.
The term does not include source-separated recyclable materials.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture,
association, joint-stock company, trust and incorporated organization
or any government or public agency or political subdivision thereof
or any authority or agency thereof. In any provision of this article
prescribing a fine, imprisonment, penalty or remedy 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.
Those materials specified by the Municipality of Norristown
for separation, collection, processing, recovery or reused as part
of a recycling program.
The separation, collection, recovery and sale or reuse of
metals, glass, paper, leaf waste, plastics and other materials which
could otherwise be disposed of or processed as solid waste or the
mechanized separation and treatment of solid waste (other than through
combustion) and creation and recovery of reusable materials other
than a fuel for the generation of energy.
That strip of land consisting of three feet from either side
of a cartway for public or private use, or other certain public or
quasi-public purpose.
All materials or substances that are generally discarded
or rejected as being spent, useless, worthless or in excess to the
owners at the time of such discard or rejection, including garbage,
refuse, industrial and commercial waste, sludge from air or water
pollution control facilities or water supply treatment facilities,
rubbish, contained gaseous materials, incinerator residue, demolition
and construction debris and offal.
Any building or structure that has been declared by the Codes
Department as dilapidated or under order of demolition.
Prunings, grass clippings, weeds, leaves and general yard
waste.
[Added 8-21-2007 by Ord. No. 07-09]
A.
Licensing requirements.
(1)
Beginning on July 1, 2006, no person other than a
hauler holding a valid license from the Municipality of Norristown
shall collect or transport any waste or recyclables generated from
any source in the Municipality.
(2)
It shall be unlawful for any person to haul, transport,
collect or remove any waste or recyclables from any public or private
property within the Municipality without first securing a license
to do so in accordance with the provisions of this article. In addition
to the license to haul provided hereunder, no vehicle may engage in
the removal of waste or recyclables from the Municipality without
first obtaining a permit, as provided herein.
(3)
Every person desiring to engage in, to continue to
engage in or hereafter to begin to engage in the business of collecting,
removing or transporting waste or recyclables from any property within
the city shall first register with the Municipality. Such registration
shall be for a period of one year. Effective in 2006 only, such period
shall begin on July 1 and shall terminate on the last day of February
2007. In all subsequent years thereafter, the period shall commence
on March 1 and shall terminate on the last day of February the following
year. All persons shall register in a manner provided by the Municipality.
All licenses shall be issued for the year period or such portion thereof
as shall remain after the issuance thereof. There shall be no reduction
in the fee for a license issued after the beginning of any one-year
period.
(4)
The annual license fee shall be as provided by resolution
of Municipal Council and may be adjusted from time to time. The Municipality
of Norristown shall be authorized to promulgate rules and regulations
governing the application and administration of the licensing procedure,
including amending the annual license fee. At the time of registration,
the collector or private hauler shall pay the Municipality the annual
license fee then in effect as established by the Municipal Council.
(5)
Nothing contained hereunder shall prevent the Municipality
of Norristown from terminating or revoking any or all licenses granted
hereunder for failure of the licensee to comply with the terms and
conditions listed above, rules and regulations promulgated by the
Municipal Council pursuant to administrative requirements established
by the Municipality administration and staff hereunder or for failure
to comply with any other municipal ordinance or regulation.
(6)
In addition to the requirements set forth herein,
any license holder shall have an affirmative duty to report, at the
time of application for license or at the time of renewal thereafter,
a list of all properties within Norristown for which the license holder
is providing waste/recyclable hauling services. In addition, as a
condition of the license, the holder shall notify the Municipality,
on not less than a quarterly basis after issuance of a license or
renewal thereof, of any change to the list of contracted properties
occurring during the previous quarter.
B.
Application requirements.
(1)
Every person who shall apply for a license under this
section shall, in applying therefor, state the type or types of refuse
or recyclable material that will be collected, the manner and place
of disposal for all such refuse and the location of the recycling
center for all collected materials under such license. Said applicant
shall describe the type or types of vehicles to be used for collection,
listing the make, model, year and license plate number; include a
certificate of insurance as aforementioned; and state the name of
the company, address, telephone number and the contact person responsible
for compliance with this article. No such license shall be granted
if the vehicle and/or manner and place of disposal of such refuse
and/or recycling center shall not conform in every respect to the
requirements.
(2)
All applications for license under this article shall
be accompanied by the following proofs of insurance, and no license
may issue absent such certificates of insurance being submitted to
the Municipality:
(a)
Worker's compensation insurance as required
by statute in such amounts as required by state law.
(b)
Comprehensive general liability insurance with
limits of liability not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence; and $1,000,000
in the aggregate annually for both bodily injury and property damage
coverage.
(c)
Comprehensive automobile liability insurance
with limits of liability not less than as fixed by the Municipality
of Norristown.
(d)
Owner's and contractor's protective insurance
in amounts consistent with the minimum coverage required above.
(3)
The minimum insurance coverage shall be in such amounts
that the Council may establish from time to time. Each and every policy
of insurance required in this subsection shall carry with it an endorsement
to the effect that the insurance carrier will convey to the Municipality,
by certified mail, written notice of any modifications, material alterations
or cancellation of any such policy or policies or the terms thereof.
The above-mentioned written notice shall be mailed at least 10 days
prior to the date of any such modification, material alteration or
cancellation.
C.
Vehicle standards/issuance of vehicle permits.
(1)
The collection equipment and transportation vehicles
used for the collection of municipal waste or recyclables shall be
of the closed-body type with an automatic compactor unit. Said vehicles
shall at all times be in good and proper mechanical condition and
in compliance with the minimum safety and sanitary regulations of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All such vehicles shall be specifically
designed to prevent leakage of any liquid or fluids. Other types of
vehicles may be used only for the collection of recyclable materials,
bulk solid waste and collecting and transporting dumpsters, provided
that such items are separately collected in accordance with other
provisions and the regulations adopted hereunder. The municipal solid
waste and recyclables so collected shall be suitably enclosed or covered
so as to prevent roadside littering, attraction of vermin or the creation
of other nuisances. All collection equipment and transportation vehicles
shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition.
(2)
A permit to haul waste or recyclables will be issued
by the Municipality for each vehicle to the person who owns or leases
the vehicle only after the person has satisfied the conditions outlined
herein. Each permit issued hereunder must reference, on the face of
the permit, the hauling license under which it is issued and under
which authority the permit holder shall engage in removal of waste
or recyclables.
(3)
Permits will be reissued annually, provided that the
permit holder has maintained that permit in good standing. All permits
will be issued or reissued on a calendar-year basis, commencing March
1 and ending the last day of February the following year. There will
be no reduction in the fee for a permit issued after the beginning
of the year.
(4)
A permit cannot be transferred from one vehicle to
another.
(5)
Permits issued by the Municipality must be firmly
attached and prominently displayed on each side of the vehicle so
as to be clearly visible.
(6)
The permit holder shall comply with the following
inspection, recordkeeping and reporting requirements:
(a)
Report quarterly to the Municipality of Norristown
no later than July 1 of each year and thereafter on a quarterly basis
by the 15th of each month which follows the end of a quarterly reporting
period (the first quarterly period commencing July 1, 2006) the gross
tonnage of municipal recyclables collected in the Municipality and
disposal sites utilized;
(b)
Maintain an accurate logbook of vehicles, including
the location of container, collection routes and disposal or processing
facilities utilized, which shall be open to inspection by the Municipality's
enforcement personnel; and
(c)
Open all facilities and vehicles to inspection
by the city's enforcement personnel during reasonable hours but not
necessarily on prior notice.
Registration required.
A.
Any property owner of any parcel upon which is situate
a habitable multifamily, commercial, institutional or industrial building
shall be required to provide for private collection of waste, refuse
and recyclable collection, and shall secure a contract, on not less
than an annual basis, from a licensed collector or hauler, beginning
July 1, 2006, and annually thereafter, for periods commencing March
1 of each year and ending the last day of February the following year.
B.
All such property owners shall register annually with
the Municipality and shall, at the time of registration, provide a
copy of the contract for waste/recyclables removal to the Municipality.
The Municipality shall maintain a record of all property owners registered
under this section.
C.
If, during any period of annual registration, or during
the renewal of any registration, a property owner shall have changed
contracted waste haulers, then the owner is required to so notify
the Municipality and to provide a copy of the new hauling/removal
contract then in force at the property.
D.
All property owners shall provide for the provision
of adequate and appropriate containers for the collection of waste
and recyclables at each property, and shall insure collection of waste
and recyclables at each property on not less than a weekly basis,
unless the volume of waste/recyclables shall require more frequent
collection, as determined by the Municipality.
E.
Authorized collectors shall not be required to collect
refuse from any location where it is obvious that recyclable materials
have not been separated pursuant to the provisions and the regulations
adopted hereunder.
A.
Summary violations.
(1)
Any person who violates any provision or who engages
in unlawful conduct as defined here, upon conviction thereof in a
summary proceeding, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of no less than
$300 nor more than $1,000 to be paid to the use of the Municipality,
with costs of prosecution, or to be imprisoned for a period of not
more than 90 days, or both.
(2)
Each violation for each separate day and each violation
of any provision or unlawful conduct will constitute a separate offense.
(3)
Any person who engages in unlawful conduct, as defined
above shall in accordance with applicable provisions of the law of
the commonwealth be subject to the provisions of Act 101, Chapter
17,[1] as such provisions with respect to enforcement and remedies
may apply to such unlawful conduct.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.1701
et seq.
(4)
Any rules and regulations adopted pursuant hereto
shall be enforceable by an action or actions at law or equity.
B.
Administrative penalties.
(1)
If a licensee/permit holder violates any of the terms
or conditions of this article, the Municipality shall have the right
to:
(a)
Suspend or revoke the license/permit of the
violating vehicle, suspend or revoke all licenses issued to the person
who is the licensee of the violating vehicle or impose a civil penalty.
(b)
Deny any subsequent license/permit application
by that person or any person who or which was or who or which is affiliated
with, related to or controlled by any person who was, at the time
of commitment of such unlawful conduct or any time thereafter, an
officer, director, shareholder, partner or joint venturer of, under
contact with, employed by or related or affiliated in any manner with
such person.
(2)
In the event that any civil penalty imposed is unpaid
after 10 days following the full and final disposition of the penalty
proceedings, the municipality shall suspend the licensee/permit holder's
operating privileges within the Municipality until the civil penalty
is paid.
(3)
Each violation for each separate day and each violation
of any provision of this article or unlawful conduct constitute a
separate offense.
C.
Notice and hearing procedure.
(1)
Prior to such action taken, the city will give the
licensee/permit holder written notice of the violation setting forth
the reasons for the proposed action. The licensee/permit holder will
have 15 days to respond in writing to the notice. If no response is
received, the penalty, license/permit suspension or revocation will
take effect.
(2)
Any person who has been aggrieved by an administrative
determination of the city may file a written request for review by
the Municipal Council by certified mail within 15 days of the date
of such determination. The hearing shall be held promptly after receipt
of the request, but in no event later than 30 working days of the
receipt of the request, in accordance with the procedures set forth
in this section.
(a)
Any person who has filed a request for review
shall be given notice, in writing, of the time and place of hearing.
Such notice shall be first class United States mail; postage prepaid,
directed to the address set forth in the request for review and shall
be mailed not less than 10 days prior to the date of hearing.
(b)
The person requesting the hearing may appear
personally or by counsel. The person filing the request for the hearing
shall have the burden of proof to establish the basis for review.
Upon the request of the person requesting the hearing, Municipal Council
shall issue a subpoena requiring the testimony of witnesses and the
production of books, records or other documents relative to the material
involved in such hearing.
(c)
All testimony at the hearing shall be given
under oath.
(d)
The hearing officer shall render a decision
within 15 working days of the hearing by certified mail, return receipt
requested, forwarded to the person at the address shown in the Municipality
records.
D.
Concurrent remedies. The penalties and remedies prescribed
by this section shall be deemed concurrent, and the exercise or existence
of any remedy shall not prevent the municipality from exercising any
other remedy hereunder, at law or in equity.
E.
Reservation of rights. Nothing in this section shall
be construed as preventing the Municipality from exercising any other
remedy hereunder, at law or in equity.
A.
This article may be amended from time to time.
B.
The disposal of municipal waste and recyclables generated
within the Municipality of Norristown shall be subject to such further
rules, regulations, resolutions and standards as may, from time to
time, be promulgated, adopted and enacted by the municipality in furtherance
of implementation and enforcement, including, but, without limitation,
regulations as to the form of license application, standards for the
approval of any license, the amount agreed to be charged for said
license, the terms of the licenses, license issuance procedure and
license revocation procedures; provided, however, that no such rules,
regulations, resolutions or standards adopted by the Municipality
shall be contrary to or less stringent than the provisions or regulations
adopted thereunder.
The terms and provisions of this article are
to be liberally construed so as best to achieve and effectuate the
goals and purpose hereof.
