Township of Palmer, PA Recycling Regulations

Act 101, The Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988, required that municipalities select at least three items from a list that includes the following: clear glass, colored glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office paper, newsprint, corrugated paper and plastic. Ordinance 236, The Palmer Township Recycling Ordinance, specifies that the Township will name the items to be recycled in the regulations accompanying the ordinance. The items to be recycled must include at least three items from the list in Section 4A of Ordinance 236[2] and may include additional items.

[2]

Editor's Note: See § 156-13A.

In order to procure the greatest benefit for the community, Palmer has established a comprehensive recycling list. The recycling program benefits the community by conserving landfill space and conserving our natural resources through the reutilization of recyclable materials. Therefore, as of the effective date of these regulations, the persons listed under this section shall be required to exclude the following items from their municipal waste: aluminum, clear glass, colored glass, corrugated cardboard, third-class mail, magazines, telephone books, brown paper, grey paper, high-grade office and mixed paper, bimetallic cans consisting of aluminum and steel, plastics Nos. 1 through 7 excluding styrofoam, newsprint, leaf waste, and other yard waste. Yard waste and leaf waste shall be collected by the hauling contractor hired by Palmer Township and/or Palmer Township employees periodically throughout the year and be deposited at Palmer Township's composting facility. Yard waste and leaf waste shall otherwise only be deposited at Palmer Township's compost facility.

[Amended 10-8-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-414]

The persons listed under this section must separate leaf waste from other municipal waste. However, the Township recognizes that residents may occasionally include a small amount of leaf waste in with their municipal waste. Palmer Township may provide leaf collection at limited times as authorized by the Board of Supervisors. At other times, persons shall provide their own transportation of such waste to the composting site provided by Palmer Township or use the leaf waste for any purpose not prohibited by law. Specific instructions in regard to the collection times and preparation of leaf waste for collection shall be set by the recycling coordinator.

(4)

Each licensed hauler collecting municipal solid waste in Palmer Township shall furnish to the Township each quarter of the calendar year (unless otherwise instructed by the recycling coordinator) a recycling report specifying the materials recycled and the weight of the materials recycled which were collected in Palmer Township. Haulers shall furnish weight receipts for all residential recyclables collected with the quarterly recycling report to the recycling coordinator. The recycling coordinator may require other information, as needed, to enhance recycling performance and to comply with DEP requests for information as well as information needed by the Township to obtain grants for the recycling program.

(5)

Persons participating in a curbside collection program under this section shall recycle in conjunction with the program of a licensed hauler of Palmer Township. Once the recyclables are placed curbside, they become the property of the licensed hauler authorized to collect them. (See Section 7 of Ordinance 236, the Palmer Township Recycling Ordinance[3]). Any licensed hauler authorized to collect municipal waste for residents in Palmer Township shall provide a curbside recycling service to its residential customers within the Township. The licensed hauler shall collect and market for recycling the recyclable materials it collects from its residential curbside recycling service to residential customers. Each licensed hauler shall market for recycling all of the materials required to be recycled under this section of these regulations. The licensed hauler shall not pick and choose among the materials to be recycled. No licensed hauler shall landfill any recyclables unless they are received at the point of collection in a contaminated condition which makes them unmarketable. Failure to comply with any of these provisions is a separate violation of the regulations and may be construed as a separate violation for each time the violation occurs or every day upon which the violation occurs.

[3]

Editor's Note: See § 156-17.

(6)

Each licensed hauler in the municipality collecting recyclables curbside shall give notice to his customers of the collection dates, the recyclables to be collected, and the method of curbside preparation.

Preparation of recyclables.

The recyclables which are to be collected by a licensed Palmer Township hauler shall be placed in a container marked in such a way that it will he plainly evident that the contents of the container are recyclable materials. All recyclables shall be commingled in the recycling container with the exception of newsprint, grey paper, brown paper, magazines, telephone books, third-class mail, and corrugated paper, grass clippings, brush and leaf waste.

(a)

Newsprint should be bundled with twine and tied in neat, flat bundles not exceeding 12 inches in height.

(b)

Bundle and bag third-class mail separately. Label the brown bag "third-class mail."

(c)

Magazines may be bundled with twine in neat, flat bundles not exceeding 12 inches in height or they may be bundled and placed in brown bags.

(d)

Grey paper should be flattened and bundled with twine.

(e)

Brown paper and corrugated boxes should be flattened and bundled together. The bundles must not be larger than three feet by three feet.

(f)

Grass clippings should be placed unbagged in a trash receptacle.

(g)

Brush shall be tied in bundles not to exceed three feet in length or 50 pounds in weight.

The Township recycling coordinator shall establish policies for the preparation of leaf waste and its collection in Palmer Township.

Paper items should not be placed outside unprotected if rain is expected at the time of collection. In the event of rain, any paper should be bundled and stored in a covered container labeled in such a way that it will be plainly evident that the contents of the container are recyclable materials.

(4)

The recyclable materials are to be prepared as follows: rinse out all bottles, jars, pie tins, and cans and remove all lids and caps. The glass to be collected shall include clear, green and brown. (Broken glass, lightbulbs, window glass, plate glass, drinking glass, heat-resistant ovenwear, crystal, ceramic, porcelain, laminated glass, wired glass, blue glass, milk glass, automobile glass, and mirrors are not be considered recyclable glass for the purposes of the Palmer Township recycling program.)

Frequency of collection. The frequency of collection for these materials, other than grass clippings, leaf waste, and other yard waste, by licensed haulers of Palmer Township shall not be less than biweekly, except that one- or two-day differences are allowed to accommodate holidays. Grass clippings, leaf waste and other yard waste will be collected as needed on a seasonal basis.

When recyclables are placed out for collection. The recyclables shall be placed out at the curbside no earlier than 24 hours before the scheduled time of collection.

Containers. Palmer Township shall make available one recycling container to each household participating in the program (i.e., persons living in homes, multifamily housing, rental housing properties with three or less units, and other residential establishments not otherwise classified). Additional containers may be available from the Township. In the event that containers are not available from the Township, the persons participating in this program shall supply their own containers. Such containers shall have no greater than a twenty-gallon capacity. The container shall be labeled plainly in lettering no smaller than two inches indicating that the container contains recyclable materials. If available, labels will be supplied from the municipality.

[1]

Editor's Note: See Art. II of this chapter.

§ 156-28 Multifamily rental housing with four or more units.

This section establishes a recycling program by the owner, landlord or agent of an owner or landlord of multifamily rental housing properties in Palmer Township with four or more units.

Outline of program.

Act 101 requires that at least three items he chosen from the following list to be recycled at multifamily rental housing properties: clear glass, colored glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office paper, newsprint, corrugated paper and plastics (Nos. 1 and 2). This list is restated in Section 4B of Ordinance 236, the Palmer Township Recycling Ordinance.[1] The Township hereby requires that all of these items (except for high-grade office paper) be recycled. In addition, brown paper, grey paper, telephone books, magazines, third-class mail, grass clippings, leaf waste and other yard waste are hereby added to the items required to be recycled. The owner, landlord or agent of an owner or landlord shall set into operation a collection system for these recyclables.The program for recycling grass clippings, leaf waste and other yard waste may be conducted on a seasonal basis. [For an example of a program conducted on a seasonal basis, see § 156-27A(2) of this ordinance.]

[1]

Editor's Note: See § 156-13B.

The owner, landlord or agent of an owner or landlord of multifamily housing properties with four or more units shall provide for the Palmer Township recycling coordinator an accounting showing the number of pounds or tons of recyclable materials marketed during the calendar year. The weight for each recyclable item shall be kept separately. Weight receipts should be collected and saved as documentation for the tonnage recycled. The owner, landlord, or agent of an owner or landlord shall be required to report this information concerning the recyclables listed in § 156-28A(1) above to the Township recycling coordinator.

If the owner, landlord or agent of any owner or landlord hires a hauler licensed in Palmer Township to perform all or part of his recycling, the licensed hauler shall report information concerning the material recycled to the Palmer Township recycling coordinator, in the same manner as required for residential collection. The owner, landlord, or agent for an owner or landlord shall report information concerning material recycled other than that collected by a licensed Palmer Township hauler.

Frequency of collection. The owner, landlord, or agent for an owner or landlord shall provide for recyclables, other than seasonal items, to be collected and transported to recycling facilities at least once per month.

§ 156-29 Commercial, municipal and institutional establishments; community activities.

This section establishes a recycling program by commercial, municipal and institutional establishments and at community activities in Palmer Township.

Outline of program.

Act 101 of 1988 requires that commercial businesses must separate high-grade office paper, aluminum, cardboard and leaf waste for recycling and other materials deemed appropriate by the municipality.

The following items shall be recycled by commercial, municipal, or institutional establishments and at community activities organized by these institutions: high-grade office paper, aluminum, clear glass, colored glass, cardboard, third-class mail, magazines, telephone books, brown paper, grey paper, bimetallic cans consisting of aluminum and steel, plastics Nos. 1 and 2, newspaper, grass clippings, leaf waste and other yard waste. The program for recycling grass clippings, leaf waste and other yard waste may be conducted on a seasonal basis. [For an example of a program conducted on a seasonal basis, see § 156-27A(2).]