[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Patterson at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Solid waste — See Ch. 161.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
COMMERCIAL HANDBILL
Any printed or written matter, leaflet, pamphlet or any other printed or otherwise reproduced literature which advertises for sale any merchandise, product, commodity or thing or which directs attention to any business or mercantile establishment or which directs attention to or advertises any meeting, theatrical performance or an event of any kind for which an admission fee is charged.
LITTER
Any putrescible animal and vegetable waste, commonly known as "garbage," and any putrescible and nonputrescible solid waste, including rubbish and refuse, such as ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobiles and solid market and industrial waste, paper, wrappings, cigarettes, cardboard, tin cans, yard clippings, leaves, wood, glass, bedding, crockery, trash and similar materials.
NONCOMMERCIAL HANDBILL
Any printed or written matter, circular, leaflet, pamphlet or any other printed or otherwise reproduced original or copies of any matter of literature not included in the above definition of a "commercial handbill."
No person, association, firm or corporation shall do or permit to be done any of the following acts:
A. 
Sweep or deposit in any gutter, street or other public place within the township any accumulation of litter from any building or lot or from any public or private sidewalk or driveway. Persons owning or occupying property, including residences and places of business, shall keep the sidewalk in front of their premises free of litter.
B. 
Throw or deposit, while a driver or passenger in a vehicle, litter upon any street or other public place within the township or upon private property.
C. 
Drive or move any truck or other vehicle within the township unless such vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent any load, contents or litter from being blown or deposited upon any street, alley or other public place.
D. 
Deposit dirt on any public street from the wheels of vehicles leaving construction sites, unless such dirt is removed by 5:00 p.m. of the day on which the dirt was deposited.
E. 
Throw or deposit commercial or noncommercial handbills in or upon any sidewalk, street or other public place, or hand out, distribute or sell any commercial handbills or place the same in or upon any vehicle in any public place, provided that it shall not be unlawful on any sidewalk, street or other public place to distribute, without charge, any noncommercial handbill to any person willing to accept it.
F. 
Throw, deposit or distribute any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon private premises which are inhabited, except by handing or transmitting any such handbill directly to the owner, occupant or other person then present in or upon such private premises.
G. 
Post or affix any notice, poster or other paper or device calculated to attract the attention of the public to any lamppost, public utility pole or tree or upon any public structure or building, except as may be authorized or required by law.
H. 
Throw, deposit or permit the accumulation of litter on private premises, both business and residential, within the township, whether owned by such person or not. The owner or person in control of the private premises may maintain authorized private receptacles for collection in such a manner that litter would be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements on any street, sidewalk or other public place or upon any private property. The owners of shopping centers are hereby required to install and maintain trash receptacles on the pedestrian walkways within said shopping center. These receptacles shall be placed at a maximum of thirty (30) feet apart, unless the Board of Commissioners or its designee determines this distance is not practicable. The receptacles shall be clearly designated as trash receptacles, and the Board of Commissioners or its designee shall have the authority to determine the adequacy of such receptacles in terms of their type and number.
I. 
Throw or deposit litter upon any open or vacant private premises or any inhabited premises, whether owned by such person or not.
A. 
The Board of Commissioners or its designee is hereby authorized and empowered to notify the owner and/or occupant of any open or vacant private premises or any occupied or unoccupied private or business premises within the township, or the agent of such owner or occupant, to properly dispose of litter located on such property. Such notice shall be by certified mail, addressed to said owner and/or occupant at his last known address, or served personally by the Board of Commissioners or its designee upon such owner or occupant.
B. 
Upon failure, neglect or refusal of any owner or occupant so notified to properly dispose of litter within three (3) days after receipt of the written notice provided for in Subsection A above, or three (3) days after the date of such notice in the event that the same is returned unserved, said Board of Commissioners or designee is hereby authorized and empowered to order the correction of such violation, using township funds or township personnel to accomplish such correction, and may charge the costs thereof to the violator. Collection of such costs by the township may be made by lien or otherwise as authorized by law.
Any person, firm, association or corporation who violates any provision of this chapter or fails to correct within the time hereinabove set forth the conditions for which complaint is made by the township shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.) plus costs of prosecution and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding thirty (30) days, and each day's failure to comply with any such provision shall constitute a separate violation. It shall not be necessary for the township to give notice pursuant to the provisions of § 120-3 above in order to obtain a conviction for any of the prohibited acts in § 120-2 above.