[Adopted 11-2-1989 by Ord. No. 419]
For the purpose of this article, the following terms shall be defined as stated below:
BOARD OF HEALTH (BOARD)
The Board of Health of the City of Pottsville.
COLLECTION VEHICLE (VEHICLE)
A vehicle which is used in the business of hauling garbage, trash, refuse or any other waste matter generated by residential, commercial, industrial use or institutional properties for a fee and/or for persons other than the owner, operator or lessee of such vehicle.
COMMERCIAL HAULER (HAULER)
Any person, partnership, association or corporation or institution engaged in the business of collecting or hauling garbage, trash, refuse or other waste matter within the City for persons or entities other than themselves.
PERMIT
The written warrant or license granted by the Board which authorizes the stated hauler to collect or haul garbage, trash, refuse or other waste matter from any establishment in the City of Pottsville.
PRIVATE VEHICLE
A vehicle used solely for the purpose of collecting or hauling garbage, trash, refuse or other waste matter from a property owned by the owner/operator or lessee of the vehicle or which is ancillary to another business (i.e., construction) other than professional hauling.
TRASH
Any debris, trash, garbage, refuse or other waste material.
Any hauler engaged in or desiring to engage in the business of collecting or hauling trash within the City shall complete and file an application with the Board to procure a permit and shall present any and all vehicles to be used in such business to the Board for inspection.
A. 
Any hauler applying for a permit must present the following to the City:
(1) 
A valid business privilege license or other evidence satisfactory to the Board of the City.
(2) 
A certificate of insurance establishing that the hauler is currently covered by a reputable insurance company licensed to do business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, insuring said hauler for property damages in the amount of not less than $50,000 for any one claim and not less than $100,000 for multiple claims arising from the same undertaking, as well as public liability insurance in the amount of $100,000 for any one claim and not less than $300,000 for more than one claim arising from the same undertaking. Said certificate shall be for continuous coverage unless canceled by said insurance company, at which time the Board shall be notified, in writing, by said insurance company and/or hauler.
(3) 
Proof of a valid Pennsylvania vehicle registration, proof of proper insurance coverage for the vehicle and a current Commonwealth of Pennsylvania inspection sticker.
(4) 
Proof that said hauler is using a disposal site that has a valid Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources permit to accept the trash being hauled by the hauler, said validity of permit to be determined by the Board. This proof shall consist of a written commitment from a disposal site allowing said hauler to dump at that specific site on a regular basis and/or a series of no less than one receipt for each month of the previous year from a disposal site documenting a consistent dumping relationship with a permitted disposal site.
(5) 
All other information as requested on the permit application, to the extent that it is available and in a form satisfactory to the Board.
(6) 
Certification of compliance with the City of Pottsville Recycling Ordinance.[1][2]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Art. II of this chapter.
[2]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
B. 
Said hauler shall have no prior conviction or evidence of abuse of this article or the previous collection ordinance. If there is pending legal action on a violation of any repealed ordinance, the Board will revoke the hauler's permit upon conviction of said violation.
Each vehicle used for the purpose of collecting or hauling trash shall be inspected by the Board to ascertain its suitability for such use and shall be constructed so that:
A. 
It shall not exceed an overall height of thirteen and one-half (13 1/2) feet.
B. 
It shall be of a reasonably safe type, without attachments, appendages or other conditions which could constitute a safety hazard in the opinion of the Board. Those conditions shall be deemed to be unsafe if they could cause injury or damage to any person, object or property, due to its projection from normal dimensions of the vehicle.
C. 
If it is an open truck, the body there shall not have an interior height dimension of more than six feet; truck beds shall be constructed so that the contents cannot fall from them or be subject to spilling.
D. 
It shall be constructed and maintained to prevent littering, ingress and egress of vectors, odors and other nuisances.
E. 
It shall be equipped with a fire extinguisher with current inspection, as approved by the Board.
F. 
It shall be identified on both lateral sides thereof in plain and conspicuous letters and numbers not less than six inches high with the name of the owner, his/their address and telephone number and the type of waste being hauled as outlined in the Department of Environmental Resources Interim Guidance document on Section 1101(e) of Act 101.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq.
No person or company shall engage in the business of collecting or hauling trash unless he shall have first obtained a permit for each vehicle to be used in such business from the Board. No fees shall be required for vehicles owned, leased or operated by a body politic for the purpose of hauling or disposing of trash.
Upon inspection and approval by the Board, a permit shall be issued for the operation of any such vehicles. Such permits shall be effective from June 1 of the current year to May 31 of the following year. The permit shall at all times be in the possession of the operator of the vehicle, and permit decals shall at all times be conspicuously displayed upon both sides of the vehicle on each cab door or on the nearest body panel immediately behind the cab, at a location to be approved by the Board inspector. Such permit and permit decals shall be issued and transferable according to rules and regulations subject to the approval of the Board and shall remain the property of the Board. Permit fees shall be as follows:
A. 
For each vehicle used in the business of collecting or hauling trash by any person, partnership, or corporation: $100.
B. 
For the transfer of any permit from one licensed hauler to another licensed hauler (and all transfers must be approved, in writing, by the Board): $10.
C. 
For the transfer of this permit from one vehicle to another vehicle owned by the same person, partnership or corporation, subject to written approval by the Board: $10.
D. 
For the licensing of each vehicle for a period commencing after December 1 of the current license year: $50.
Any vehicle used for the purpose of collecting trash which does not have a permanently enclosed body, when loaded or partially loaded, shall be covered with a protective covering, such as a tarpaulin, which shall be affixed in such a way that the contents of the vehicle cannot be removed or dispelled from it by persons, wind or other causes while the vehicle is in motion or when it is parked for more than 15 minutes; except, however, that such protective covering need not be so attached when the operator is actively engaged in the process of loading or unloading the vehicle. All operators of an open truck shall have in their possession, at all times, a tarpaulin and adequate ropes or other devices to attach the tarpaulin as required above, regardless of the type of waste they are hauling. While loading or unloading, the hauler shall remain responsible for the cleanup and collection of any trash that may have blown, fallen or leaked from the vehicle engaged in collection.
A. 
Vehicles used for collecting trash shall, at all times, be subject to the following restrictions:
(1) 
If loaded or partially loaded and covered:
(a) 
No parking or standing on City streets, highways or alleys in excess of one hour between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
(b) 
No parking on highways, streets or alleys in excess of four hours between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
(c) 
No off-street parking or on-street parking at any time within 500 feet of an occupied residential structure.
(d) 
No off-street parking or on-street parking at any time in excess of 24 hours in an area more distant than 500 feet from a residential structure.
(2) 
If empty and clean:
(a) 
No parking on highways, streets or alleys at any time in excess of 48 hours.
(b) 
No parking for more than one hour within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling.
B. 
Permitted parking. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to prohibit parking of collection vehicles used for the purpose of collecting or hauling trash on highways, streets or alleys if such vehicles are empty, clean and at rest more than 100 feet from any occupied dwelling.
The hauler must at any time, when requested by the Board, present proof of using a disposal site that has a valid Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources permit to accept the trash being hauled by the hauler. This proof may consist of a written commitment from a disposal site allowing that hauler to dump at that specific site on a regular basis and/or a receipt from a disposal site documenting a dumping transaction no more than 30 days prior.
[Amended 12-24-1994 by Ord. No. 526]
Any person, partnership, firm or corporation that at any time violates the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $600 for each offense, plus costs, or, in default thereof, shall be imprisoned for not more than 90 days, and shall be subject to revocation of their permit and removal of the permit decal from their vehicle upon a second conviction for violating this or the previous ordinance entitled "Rubbish Collection."