[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Worcester 10-15-2003 by Ord. No. 193[1]. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also superseded
former Ch. 128, Solid Waste Management, adopted 2-19-2003 by Ord.
No. 186.
This chapter shall be known as the "Township
Solid Waste Management Ordinance."
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Solid Waste Management Act, Act of July 7, 1980, 380,
No. 97, as amended, 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq.
Large items of refuse, including, but not limited to, appliances,
furniture, large auto parts, trees, branches and stumps which cannot
be handled by normal solid waste processing, collection or disposal
methods.
Any person or entity collecting or transporting municipal
waste and/or recyclable materials for owners or occupants of property
in the municipality, including the municipality itself, if it undertakes
the collection of municipal waste.
Incineration, disposition, injection, dumping, spilling,
leaking or placing waste into or on the land or water in such a manner
that the waste or a constituent of the waste enters the environment,
is emitted into the air or is discharged into the waters of the municipality.
The site where municipal waste is disposed of, as designated
by the municipality or by the proposed contractor, including all associated
property and equipment.
The animal or vegetable refuse from the storage, vending,
sale, preparation or use of foodstuffs, such as meats, fish, fruits
or vegetables or other domestic refuse.
Any garbage, refuse or sludge from an industrial or other
waste treatment plant, sludge from a water supply treatment plant
or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including
solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from
municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, mining or agricultural
operations from community activities, or any combination of the above,
but not including solid or dissolved materials, domestic sewage or
solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows or industrial
discharges which are point sources subject to permits under the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 (33 U.S.C. § 1151 et
seq.), as amended, or source special nuclear or by-product material
as defined by the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. § 2011
et seq.), as amended, which because of its economy, concentration
or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may:
Cause or significantly contribute to an increase
in mortality or an increase in morbidity in either an individual or
the total population; or
Pose a substantial present or potential hazard
to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored,
transported, disposed of or otherwise managed.
Any establishment engaged in manufacturing or processing,
including, but not limited to, factories, foundries, mills, processing
plants, refineries, mines and slaughterhouses.
Any establishment engaged in servicing, including, but not
limited to, hospitals, nursing homes, life care facilities, churches,
orphanages, schools and universities.
The entire process, or any part thereof, of storage, collection,
transportation, processing, treatment and disposal of solid waste
by any person engaging in such process.
Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunch room or office waste
or other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous material resulting from operations of residential, municipal,
commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities
and including any sludge not meeting the definition of "residual waste"
or "hazardous waste" under this section for municipal, commercial
or institutional water supply treatment plants, wastewater treatment
plants or air pollution control facilities.
Worcester Township.
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution,
cooperative enterprise, the federal government or any agency thereof,
state institution agencies (including, but not limited to, the Department
of General Services, Public Schools and Authorities) or any other
legal entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as a subject of
rights and duties. For any provision of this chapter prescribing a
fine, imprisonment or penalty, or any combination thereof, person
includes the officers and directors of any corporation or of any other
legal entity that has officers and directors.
Any technology used for the purpose of reducing the volume
or bulk of waste or converting or separating waste for off-site reuse.
Processing facilities include, but are not limited to, transfer, composting
and resource recovery facilities.
All material which is discarded as useless.
Any garbage or other discarded material or other waste, including
solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials resulting
from industrial or agricultural operations and including any sludge
from any industrial or agricultural water supply treatment facility,
wastewater treatment facility or air pollution control facility, provided
that it is not hazardous waste,
A land site on which engineering principles are utilized
to bury deposits of solid waste without creating public health or
safety hazards, nuisances, pollution or environmental degradation.
Any waste, including, but not limited to, municipal, residual
or hazardous waste, and including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous materials.
All applicable rules and regulations set forth
in Title 25 of the Pennsylvania Code (Environmental Protection) are
hereby adopted as the controlling rules and regulations regarding
all municipal waste activities within the municipality. In the event
of a conflict between such rules and regulations and any of the provisions
of this chapter, the rules and regulations shall take precedence.
Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the municipality
from becoming a collector for the purpose of this chapter.
A.Â
Pursuant to the authority vested by Section 202 of
the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act of 1980, Act 97, as amended,
any person collecting municipal waste in the municipality from any
residential, commercial or industrial generator thereof shall annually,
on or before January 30, submit information to the municipality listing
the type of waste collected, the quantity and manner of transportation
thereof and the manner, location and ultimate disposal thereof, including,
but not limited to, any processing, transfer or temporary storage
thereof in the interim. Such information shall be supplied for the
prior calendar year, and there shall also be an estimate of the same
information for the current calendar year. The collector shall notify
the municipality, in writing, of any change of disposal site or type
of waste within 10 days of the change. Submission of such information
shall be upon a form established by regulations adopted by a resolution
of the municipality. No person may engage in collection of municipal
waste in the municipality without providing all such information as
required.
B.Â
A collector shall be responsible for receiving municipal
waste from properties in the municipality pursuant to contracts between
the collector and the owners or occupants of the properties. All collectors
shall dispose of all municipal waste at the facility designated by
the municipality in compliance with such reasonable rules and regulations
for operation of the facility as may be established by the facility.
Disposal at any other place shall be a violation of this chapter and
result in the enforcement of the penalty section of this chapter,
except in special circumstances approved in advance by the facility.
Such approval must be for disposal at an approved facility in accordance
with the rules and regulations of the Department of Environmental
Protection. The operations of all collectors shall comply with regulations
of the municipality and with all applicable laws. Violation of such
regulations or laws shall be cause for the enforcement of the penalty
section of this chapter upon such notice as the municipality may determine
to be reasonable.
C.Â
A collector shall provide on demand a certificate
of insurance showing that the insurance provided for in this subsection
is carried in the specified amounts and has been obtained from a reputable
company, satisfactory to the municipality, or shall file a self-insurance
certificate as issued by the Department of Labor and Industry and
the Department of Revenue of the commonwealth. Such certificates shall
specify that the contractual liability required under this chapter
is covered and that the coverage will not be canceled or changed without
30 days' prior notice to the municipality. The following insurance
shall be carried and maintained by collectors:
(1)Â
Workers' compensation insurance for all employees;
(2)Â
Automobile liability insurance in the amount of $1,000,000,
combined single limit bodily injury and property damage; and
(3)Â
General liability insurance in the amount of $1,000,000
bodily injury and $1,000,000 property damage.
(4)Â
The collector shall hereby agrees to indemnify and
save harmless the municipality against any and all liability, demands,
actions or damages, claims, costs or expense which the municipality
may hereafter incur, suffer or be required to pay by reason of or
arising out of any work done or action taken under this chapter.
(5)Â
Each and every policy of insurance herein mentioned
which is required pursuant to the terms of this chapter shall carry
with it an endorsement to the effect that the insurance carrier will
transmit to the Township, by certified mail, written notice of any
modifications, alterations or cancellation of any policy or policies
or the terms thereof. The above-mentioned written notice shall be
mailed to the Township at least 10 days prior to the effective date
of any such modification, alteration or cancellation.
All vehicles used for collection and transportation
of municipal waste shall comply with all safety regulations of the
commonwealth. All vehicles used for collection of municipal waste
and garbage shall be equipped with a closed body and shall be watertight
and approved by the municipality. Open-type vehicles may be used for
bulky waste. Such vehicles shall not be overfilled so as to cause
the waste to be spilled therefrom, shall be cleaned at such intervals
as necessary to prevent a nuisance from odors and shall be kept in
good repair and order. Any waste that may be spilled in transit in
the course of collection shall be promptly and completely cleaned
up by the collector.
The collector's name and address as well as
the tare weight of the collection vehicle shall be painted on both
sides of the vehicle in letters not less than three inches high. Where
rolloffs are used, the tare weight of both the truck and the container
shall appear on the truck and the rolloff container.
Municipal waste shall be collected at least
once a week as the contractual arrangement between the homeowner,
householder or lessee and the collector may provide. Times of collection
may be established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors. Municipal
waste containers shall, for the purpose of collection, be placed at
ground level and shall be readily accessible to the collector.
The following standards shall be adhered to
in the preparation or storage of garbage:
A.Â
Preparation. No more water shall be permitted in garbage
than has naturally accumulated from table refuse.
B.Â
Storage.
(1)Â
The owners or occupants of dwellings, apartments or other residential units and the owners or occupants of other places where garbage is produced shall provide and maintain containers, as specified in Subsection B(3) and (4) hereof, for the storage of all garbage accumulated on the premises. A sufficient number of such containers shall be maintained for each premises as shall be sufficient to contain normal accumulation of garbage between the intervals of collection.
(2)Â
The municipality may, by resolution, make additional
rules and regulations concerning garbage preparation, storage and
collection practices.
(3)Â
Containers shall be made of non-water absorbent material
and shall be equipped with lids of nonabsorbent material. Such containers
shall be watertight, prevent the entry of flies and shall be kept
in good repair at all times.
(4)Â
No person shall permit the accumulation of residual
liquids or solids on the bottom or sides of garbage containers. The
interior of containers shall be kept clean by thoroughly rinsing and
draining as often as necessary.
(5)Â
No person shall accumulate garbage longer than seven
days. No person shall place garbage at a curbside sooner than 24 hours
before the scheduled collection time.
(6)Â
No person shall deposit or permit the deposit of garbage
on the ground, on the public streets or alleys or in any body of water
in the municipality.
Treatment of any municipal waste generated in
another municipality is prohibited.
The removal of wearing apparel, bedding or other
refuse from homes or other places where highly infectious or contagious
diseases have prevailed should be performed under the supervision
and direction of the County Health Officer. No person shall place
such refuse in containers for regular collections.
No person shall use or permit to be used any
property owned or occupied by him or her within the municipality as
a public or private dump or landfill for municipal waste, whether
generated within the municipality or elsewhere.
The collection of municipal waste in the municipality
shall be subject to such additional rules and regulations as are passed
by resolution from time to time and promulgated by the Board of Supervisors.
However, no such rules or regulations shall be contrary to this chapter
or other applicable law.
[Amended 8-18-2021 by Ord. No. 286]
In addition to the penalty provided for in § 128-16, any continued violation of any of the provisions of this chapter which constitutes a nuisance in fact or which, in the opinion of the Board of Supervisors, constitutes a nuisance, may be abated by a proceeding against the violators in a court of equity or by seeking other relief available to the municipality, whether in equity or at law.
[Amended 8-18-2021 by Ord. No. 286]
A.Â
It shall be unlawful to burn, ignite, incinerate, maintain or permit
to bury any materials whatsoever, of whatever nature, including solid
waste, recyclable materials, leaves, grass, weeds, and hedge and tree
trimmings.
B.Â
Exceptions to allow open fire and burning:
(1)Â
Burning shall be permitted for firefighting training by Township-designated
firefighting organizations conditioned on prior approval of the Worcester
Township Fire Marshal.
(2)Â
Burning shall be permitted for recreational and entertainment purposes,
such as bonfires and campfires, conditioned on prior approval of the
Worcester Township Fire Marshal. Fire pits, fire bowls, and chimineas
may be used without Fire Marshal approval provided these are used
in accordance with the manufacturer's safety guidelines.
(3)Â
When approved by a government agency only, burning is permitted for
1) the prevention and control of disease or pests, 2) the conservation
and management of unique and natural areas, 3) the prevention or abatement
of a fire hazard, 4) a management technique for preventing wildfires,
scientific research, or vegetation management, or 5) for agricultural
uses and purposes as permitted by state law.
