[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Prospect Park 2-11-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-2A. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Litter is a serious infliction affecting public
health, comfort, welfare and the value of real property and the environment.
The necessity to protect the interests of the public are contained
and enacted within the provisions and prohibitions of this chapter
of the Borough Code. The citizens of the Borough have a right to and
should be insured of an environment free of litter and other objects
which degrade the quality of life within the Borough.
As used in this chapter:
A litter storage and collection receptacle provided by the
owner or occupier of private premises for his or her own use.
Putrescible animal and vegetable waste resulting from the
handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
Garbage, refuse and rubbish as defined herein, and all other
waste material which if thrown, deposited, or allowed to stand as
herein prohibited, tends to create a danger to public health, safety,
welfare and the aesthetic well-being of the municipality.
Any natural person, firm, partnership, associations, corporation,
company or organization or entity of any kind.
Any dwelling, house, building or other structure designed
or used either wholly or in part for private residential purposes
whether inhabited or temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant
and includes any yard, ground, walk, driveway, porch, steps or vestibules
belonging or appurtenant to such dwelling, house, building or other
structure.
All streets, sidewalks, boulevards, alleys, beaches or other
public ways, and all public parks, squares, spaces, docks, grounds
and buildings.
Sidewalks, parking lots, landscaped areas, detention basins,
and all other outside areas which are open to the public or to which
the public is invited and all other outside areas in and around establishments
which are open to the public or to which the public is invited.
All putrescible and nonputrescible solid waste, except body
wastes, including, by way of example, but not limitation, garbage,
rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, animal waste, abandoned
vehicles or parts of vehicles, vehicle tires, furniture, household
or commercial appliances, mattresses, and solid market and industrial
waste.
Nonputrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible
and noncombustible wastes, such as but not limited to paper, newspaper,
wrappings, cigars, cigarettes, matches, whether flaming or not, cardboard,
tin cans, aluminum, plastic, rubber, metal, yard clippings, leaves,
wood, glass, bedding, crockery and similar materials.
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property
is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, including devices
used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in or
upon any street, road, sidewalk or other public or quasi-public place
within the Borough, except in public receptacles or authorized private
receptacles for collection; provided, however, that the public receptacles
shall not be used by persons owning or occupying property in the vicinity
of the public or private receptacles for the deposit of domestic,
commercial and industrial litter arising from the conduct of the activities.
In the event litter is located in either private or public receptacles
or in public or private places, which litter contains the name and/or
address of a person, a rebuttable presumption shall arise that such
person placed or caused such litter to be placed in said public or
private receptacle.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any
fountain, pond, lake, stream or any other body of water within the
Borough.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any
private premises within the Borough, whether owned by such person
or not, except that the owner or person or persons in control of private
premises may maintain authorized private receptacle for collection
in such a manner that litter will be prevented from being carried
or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk, or other public
place or upon any private property.
No person, including merchants owning or occupying
a place of business, shall sweep into or deposit in a gutter, road,
street, catch basin, right-of-way or other public place within the
Borough the accumulation of litter from a building or lot or from
a public or private sidewalk or driveway or lawn. Persons owning or
occupying property shall keep the sidewalk, walkway, alley and curb
abutting said property free from obstruction and nuisances of every
kind and to keep said sidewalk, walkway, alley and curbs free from
litter. All litter sweepings must be collected and properly containerized
in authorized receptacles for disposal.
No person, while a driver or passenger in a
vehicle, shall throw or deposit litter in or upon any public, quasi-public
or private property.
No person in an aircraft shall throw out, drop
or deposit within the Borough any litter, handbill or any other object.
Persons placing litter in public receptacles
or in authorized private receptacles shall do so in a manner which
prevents the litter from being carried or deposited by the elements
or by animals upon a public place or upon private property, including
that person's property. All owners of public or quasi-public places
shall provide for themselves and their tenants adequate receptacles
for the deposit of all litter generated by their or their tenant's
businesses. All open or overflowing commercial, industrial, residential
or other waste disposal receptacles are prohibited.
The owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or person
in control of any private property shall at all times maintain the
premises free of litter; provided, however, that this section shall
not prohibit the storage of litter in authorized private receptacles
for collection.
No person owning or occupying a place of business
shall sweep into or deposit in any gutter, street or other public
place within the Borough any litter, waste materials or rubbish, but
such person shall keep the sidewalk in front of his business premises
free of litter. All persons operating filling stations or other mercantile
establishments where commodities are sold between any curb area of
the Borough and the office building or equipment from which such commodities
are dispensed shall maintain at all times receptacles into which all
waste materials and rubbish may be deposited by customers, employees
or other persons.
No person shall tamper with or take or remove
any of the contents from any public or private receptacle containing
garbage, refuse, rubbish, junk or any other waste material which has
been placed or deposited along any public highway, street, land or
alleyway for collection by the Borough or any of its agents or servants
and any person who violates the purpose and intent of this section
shall be subject to the penalties set forth herein.
No person shall drive or move any truck or other
vehicle within the Borough unless such vehicle is so constructed or
loaded as to prevent any load or contents of litter from being blown
or deposited upon any street, alley or other public place, or quasi-public
or private place. Nor shall any person drive or move any vehicle or
truck within the Borough the wheels or tires of which carry onto or
deposit, in any street, alley or other public place or quasi-public
place, mud, dirt, sticky substances or foreign matter of any kind.
It is unlawful for any person to discard or
dump along any street or road, on or off any right-of-way, any household
or commercial solid waste, rubbish, refuse, junk, vehicle or vehicle
parts, rubber tires, appliances, furniture or litter, or private property,
except by written consent of the owner of said property, in any place
not specifically designated for the purpose of solid waste storage
or disposal.
No authorized receptacles shall be located on
public streets, nor shall authorized receptacles be located on public
sidewalks or public curbs so as to impede vehicle or pedestrian traffic
nor shall there be more than one authorized receptacle per standard
or substandard lot.
It is unlawful for any owner, agent, or contractor
in charge of a construction or demolition site to permit the accumulation
of litter before, during, or immediately following the completion
of any construction or demolition project. It is the duty of the owner,
agent, or contractor in charge of a construction site to furnish containers
adequate to accommodate flyable or non-flyable debris or trash at
areas convenient to construction areas, and to maintain and empty
the receptacles in such a manner and with such a frequency as to prevent
spillage of refuse.
It is unlawful for any person to place, to cause
to be placed, or to hire another person to place any advertisement,
handbill or unsolicited material of any kind in or on any street,
sidewalk, building or vehicle within the community in such a manner
that it may be removed by natural forces.
B.
The above prohibitions shall not apply to items placed
outside on days designated for the collection of same.
C.
Construction debris. No person shall allow the accumulation
of litter on or around a construction site, or its storage in such
a manner that it is likely to be blown, carried or deposited by the
elements or animals about the construction site or upon a public place
or upon private property.
The provisions of this chapter shall be administered
and enforced by licensed inspectors of the Department of Health of
the Borough and all members of the Police Department and the officials
are specifically charged with the duty to enforce this chapter and,
to that end, to make and sign complaints for violations in the Municipal
Court of the Borough.
A.
Any person, firm, corporation, or association violating
the terms of this chapter, whether as principal, agent, or employee
of another, shall be subject to a fine of not less than $100 and no
more than $1,000 for the first violation and shall be subject to a
term of five days to 45 days community service or shall be subject
to a term of five days to 45 days in jail.
B.
Notwithstanding the above-mentioned penalties and at the discretion of the court, any person under the age of 18 who violates the provisions of Chapter 245 of the Borough Code by littering within the Borough shall be warned of the violation by the enforcing official. In the event that the violator is merely issued a warning, the parent or legal guardian of the violator shall be subject to a fine of not less than $100 and no more than $1,000 for the first violation and shall be subject to a term of five days to 45 days community service or shall be subject to a term of five days to 45 days in jail.
C.
If the violation is of a continuing nature, each and
every day during which it continues constitutes a separate and distinct
offense. In addition to the minimum monetary penalty, the judicial
system has the option of sentencing the person, firm, corporation
or association to participate in any alternative sentencing program
designed for local visible public property clean up. The nature and
duration of this participation will be equivalent to the severity
of the fine levied by the courts.
A.
Any person who is convicted of violating the within
chapter within one year of the date of a previous violation of the
same chapter shall be sentenced by the court to an additional fine
as a repeat offender.
B.
For every subsequent violation, the violator shall
be subject to a minimum penalty of $500 and not more than $1,000 and
shall be subject to a term of 10 days to 90 days community service
or shall be subject to a term of 10 days to 90 days in jail.
C.
The additional fine and penalty imposed by the court
upon a person for a repeated offense shall be calculated separately
from the fine imposed of the violation of the within chapter.
