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Borough of Trappe, PA
Montgomery County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Trappe as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Construction codes — See Ch. 135.
Grass, brush and weeds — See Ch. 184.
Junkyards; abandoned property — See Ch. 199.
[Adopted 10-2-1990 by Ord. No. 271 (Part 5, Ch. 6, Art. A, of the 1987 Code)]
The reduction of the amount of municipal waste and conservation of recyclable materials is an important public concern by reason of the growing problem of municipal waste disposal and its impact on the environment. The collection of newspapers, bimetallic cans, clear glass, plastic and yard waste for recycling from residences and high-grade office paper, aluminum, corrugated paper and leaf waste from commercial and institutional establishments in the Borough of Trappe will serve the general public interest by reducing the volume of municipal waste which must be disposed, thereby reducing storage, collection, transportation and disposal costs of said waste and preserving valuable natural resources; and may result in a financial benefit to the residents and taxpayers of the Borough of Trappe by reason of the income realized from the sale of these recyclable materials and reduced cost of disposal.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Trappe Borough Waste Reduction and Recycling Ordinance."
Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following words and phrases used throughout this article shall have the following meanings:
ALUMINUM CANS
All-aluminum beverage and food containers.
BIMETALLIC CONTAINERS
Empty food or beverage containers consisting of steel and aluminum.
COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Those properties used primarily for commercial or industrial purposes.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Events that are sponsored by public or private agencies or individuals that include, but are not limited to, fairs, bazaars, socials, picnics, and organized sporting events attended by 200 or more individuals per day.
CORRUGATED PAPER
Structural paper material with an inner core shaped in rigid parallel furrows and ridges.
GLASS
All products made from silica or sand, soda ash and limestone; the product may be transparent, translucent or colored, and may be used as a container for packaging or bottling of various matter, and all other material commonly known as glass. Excluded are ceramics, automotive glass, plate glass, or heat-tempered glass.
HIGH-GRADE OFFICE PAPER
All white paper, bond paper, and computer paper used in commercial, institutional and municipal establishments and in residences.
INSTITUTIONAL ESTABLISHMENT
Those facilities that house or serve groups of people, such as hospitals, schools, day-care centers, universities, and nursing homes.
LEAF WASTE
Leaves, garden residues, shrubbery, and tree trimmings and similar material, but not including grass clippings.
MULTIFAMILY HOUSING PROPERTIES
Any property having four or more dwelling units per structure.
MUNICIPAL ESTABLISHMENTS
Public facilities operated by the municipality and other governmental or quasi-governmental authorities.
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste and other material including liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material, resulting from the operation of residential, commercial, or institutional establishments and from community activities. The term does not include source-separated recyclable materials.
MUNICIPALITY
Borough of Trappe.
NEWSPAPER
Paper of the type commonly referred to as newsprint and distributed at stated intervals, usually daily or weekly, having printed thereon news and opinions and containing advertisements and other matters of public interest, but not including magazines.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution, corporate enterprise, municipality, municipal authority, federal government or agency, state institution or agency (including but not limited to the Department of General Services and the Pennsylvania Public School Building Authority), or any other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. In any provisions of this article prescribing a fine, imprisonment, or penalty, or any combination of the foregoing, the term "person" shall include the officers and directors of any corporation or other legal entity having officers and directors.
PLASTIC CONTAINERS
Empty plastic food and beverage containers. Due to the large variety of types of plastic, the recycling regulations may stipulate specific types of plastic which may be recycled.
RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
Materials generated by business or consumers which can be separated from municipal waste and returned to commerce to be reused as a resource in the development of useful products. Recyclables include the following: clear glass, colored glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office paper, newsprint, corrugated paper, leaf waste and plastics. Recyclable material must be free from contamination that would affect its reuse.
RECYCLING
The collection, separation, recovery and sale or reuse of metals, glass, paper, leaf waste, tree branches, plastics and other materials which would otherwise be disposed or processed as municipal waste or the mechanized separation and treatment of municipal waste (other than through combustion) and creation and recovery of reusable materials other than fuel for the operation of energy.
RESIDENCE(S)
Any single-family attached or detached dwelling or multiple dwellings having not more than three units from which the Borough collects municipal waste.
SOURCE-SEPARATED RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
Those materials separated at the point of origin for the purpose of being recycled.
STEEL CONTAINERS
Empty steel or tin-coated steel food or beverage containers.
The Borough hereby establishes a recycling program for the mandatory separation and collection of newspapers, high-grade office paper, corrugated paper, aluminum, bimetallic cans, clear glass, plastic, leaf waste and yard waste from all residences, businesses or institutions in the Borough for which waste collection is provided by the Borough or any other collector. Collection of the materials to be recycled shall be made periodically by the Borough, their designated agent, or any other municipal waste collectors operating in the Borough.
Guidelines establishing the manner, days and time of collection of recyclable materials, and the bundling, handling, location and time of placement of such materials for collection shall be established by resolution duly adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Trappe.
A. 
All persons who are residents of the Borough of Trappe shall separate all municipal waste to be recycled from all other municipal waste produced at their homes, apartments, and other residential establishments as designated by resolution adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Trappe, and to store such material for collection, and shall place same for collection in accordance with the guidelines established in the resolution.
(1) 
If required to recycle by resolution adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Trappe, an owner, landlord, or agent of an owner or landlord of a multifamily rental housing property with four or more units may comply with its recycling responsibilities by establishing a collection system at each property. The collection system must include suitable containers for collecting and sorting materials, easily accessible locations for the containers, and written instructions to the occupants concerning the use and availability of the collection system. Owners, landlords, and agents of owners or landlords who comply with this section shall not be liable for noncompliance of occupants of their buildings.
B. 
All persons must separate leaf waste from other municipal waste generated at their houses, apartments, and other residential establishments for collection unless those persons have otherwise provided for composting of leaf waste.
C. 
Persons must separate high-grade office paper, aluminum, corrugated paper and leaf waste (and other material deemed appropriate by the municipality and established by resolution) generated at commercial, municipal or institutional establishments and from community activities if required to recycle by resolution adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Trappe and to store such material until collection. A person may be exempted from this subsection if the person submits documentation to the Borough annually, indicating that the designated recyclable materials are being recycled in an appropriate manner.
Any and all municipal waste which is placed to be recycled in accordance with this article shall be considered to be abandoned by the resident or owner, and such resident or owner shall be considered to have given up any right, title or interest therein.
It shall be a violation of this article for any person, firm or corporation, other than the Borough or one authorized by the Borough Council, to collect newspapers, bimetallic cans, clear glass, plastic, and yard waste placed by a resident for collection by the Borough, unless such person, firm or corporation has prior written permission to make such collection as set forth in § 280-9. Each unauthorized collection in violation hereof, from one or more residences on one calendar day, shall constitute a separate and distinct offense punishable as hereinafter provided.
Any resident may donate or sell newspapers, bimetallic cans, clear glass, plastic, and yard waste to any person, form or corporation, whether operating for profit or not, provided that the receiving person, form or corporation shall not collect such donated recyclable materials from the collection point of a residence without prior written permission from the Borough Council, or its authorized representative, to make such collection.
A. 
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate the provisions of the preceding sections shall receive an official warning of noncompliance for the first and second offense. Thereafter, all such violations shall be subject to the penalties hereinafter provided.
B. 
Except as hereinafter provided, any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $300 and costs of prosecution for each and every offense.
C. 
The Borough of Trappe reserves the right not to collect municipal waste containing recyclable materials in combination with nonrecyclable materials.
[Adopted 10-5-1993 by Ord. No. 293 (Part 12, Ch. 3, Art. B, of the 1987 Code)]
A. 
The owner, occupant or tenant of every property fronting upon or along the side of any street in the Borough shall not place or cause to be placed any garbage, leaves, lawn trimmings, weeds, or any similar matter or combination of them, from the roadway, including the portion of the driveway where the sidewalk crosses the driveway for a minimum width of 24 inches, unless the garbage, leaves, lawn trimmings, weeds, or similar matter or combination of them is placed for removal by a licensed waste maintenance person, in which event the owner, occupant, or tenant shall place such object on the driveway area no more than 24 hours prior to the time it will be removed.
B. 
The owner of a property shall be responsible for complying with the provisions of Subsection A of this section where the property is occupied by the owner or is unoccupied or vacant, or is a multi-business or multidwelling property occupied by more than one tenant or occupants; the tenant or occupier shall be responsible where the property comprises a single unit, occupied by the tenant or occupant only, or where the ground floor or first floor is a mercantile establishment, in which case the ground floor or first-floor tenant shall be responsible.
Any owner, occupant or tenant who fails to properly dispose of any material described in § 280-11 or who violates or fails to conform within any other provisions of § 280-11, shall be guilty of an offense, and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $50, and costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment of the fine and costs, may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 10 days; provided, the fine and costs may be in addition to any costs and expenses collectible under § 280-11. Each day that a violation continues after due notice has been served shall be deemed a separate offense.