[Ord. 2071, 12/29/2009; Ord. No. 2218, 10/11/2022; Ord. No. 2234, 6/10/2024]
It shall be the duty of every person owning, occupying, in possession or in charge or control of any residence, church, commercial establishment, industrial establishment, mixed use housing property and/or multifamily housing property where municipal waste is created or accumulated at all times to keep or cause to be kept and dispose of such municipal waste in accordance with the requirements of this Subpart.
1. 
All persons who are residents of the Borough (and do not live in a multifamily housing property), churches and mixed use housing property shall be required to participate in the municipal collection system and shall be governed by the following requirements and regulations:
A. 
Where municipal waste is accumulated, such waste shall be kept or caused to be kept in a portable, secure appurtenance, metal, plastic or vinyl, similarly constructed cans or containers or appropriate bags, only in the event such bags are not ripped or damaged in any way. Such containers shall be constructed of the materials described above and shall be watertight, rodentproof and inspectproof, not easily corrodible, shall be provided with handles and closely fitting lids or covers; shall not have more than a thirty-five-gallon capacity and shall be capable of being lifted by one person.
B. 
In addition, each residential unit, mixed-use property, and church shall be limited as to the number of cans or bags that may be placed for collection on the designated collection day. The number of cans or bags shall be limited to four cans and/or bags at one collection time. Bulk items shall not be counted as part of the number of cans or bags.
C. 
Each approved can or container shall be kept clean inside and out, so that no odor nuisance shall exist. The collector shall place tags on garbage containers found to be in violation of this Section and notify the Borough Manager. Two or more violations of this provision by persons shall subject the persons to penalties as set forth in § 221 of this Part.
D. 
No dumpster service shall be provided to any residential, mixed use property or church in the municipal collection system.
2. 
Individual industrial properties, commercial properties, multifamily housing properties containing seven or more units, or mixed-use properties which include multifamily housing properties containing seven or more units, shall not be permitted to participate in the municipal collection system, but shall be required to comply with the following rules and regulations:
A. 
The hauler shall provide a dumpster or dumpsters sufficiently large enough to handle the volume of solid waste produced by the property, and which shall be approved by the Borough Manager or a designee thereof.
B. 
The approved dumpster or dumpsters shall comply with § 507, Subsection 5 of Chapter 27, Zoning, which is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference.
C. 
The approved dumpster or dumpsters shall be kept clean inside and outside so as to never create any nuisance, such as an offensive odor.
D. 
Upon request by the Borough, the property owner or agent thereof shall provide written proof of utilization of an authorized waste disposal hauler.
E. 
The property owner shall provide all tenants and occupants with notice of the requirements of this Part at the commencement of their lease.
F. 
Comply with all other applicable ordinances and other rules and regulations established by the Borough Manager or a designee thereof.
3. 
Residential or mixed-use properties located on contiguous parcels, under single, unified ownership, which contain, in the aggregate, seven or more units, may opt out of the municipal collection system, under and subject to compliance with the following requirements:
A. 
The owner shall prepare and submit an application for a shared dumpster which shall be regulated through the issuance of a zoning permit. An application fee shall accompany the application. The amount of the application fee shall be established through formal resolution enacted by Borough Council.
B. 
The hauler shall provide a dumpster or dumpsters sufficiently large enough to handle the volume of solid waste produced by the properties, and which shall be approved by the Borough Manager or a designee thereof.
C. 
The approved dumpster or dumpsters shall comply with § 507, Subsection 5 of Chapter 27, Zoning, which is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference.
D. 
The approved dumpster or dumpsters shall be kept clean so as to never create any nuisance, such as an offensive odor.
E. 
Upon request by the Borough, the property owner or agent thereof shall provide written proof of utilization of an authorized waste disposal hauler.
F. 
The property owner shall provide all tenants and occupants with notice of the requirements of this Part at the commencement of their lease.
G. 
Dumpsters and related improvements that disturb less than 250 square feet shall not constitute land development.
H. 
Comply with all other applicable ordinances, and other rules and regulations established by the Borough Manager or a designee thereof.
4. 
The owner of any neighborhood convenience stores, as defined within § 1400, Definitions, of Part 14, Definitions, of Chapter 27, Zoning, as amended, shall install, and maintain in good order and repair, a trash receptacle outside of its storefront for use by its customers and the general public consistent herewith:
A. 
The receptacle shall be made of durable exterior-grade metal with a black powder-coated or painted finish.
B. 
The receptacle's capacity may range from between 20 to 32 gallons.
C. 
The receptable shall be lined with appropriately sized heavy or multiple-ply polyethylene or ethylene copolymer resin refuse bags which are designed for outdoor storage of refuse.
D. 
The receptacle shall be securely mounted on the public sidewalk provided a minimum three-foot pedestrian route is not obstructed. If the property is without any viable public sidewalk location for the location of the receptacle based on this restriction, however, then it may be placed at alternate location on the property satisfactory to the Director of Licensing and Inspections.
E. 
It shall be the duty of every owner of the property in which a neighborhood convenience store operates and the owner of the business, if different, to empty the receptacle whenever it is full but, at minimum, the contents of the receptacle must be emptied on a daily basis.
[Ord. 2071, 12/29/2009]
1. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to bury, burn, dump, collect, remove, or in any other manner dispose of municipal waste upon any street, alley, public place or private property within the Borough of Pottstown other than as provided in this Part. Wastepaper, boxes, rubbish and debris, brush, grass, leaves, weeds and cuttings from trees, lawns, shrubs and gardens may be burned on private property in furnaces or, upon special permit from the Fire Chief of the Borough, they may not be burned in outside fireplaces, private incinerators or in open fires.
2. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to bury, burn or dump municipal waste, yard materials or leaf waste upon any street, alley or public place or to collect or remove the same over any public right-of-way of the Borough of Pottstown, except as to collectors who shall be duly authorized and licensed by the Borough.
3. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to remove, transfer and/or dispose of municipal waste generated at establishments exempt from municipal waste collection to establishments and residences that are permitted to participate in the municipal collection system.
[Ord. 2071, 12/29/2009]
Except as otherwise approved by the Borough Manager, the collection, removal and disposal of all municipal waste shall be at least twice each week. Schedules may be demanded by the Borough Manager to be posted at Borough Hall. All dumps shall be approved by the proper authorities.
[Ord. 2071, 12/29/2009]
All collectors of municipal waste, while within the territorial limits of the Borough, shall provide a securely covered vehicle, so constructed that the contents will not leak, spill or be blown therefrom, in which all municipal waste of any kind whatsoever by him shall be conveyed to the place designated. The said vehicle or conveyance used shall be kept clean and as free from offensive odors as possible, and shall not be allowed to stand in any street, alley or public place longer than is reasonably necessary to collect the garbage or other material. The vehicle or conveyance shall bear on each side in letters at least three inches high the name of the collector of refuse or contractor, and a separate serial number for each such vehicle or conveyance.
[Ord. 2071, 12/29/2009]
The Borough Manager is hereby authorized and empowered in the name of the Borough to provide for the collection and removal of all municipal waste, yard materials and leaf waste, as more fully set forth in this Chapter, by either the contract system or municipal collection, if so ordered by action of the Borough Council and in strict accordance therewith.
[Ord. 2071, 12/29/2009]
In the event that the Borough Manager employs the contract system under which the charges therefor are paid by the producers or parties using the system, then the Borough Manager be and he is hereby authorized and directed to call for bids for such collection and disposal on plans and specifications to be prepared and submitted by the Borough Manager. The call shall be made in like manner as provided for other contractual obligations, except that the bid bond or certified check in favor of the Borough shall be in the sum of $250. Said Borough Manager shall then enter into a contract with the lowest responsible bidder for the entire Borough, or with the lowest responsible bidder, if on a zone or area basis, for a period not exceeding five years, reserving unto the Borough the right, by ordinance, to designate and set up a specific Board of Public Works as its agency for the management and supervision of such contract. The successful bidder, before entering upon the work, and annually thereafter, shall execute and file with the Borough Manager a bond, approved as to form by the Borough Solicitor and as to surety by the Borough Council, as prescribed by the contract documents and conditioned that the contractor will faithfully perform the contract, abide by all rules and regulations for collection, and pay all laborers, mechanics, and materialmen, and all persons who shall supply said contractor with materials, equipment and supplies for the carrying on of the work; conditioned further, that the contractor will indemnify and save the Borough free and harmless from all and any laws, damages, claims, suits, judgments, and recoveries of every kind and description, which may accrue to, or be suffered by any person by reason of, or arising out of, the performance of the contract, and that the contractor will appeal and defend any action or suit instituted against the Borough arising out of the contract. It is expressly understood that the Borough assumes no further liability than the execution of the contract and specifically with no liability for the collection of any charge or charges, fees, or claims for such services as may be rendered by the contractor to parties using this system.
[Ord. 2071, 12/29/2009]
In the event that the Borough Manager shall deem it advisable to institute municipal collection either by contract to be paid for out of general funds, or by specific levy of taxes for that purpose, he shall then make a recommendation to that effect to the Borough Council at least 60 days prior to the end of any fiscal year, and upon the proper resolution authorizing said municipal collection whether the same be by contract or by the Borough itself, and upon provision of the funds for the proper operation thereof, then the said Borough Manager shall immediately advertise for bids as authorized in § 218 of this Part, if the Borough Council shall designate that method, or if the Borough Council shall designate collection by the Borough itself, then the Borough Manager shall be charged with the responsibility for the collection and removal of the rubbish, garbage, ashes, and waste from premises in the Borough of Pottstown, and shall have full authority to appoint a superintendent to supervise the same. Further, he shall be authorized to purchase by bids such equipment and materials as may be necessary for the efficient operation of the system, and may employ men in the number sufficient to operate the same economically and efficiently.
[Ord. 2071, 12/29/2009]
1. 
In the event of any breakdown in or suspension of collections or collecting service in any part of the Borough under any system or manner of collection now or at any time hereafter prevailing, whether public or private, the Mayor is hereby authorized and directed to declare the existence of an emergency because of the resulting menace to health and sanitation, and thereunder the Mayor and Borough Manager are hereby expressly authorized and directed to institute, implement and effect the collection, removal and disposal of garbage, refuse and dead animals by any manner or means reasonably possible until collecting and disposal service may be restored under the terms and in accordance with the provisions of this Part.
2. 
Special Collection. The Borough may, from time to time, and as the Borough Manager so designate, collect items of bulk waste. Bulk waste shall be collected in accordance with the existing municipal waste collection contract in effect at the time. The fee for collection and disposal of said bulk waste items shall be an amount as established from time to time by resolution of Borough Council.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See the Fee Schedule at the front of this volume.