[Adopted 8-2-2012 by Ord. No. 543]
This article will be known and may be cited as the "Kenhorst
Borough Waste Reduction and Recycling Ordinance."
This article is enacted pursuant to the Solid Waste Management
Act, P.L. 380, No. 97, July 7, 1980, and the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste
Reduction Act, Act. No. 101, July 28, 1988.
It is the purpose of this article to:
A. Require waste reduction and recycling as a means of managing municipal
waste, conserving resources and supplying energy.
B. Protect the public health, safety and welfare from the short- and
long-term dangers of collection, transportation, processing and storage
of municipal waste.
C. Utilize, wherever feasible, the capabilities of private enterprise
in accomplishing the desired objectives of an effective, comprehensive
solid waste management program.
D. Establish and implement within the Borough of Kenhorst a recycling
program to return valuable materials to productive use, to conserve
energy and to protect capacity at municipal waste processing or disposal
facilities.
E. Recycle at least 25% of all municipal waste and source-separated
recyclable materials generated in the Borough of Kenhorst on and after
January 1, 1997.
F. The weight or volume of municipal waste generated per capita in the
Borough of Kenhorst on January 1, 1997, should to the greatest extent
practicable, be less than the weight or volume of municipal waste
generated per capita on the effective date of this article.
G. Each person living or working in the Borough of Kenhorst shall be
taught the economic, environmental and energy value of recycling and
waste reduction, and shall be encouraged through a variety of means
to participate in such activities.
H. The Borough of Kenhorst shall, to the greatest extent practicable,
procure and use products and materials with recycled content, and
procure and use materials that are recyclable.
The following words and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise:
ABATEMENT
The restoration, reclamation, recovery, etc., of a natural
resource adversely affected by the activity of a person.
AVERAGE DAILY VOLUME
The mean daily volume received at a facility taking into
account weather, seasonal variations, scheduled community cleanup
days and other factors.
COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT
An establishment engaged in nonmanufacturing or nonprocessing
business, including, but not limited to, stores, markets, office buildings,
restaurants, shopping centers and theaters.
COMMONWEALTH AGENCY
The commonwealth and its departments, boards, commissions
and agencies, commonwealth-owned universities, and the State Public
School Building Authority, the State Highway and Bridge Authority,
and any other authority now in existence or hereafter created or organized
by the commonwealth.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Events sponsored in whole or in part by a municipality, or
conducted within a municipality and sponsored privately, which include,
but are not limited to, fairs, bazaars, socials, picnics and organized
sporting events that will be attended by 200 or more individuals per
day.
DEGRADABLE PLASTIC BEVERAGE CARRIER
Plastic beverage carriers that degrade by biological processes,
photodegradation, chemodegradation or degradation by other natural
processes. The degradation process does not produce or result in a
residue or by-product considered to be hazardous waste.
DEPARTMENT
The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
and its authorized representatives.
DISPOSAL
The deposition, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking or
placing of solid waste into or on the land or water in a manner that
the solid waste or a constituent of the solid waste enters the environment,
is emitted into the air or is discharged to the waters of this commonwealth.
FEASIBILITY STUDY
A study which analyzes a specific municipal waste processing
or disposal system to assess the likelihood that the system can be
successfully implemented, including, but not limited to, an analysis
of the prospective market, the projected costs and revenues of the
system, the municipal waste-stream that the system will rely upon
and various options available to implement the system.
HOST MUNICIPALITY
The municipality other than the county within which a municipal
waste landfill or resource recovery facility is located or is proposed
to be located.
INSTITUTIONAL ESTABLISHMENT
An establishment engaged in service, including, but not limited
to, hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, schools and universities.
LEAF WASTE
Leaves, garden residues, shrubbery and tree trimmings, and
similar material, and may include grass clippings per Solid Waste
Management Act requirements.
LOCAL PUBLIC AGENCY
A.
Counties, cities, boroughs, towns, townships, school districts,
and any other authority now in existence or hereafter created or organized
by the commonwealth.
B.
All municipal or school or other authorities now in existence
or hereafter created or organized by any county, city, borough, township
or school district or any combination thereof.
C.
Any and all other public bodies, authorities, councils of government,
officers, agencies or instrumentalities of the foregoing, whether
exercising a governmental or proprietary function.
MANAGEMENT
The entire process, or any part thereof, of storage, collection,
transportation, processing, treatment and disposal of solid wastes
by any person engaging in such process.
MUNICIPAL
Of, or pertaining to, any office or other property under
the control of any branch or arm of the Federal Government of the
United States of America, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any
political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania including,
but not limited to, Kenhorst Borough, any counties, cities, boroughs,
townships and municipal authorities.
MUNICIPAL ESTABLISHMENTS
Public facilities operated by Kenhorst Borough and other
governmental and quasi-governmental authorities.
MUNICIPAL RECYCLING PROGRAM
A source-separation and collection program for recycling
Borough waste or source-separated recyclable materials, or a program
for designated dropoff points or collection centers for recycling
Borough waste or source-separated recyclable materials, that is operated
by or on behalf of the Borough of Kenhorst. The term includes any
source-separation and collection program for composting yard waste
that is operated by or on behalf of the Borough of Kenhorst. The term
shall not include any program for recycling construction/demolition
waste or sludge from sewage treatment plants or water supply treatment
plants.
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste
and other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous material, resulting from operation of residential, municipal,
commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities
and any sludge not meeting the definition of residual or hazardous
waste in the Solid Waste Management Act from a municipal, commercial or institutional water supply
treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant or air pollution control
facility. The term does not include source-separated recyclable materials.
MUNICIPAL WASTE LANDFILL
Any facility that is designated, operated or maintained for
the disposal of municipal waste, whether or not such facility possesses
a permit from the department under the Solid Waste Management Act. The term does not include any facility that is used exclusively
for disposal of construction/demolition waste or sludge from sewage
treatment plants or water supply treatment plants.
MUNICIPALITY
The Borough of Kenhorst, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
OPERATOR
A person engaged in solid waste processing or disposal. Where
more than one person is so engaged in a single operation, all persons
shall be deemed jointly and severally responsible for compliance with
the provisions of this article.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution
or cooperative enterprise. 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 BEVERAGE CARRIER
Plastic rings or similar plastic connectors used as holding
devices in the packaging of beverages, including, but not limited
to, all carbonated beverages, liquors, wines, fruit juices, mineral
waters, soda and beer.
POLLUTION
Contamination of any air, water, land or other natural resources
of the Borough of Kenhorst that will create or is likely to create
a public nuisance or to render the air, water, land or other natural
resources harmful, detrimental or injurious to public health, safety
or welfare or to domestic, municipal, commercial, industrial, agricultural,
recreational, or other legitimate beneficial uses or to livestock,
wild animals, birds, fish or other life.
POST-CONSUMER MATERIAL
Any product generated by a business or consumer which has
served its intended end use, and which has been separated or diverted
from solid waste for the purposes of collection, recycling, and disposition.
The term includes industrial by-products that would otherwise go to
disposal or processing facilities. The term does not include internally
generated scrap that is commonly returned to industrial or manufacturing
processes.
PROCESSING
Any technology used for the purpose of reducing the volume
or bulk of municipal waste or any technology used to convert part
or all of such waste materials for off-site reuse. Processing facilities
include, but are not limited to, transfer facilities, composting facilities
and resource recovery facilities.
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
Those activities required to be conducted prior to constructing
a processing or disposal facility that has been shown to be feasible,
including, but not limited to, public input and participation, siting,
procurement and vendor contract negotiations, and market and municipal
waste supply assurance negotiations.
RECYCLED CONTENT
Goods, supplies, equipment, materials and printed items containing
post-consumer materials.
RECYCLING
The collection, separation, recovery and sale or reuse of
metals, glass, paper, leaf waste, 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 a fuel for the operation of energy.
RECYCLING FACILITY
A facility employing a technology that is a process that
separates or classifies municipal waste and creates or recovers reusable
materials that can be sold to or reused by a manufacturer as a substitute
for or a supplement to virgin raw materials. The term "recycling facility"
shall not mean transfer stations or landfills for solid waste nor
composting facilities or resource recovery facilities.
RESIDUAL WASTE
Any garbage, refuse, other discarded material or other waste,
including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials
resulting from industrial, mining and agricultural operations and
any sludge from an industrial, mining or agricultural water supply
treatment facility, wastewater treatment facility or air pollution
control facility, provided that it is not hazardous. The term shall
not include coal refuse as defined in the Act of September 24, 1968
(P.L. 1040, No. 318), known as the "Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act." The term shall not include treatment sludges from coal
mine drainage treatment plants, disposal of which is being carried
on pursuant to and in compliance with a valid permit issued pursuant
to the Act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known as the "Clean
Streams Law."
RESOURCE RECOVERY FACILITY
A processing facility that provides for the extraction and
utilization of materials or energy from municipal waste that is generated
off site, including, but not limited to, a facility that mechanically
extracts materials from municipal waste, a combustion facility that
converts the organic fraction of municipal waste to usable energy,
and any chemical and biological process that converts municipal waste
into a fuel product. The term also includes any facility for the combustion
of municipal waste that is generated off site, whether or not the
facility is operated to recover energy. The term does not include:
B.
Methane gas extraction from a municipal waste landfill.
C.
Any separation and collection center, dropoff point or collection
center for recycling, or any source separation or collection center
for composting leaf waste.
D.
Any facility, including all units in the facility, with a total
processing capacity of less than 50 tons per day.
SOLID WASTE
Any waste, including but not limited to municipal, residual
or hazardous wastes, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous materials. The term does not include coal ash or drill cuttings.
STORAGE
The containment of any municipal waste on a temporary basis
in such a manner as not to constitute disposal of such waste. It shall
be presumed that the containment of any municipal waste in excess
of one year constitutes disposal. This presumption can be overcome
by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
TRANSPORTATION
The off-site removal of any municipal waste at any time after
generation.
TREATMENT
Any method, technique or process, including, but not limited
to, neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological
character or composition of any municipal waste so as to neutralize
such waste or so as to render such waste safer for transport, suitable
for recovery, suitable for storage or reduced in volume.
WASTE REDUCTION
Design, manufacture or use of a product to minimize weight
of municipal waste that requires processing or disposal, including,
but not limited to:
A.
Design or manufacturing activities which minimize the weight
or volume of materials contained in a product, or increase durability
or recyclability; and
B.
Use of products that contain as little material as possible,
are capable of being reused or recycled or have an extended useful
life.
The Borough Council hereby requires that all municipal waste
generated within its jurisdiction shall be disposed of or processed
at a designated permitted facility as outlined in the Berks County
Solid Waste Management Plan. Such facility shall retain this designation
until Berks County adopts a waste flow control ordinance as part of
a plan submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant
to Section 501(a), (b) or (c) of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling
and Waste Reduction Act. Upon approval of a municipal waste management plan for
Berks County by the Department, the site for the disposal or processing
of the Borough of Kenhorst waste shall, thereafter, be designated
thereby.
The Borough of Kenhorst hereby establishes and implements a
source separation and collection program for recyclable materials
in accordance with Section 1501 of the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling
and Waste Reduction Act. The source separation and collection program shall include
the following regulations:
A. Persons are hereby required to separate plastic, glass, cans and
paper materials, deemed appropriate hereafter, from other municipal
waste generated at their homes, apartments and other residential establishments
and to store such material until collection. The plastic, glass, cans
and paper materials shall be designated periodically from the following:
clear glass, colored glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade
office paper, newsprint, corrugated paper and plastics. Nothing in
this article shall be deemed to impair the ownership of separated
materials by the person who generated them unless and until such materials
are placed at curbside or similar location for collection by the contractor.
B. Persons are hereby required to separate leaf waste from other municipal
waste generated at their homes, apartments and other residential establishments
until collection unless those persons have otherwise provided for
the composting of leaf waste. The Borough Council of the Borough of
Kenhorst shall allow an owner, landlord or agent of an owner or landlord
of multifamily rental housing properties with four or more units to
comply with its responsibilities under this section by establishing
a collection system for recyclable materials at each property. The
collection system must include suitable containers for collection
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 article shall not be liable for the
noncompliance of occupants of their buildings.
C. Persons are hereby required to separate high-grade office paper,
aluminum, corrugated paper and leaf waste and other material deemed
appropriate generated at commercial, municipal or institutional establishments
and from community activities and to store the material until collection.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Kenhorst shall exempt persons
occupying commercial, institutional and municipal establishments within
its municipal boundaries from the requirements of this article if
those persons have otherwise provided for the recycling of materials
they are required by this article to recycle. To be eligible for an
exemption under this subsection, a commercial or institutional solid
waste generator must, annually, by not later than January 31, provide
written documentation to the Borough of Kenhorst of the total number
of tons recycled.
D. At least twice per month, the designated separated materials are
hereby required to be placed at the curbside or a similar location
in plastic containers for collection by the contractor and a collection
charge shall be billed to each dwelling unit within the Borough of
Kenhorst according to procedures established pursuant to a resolution
of the Borough Council in order to recover that portion of the cost
of collection which cannot be recovered through the sale of the recycled
materials.
E. The contractor shall collect recyclable materials from the curbside
or similar locations designated by resolution at least twice per month
from each residence or other person generating municipal waste in
the Borough of Kenhorst.
F. The Borough of Kenhorst may solicit bids and award contracts for
the sale of collected materials for recycling giving preferential
consideration, for the collection, marketing and disposition of recyclable
and yard waste materials, to persons engaged in the business of recycling
on the effective date of this article, whether or not the persons
were operating for profit.
The Borough of Kenhorst shall establish a comprehensive and
sustained public information and education program concerning recycling
program features and requirements. As a part of this program, the
Borough Secretary shall, at least 30 days prior to the initiation
of the recycling program and at least once every six months thereafter,
notify all persons occupying residential, commercial, institutional
and municipal premises within its boundaries of the requirements of
this article. The Borough Secretary shall, as he or she deems necessary
and appropriate, place an advertisement in a newspaper circulating
in the Borough of Kenhorst, post a notice in public places where public
notices are customarily posted, including a notice with other official
notifications periodically mailed to residential taxpayers or utilize
any combination of the foregoing.
An operator of a landfill or resource recovery facility may
contract with the Borough of Kenhorst to provide recycling services
in lieu of the curbside recycling program as determined from time
to time by resolution of the Borough Council. The contract must ensure
that at least 25% of the waste received is recycled, provided that
the economic and environmental impact of the proposed technology used
for the recycling receives prior approval from the Department of Environmental
Protection.
On or before February 15 of each year, the Borough Secretary
shall submit a report to Berks County which shall describe the weight
or volume of materials that were recycled by the municipal recycling
program in the preceding calendar year.
Any person or persons violating any of the provisions of this article shall be punishable as provided in Chapter
1, Article
I, Enforcement; General Penalty, of this Code.