Any person who engages in unlawful conduct as defined in this
article shall, upon conviction before a District Justice, be subject
to a penalty of not less than $200 nor more than $500, plus costs
of prosecution, and, in default of payment of such fine and costs,
to imprisonment not to exceed 30 days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Each day that a violation continues may be regarded as a separate
offense and punishable as such.
The terms and provisions of this article are to be liberally
construed, so as best to achieve and to effectuate the goals and purposes
hereof. This article shall be construed in pari materia with Act 97
and Act 101.
This article shall become effective immediately, except that §
185-3 of this article shall become effective upon the date of the county's issuance of a notice that the county system has become operational.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Municipal
Waste Collection and Recycling Ordinance."
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Events that are sponsored by public or private agencies or
individuals, including but not limited to fairs, bazaars, socials,
picnics and organized sporting events attended by 200 or more individuals
per day.
INSTITUTIONAL ESTABLISHMENT
Those facilities that house or serve groups of people, including
but not limited to hospitals, schools, day-care centers and nursing
homes.
LEAF WASTE
Leaves, garden residues, shrubbery and tree trimmings, and
similar material, but not including grass clippings.
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste
and other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous materials, resulting from operation of residential, municipal,
commercial, or institutional establishments and from community activities,
and any sludge not meeting the definition of residual waste or hazardous
waste in Act 97 and Act 101 from a municipal, commercial or institutional water supply
treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant or air pollution control
facility but excluding source-separated recyclables.
MUNICIPAL WASTE COLLECTOR
Any collector registered pursuant to this article and the
regulations established by resolution adopted hereunder and pursuant
to any intermunicipal agreement subsequently executed by Horsham Township
with Montgomery County or other municipalities.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association,
institution, cooperative enterprise, trust, municipal authority, federal
institution or agency, state institution or agency, municipality,
other governmental agency or any other legal entity or any group of
such persons whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject
of rights and duties. In any provision of this article prescribing
a fine, penalty or imprisonment, or any combination of the foregoing,
the term "person" shall mean the officers and directors of any corporation
or other legal entity having officers and directors.
RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
Those materials required to be recycled pursuant to this
chapter or the provisions of regulations established by resolution
adopted hereunder, as revised from time to time.
RESIDENT
Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association,
institution, cooperative enterprise, trust, municipal authority, federal
institution or agency, state institution or agency, municipality,
other governmental agency or any other legal entity or any group of
such persons whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject
of rights and duties, which owns, leases or occupies a property located
in Horsham Township used as a residence and containing four or less
dwelling units.
SOURCE-SEPARATED RECYCLABLES
Materials that are separated from municipal waste at the
point of origin for the purpose of recycling or composting.
The following provisions apply to the separation and collection
of materials from commercial, institutional and municipal establishments,
multifamily housing and sponsors or organizers of community activities
throughout the Township:
A. Separation.
(1) Recyclable materials.
(a)
All owners and occupants of commercial, institutional or municipal
establishments shall separate the following recycling materials: corrugated
paper, office papers, newsprint, aluminum and leaf waste. Persons
in multifamily housing (which includes independent and assisted living
facilities) and sponsors or organizers of community activities in
Horsham Township shall separate the following recycling materials:
plastic, colored glass, clear glass, bi-metal and steel, corrugated
paper, office papers, newsprint, aluminum and leaf waste. Persons
owning and/or operating commercial, institutional, municipal establishments,
multifamily housing and sponsors or organizers of community activities
shall be responsible for providing a system to source separate recyclable
materials from the municipal waste generated at their property. This
system should be developed with the assistance of the municipal waste
collector.
(b)
Each person who owns a multifamily unit or nonresidential unit
shall:
[1]
Provide recycling containers at easily accessible locations
for source separation of designated recyclable materials;
[2]
Provide written instructions to all persons occupying each multifamily
unit and nonresidential unit to ensure that all designated recyclable
materials are source separated; and
[3]
Provide collection and delivery to a facility of source-separated
designated recyclable materials at a frequency of not less than once
per month.
(2) Leaf waste. All persons owning multifamily, commercial, institutional
or municipal establishments who gather leaves and are not served by
the Township's leaf collection program, if any, shall arrange
for the separation of leaf waste from municipal waste for recycling/composting
of leaf waste at a composting facility operating in accordance with
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Regulations and Guidelines
for Leaf Composting Facilities.
B. Collection. The method of collection of the recyclable materials
for disposition shall be the responsibility of the person who generates
the recyclables (i.e., generator) or a municipal waste collector designated
by the generator for the collection and marketing and recycling of
its recyclable material.
C. Recycling reports. Recycling reports for multifamily housing, commercial,
municipal, institutional properties and community activities:
(1) The landlord of every multifamily housing property and every commercial,
municipal and institutional establishment and community activity sponsor
shall complete a form to be designated "Recycling Report," to be provided
by the Township, which shall indicate where the property's recyclables
were delivered or picked up and by whom. Such report shall provide
information on the type and amount of each material recycled. The
recycling report and all weigh slips obtained from the facility or
facilities to which the recyclables are delivered or taken shall be
submitted quarterly to the Township. For purposes of submitting such
weigh slips and recycling reports quarterly to the Township, the private
hauler who removed the recyclables from the property may be the agent
for the landlord, operator of the establishment or sponsor of the
activity and shall be responsible for completing and submitting such
to the Township. Each such quarterly recycling report shall be submitted
on or before the last day of the first month of each quarter, for
the preceding quarter. Quarters shall run on a calendar-year basis
thus: January through March; April through June; July through September;
and October through December.
D. Prohibition. No person shall mix municipal waste in containers to
be used for the separation and collection of recyclables. No person
shall mix recyclable materials or leaf waste in containers used for
the separation and collection of municipal waste.
Every residence, commercial establishment and institutional establishment in Horsham Township shall contract with an individual, entity or firm which is a licensed hauler by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to have all the municipal waste and recyclables generated on the premises by any of the occupants of the premises removed and disposed of as per §§
185-4,
185-16, and
185-17 of this Code.
Additional regulations for the collection of municipal waste
and recyclable materials by municipal waste collectors, and the preparation
for collection of municipal waste and recyclable materials and vegetative
waste by property owners and residents of the Township, may be promulgated
by regulations to be adopted by the Council of Horsham Township to
carry out the intent and purpose of this article. Such rules and regulations
shall be approved by resolution of the Council of Horsham Township
and, when so approved, shall have the same force and effect as the
provisions of this article. The said rules and regulations may be
amended, modified or replaced by resolution of the Council of Horsham
Township.
Any person who violates any provision of this article or of
the regulations adopted hereunder, or any person who knowingly commits,
takes part in, or assists in any such violation shall, upon conviction
thereof in a summary proceeding, be sentenced to pay a fine of not
more than $1,000 and not less than $50. Each day on which a violation
of this article continues shall constitute a separate offense punishable
by a like fine or penalty. In addition to this penalty, the Township
may institute any appropriate action or proceeding, whether by legal
process or otherwise, to prevent any illegal act, conduct, business
or use on or about such premises subject to this article.