[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Dalton as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 12-27-2001 by Ord. No. 6-2001]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ASHES
Coal ashes, coke ashes, wood ashes and other residue resulting from the burning of other fuels used for heating and cooking purposes.
BOROUGH
The Borough of Dalton, County of Lackawanna, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
BOROUGH COLLECTOR
That individual, partnership, firm, corporation or business entity designated by the Borough to collect and dispose of Borough municipal refuse.
COMBUSTIBLE RUBBISH
Paper, rags, excelsior, straw, boxes, mattresses, old shoes, leather scrap, rubber scrap, carpets, oilcloth, Christmas trees, pruning from vines, trees, shrubbery, etc., and other flammable waste materials other than those described under the terms "garbage" and "noncombustible rubbish."
COMMERCIAL/NONRESIDENTIAL ENTERPRISES,
A class of premises not used as dwelling units, including but not limited to restaurants, bars/saloons, eating establishments, grocery stores, and offices.
DEAD ANIMALS
All dead animals and parts thereof not intended to be used as food for human beings.
EQUIVALENT DWELLING UNIT
A dwelling unit in a house or row of houses. A dwelling unit being defined as a building thereof with exclusive culinary and/or sanitary facilities designed for occupancy and use by one-person or one-family household.
GARBAGE
Any offal or refuse of fish, fruit, vegetables, animal matter or any other organic substance subject to fermentation or decay, including matters liquid or solid, house and store sweepings, and tin cans which contain animal or vegetable matter.
NONCOMBUSTIBLE RUBBISH
Glass, tinware, wire, crockery, metal, waste materials and other nonflammable refuse.
REFUSE
"Garbage" and "ashes," as herein defined.
SOLID WASTE
Any waste, including but not limited to that from municipal, residential or hazardous units, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials.
WASTE DISPOSAL AND COLLECTION
The process of collecting refuse and garbage within the Borough of Dalton, including, but not by way of limitation, landfill tipping costs, employees' salaries, employees' benefits and other costs incidental thereto.
All garbage, rubbish, dead animals and ashes as herein defined shall be gathered and removed by Dalton Borough, either directly by Borough employees or through such contractor or contractors as the Borough may designate under the rules and regulations as provided herein, and the costs and expenses of the collection and removal of the garbage, rubbish, dead animals and ashes shall be paid by those from whose premises said garbage, rubbish, dead animals and ashes are removed or by the person responsible for the existence of such garbage, rubbish, dead animals or ashes as provided by the schedule of fees hereinafter set forth.
A. 
All Borough residential refuse generated within the Borough shall be collected, conveyed and disposed of by the Borough of Dalton, either directly by Borough employees or by such contractor or contractors as the Borough may employ for purposes of collection and removal of refuse.
[Amended 4-10-2003 by Ord. No. 6-2003; 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2-2006; 2-12-2009 by Ord. No. 1-2009]
B. 
The collection and disposal of refuse in the Borough shall be under the supervision of Dalton Borough Council, the Public Works Committee. Borough Council shall have the authority to make regulations concerning the days of collection, type and location of waste containers and such other matters pertaining to the collection and disposal as may be deemed advisable and to change and modify the same after notice as required by law.
C. 
Ownership of refuse materials set out for collection shall be vested in the Borough.
D. 
It shall be unlawful for any person, other than such persons as are duly authorized by the Borough, to collect and haul refuse within or from the Borough so as to avoid payment of the refuse collection charges provided for herein.
[Amended 4-10-2003 by Ord. No. 6-2003; 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2-2006; 2-12-2009 by Ord. No. 1-2009]
A. 
Each property owner will be responsible for the payment of each equivalent dwelling unit (EDU) owned by them. The fee set herein may be paid by the owner, tenant, lessee or occupant of a particular dwelling but shall be the ultimate responsibility of the property owner.
B. 
The fee for each EDU will be $388 for residential refuse/garbage service provided for calendar year 2021.
[Last amended 1-2-2018 by Ord. No. 2-2018; 2-13-2020 by Ord. No. 2-2020; 1-14-2021 by Ord. No. 2-2021]
C. 
All fees affixed by this section shall be payable annually.
D. 
The fee will be collected by the Tax Collector of the Borough of Dalton.
E. 
All fees shall be considered delinquent if not paid on or before July 1. A delinquent charge of 12% will be added to the unpaid balance.
F. 
All fees shall be deposited in a Borough account to be established by Borough Council. This account will be used to reimburse the general Borough operating budget for costs incurred directly for refuse removal.
G. 
The Borough and/or its contractor may discontinue all refuse collection service to all delinquent accounts. Upon stoppage of service, service will be resumed only on payment of all accumulated fees during the delinquent period, as well as all penalties assessed against the account.
H. 
Any garbage fees not paid by September 30 will be the subject of a municipal lien to be filed on behalf of Dalton Borough on or after September 30. All fees and costs associated with the recordation, collection regarding the municipal lien and satisfaction of the lien shall be assessed against the property owner responsible for payment of the garbage fee.
I. 
The fee charged by Dalton Borough for any returned checks is $25.
[Amended 3-11-2010 by Ord. No. 1-2010;2-10-2011 by Ord. No. 2-2011; 1-10-2013 by Ord. No. 2-2013; 2-19-2014 by Ord. No. 2-2014; by Ord. No. 3-2015; 6-9-2016 by Ord. No. 5-2016; 1-12-2017 by Ord. No. 2-2017; 1-2-2018 by Ord. No. 2-2018; 2-13-2020 by Ord. No. 2-2020; 1-14-2021 by Ord. No. 2-2021]
J. 
All costs related to the collection of delinquent accounts, including court costs, sheriff's fees, constable fees, postage and attorneys' fees, will be calculated at the rate of $250 per hour.
[Added 1-10-2013 by Ord. No. 2-2013; amended 2-19-2014 by Ord. No. 2-2014; by Ord. No. 3-2015; 6-9-2016 by Ord. No. 5-2016; 1-12-2017 by Ord. No. 2-2017; 1-2-2018 by Ord. No. 2-2018; 2-13-2020 by Ord. No. 2-2020; 1-14-2021 by Ord. No. 2-2021]
A. 
Any dwelling unit which is totally unoccupied and which generates no refuse for an entire quarter shall be exonerated from the charges as herein provided. Such exoneration shall be granted only after:
(1) 
The owner(s) has filed an affidavit with the Borough certifying to such vacancy;
(2) 
The Borough approves this affidavit.
B. 
For purposes of this section, a "quarter" shall be defined as three consecutive months.
C. 
An exoneration given for one quarter reduces the yearly fee paid by 25%. The owner of an unoccupied EDU must request and receive exonerations during each three consecutive months in order to pay no waste disposal collection fee in any given year.
D. 
The Borough Council shall, from time to time, adopt and promulgate rules and regulations setting forth the terms, conditions and administrative procedures for levying and collecting of the waste disposal collection fee.
[Amended 11-9-2017 by Ord. No. 4-2017]
A. 
Any person, whether as principal, agent or employee, violating or assisting in violation of any provision of this article or any regulation made by Borough Council under the provisions hereof shall, upon conviction thereof, before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $1,000 and, in default of payment of such fine and costs of prosecution, shall be imprisoned in the County Jail for a period of not more than 30 days.
B. 
Giving false information to Borough officials in order to avoid or reduce payment of the within fees shall constitute a separate offense, which, upon conviction thereof before a Magisterial District Judge, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $1,000 and, in default of payment of such fine and costs of prosecution, shall be imprisoned in the County Jail for a period of not more than 30 days.
No person, firm, association or corporation except Dalton Borough or its designated subcontractor shall be permitted to carry, convey or transport through the streets, alleys or public places of Dalton Borough any solid waste hereafter without being subject to the penalties as herein contained.
The Borough of Dalton is hereby authorized to make and promulgate any additional rules and regulations for the collection, removal and disposal of solid waste not in conflict with this article, and violations of the same shall be subject to the same penalties as provided in this article.
[Amended 4-10-2003 by Ord. No. 6-2003; 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 2-2006; 2-12-2009 by Ord. No. 1-2009]
No person shall obstruct, delay or interfere with the garbage collectors while in the performance of their duties or enter into any controversies with the collectors, nor shall any person violate any of the provisions of this article with regard to the disposal of garbage, rubbish and ashes, or the containers for the same, or violate any of the provisions with respect to the collection and removal of garbage, rubbish and ashes. Transportation of refuse into the Borough is prohibited.
This article is enacted by the Borough of Dalton under the authority of the Act of Legislature, February 1, (1966) 1965, P.L. 1656, No. 581, known as the Borough Code, § 1005, as recodified and amended (see now 8 Pa.C.S.A. § 1005), and any other applicable law arising under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Adopted 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 7-2007]
The short title of this article shall be the "Borough of Dalton Recycling Ordinance," and the same may be cited in that manner.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ALUMINUM
Products made from aluminum including empty all-aluminum beverage and food containers, window screen frames, siding and lawn chairs.
BIMETALLIC CANS
Empty food and beverage containers consisting of ferrous sides and bottoms and an aluminum top.
COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS
Those properties used primarily for commercial or industrial purposes.
CORRUGATED CARDBOARD
That material consisting of two or more pieces of kraft liner separated by corrugated (fluted) liner board. Excluded are materials without a corrugated interliner, paperboard, and those materials with a corrugated liner made from rice or other non-wood-based materials.
CURBSIDE COLLECTION
The collection by the municipality or its authorized agent(s) of recyclable materials placed at the curbside or other designated location.
FERROUS CANS
Empty steel or tin food or beverage containers.
GLASS CONTAINERS
Bottles and jars made of clear, green or brown glass. Expressly excluded is noncontainer glass, plate glass, blue glass and porcelain or ceramic products.
HIGH-GRADE OFFICE PAPER
That paper collected from commercial, institutional and municipal establishments that was discarded from xerographic copiers, from nonthermal computer printers, from general-office-use forms, memos and correspondence, and from print shops and other commercial printing processes. Material sorting and classification grades will be specified in the regulations specific to this article. Expressly excluded are papers with self-carbons, carbon paper, envelopes, and all other grades of papers not meeting specifications in the regulations.
INSTITUTIONAL ESTABLISHMENT
Those facilities that house or serve groups of people, e.g., hospitals, schools, nursing homes.
LEAF WASTE
Leaves, garden residues, shrubbery, tree trimmings, and similar material, but not including grass clippings.
MAGAZINES AND PERIODICALS
Printed matter containing miscellaneous written pieces published at fixed or varying intervals. Expressly excluded, however, are all other paper products of any nature whatsoever.
NEWSPAPERS
Paper of the type commonly referred to as newsprint and distributed at mixed intervals, having printed thereon news and opinions, containing advertisements and other matters of public interest. Expressly excluded, however, are newspapers which have been soiled.
PERSON(S)
Owners, lessees and occupants of residences or commercial or institutional establishments.
PLASTIC CONTAINERS
Empty plastic food and beverage containers. Due to the large variety of types of plastics, the recycling regulations shall stipulate the specific types of plastic which may be recycled.
PRIVATE WASTE COLLECTORS
Persons engaged in the business of collecting and disposing of municipal waste from residences, businesses, institutions and community activities within the Borough of Dalton.
RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
Those materials specified by the Borough of Dalton to be recycled. The list of materials shall be specified in the recycling regulations resulting from this article and may be revised from time to time as deemed necessary by the Borough.
RECYCLING PLAN
The plan, prepared by persons receiving waste services from private waste collectors, that describes the recycling system to be employed to meet the requirements of the Borough's recycling regulations.
RESIDENCE
Any occupied single-family or multifamily dwelling from which a municipal or private waste hauler collects solid waste.
SOLID WASTE
All refuse (garbage and rubbish) and other discarded solid material normally collected by a municipal or private hauler.[1]
YARD WASTE
Prunings, grass clippings, weeds, leaves and garden waste.
[1]
Editor's Note: The definition of "waste collection license," which immediately followed this definition, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
There is hereby established by the Borough of Dalton, hereinafter referred to as "the municipality," a program that mandates that recyclable materials shall be kept separate from solid waste by all persons within the municipality. The Borough is hereby authorized to prepare and issue regulations for implementation of the program.
There is hereby established the requirement that a source separation and recycling plan be submitted annually by each person not receiving municipal waste collection service provided by the Borough of Dalton. The plan shall be completed on forms provided by the Borough of Dalton. Persons shall seek the assistance of their private waste collector in preparing the recycling plan.
Recyclable materials shall be kept separate from waste and placed at the curb in areas designated by the municipality or identified in recycling plans for collection at such times and dates as may be hereinafter established by regulations.
It shall be a violation of this article for any person(s) unauthorized by the Borough to collect or pick up or cause to be collected or picked up any such recyclable material. Each such collection in violation hereof shall constitute a separate and distinct offense punishable as hereinafter provided.
The Borough is authorized and directed to enforce this article. The same is hereby authorized and directed to establish and promulgate reasonable regulations as to the manner, days and times for the collection of recyclable materials in accordance with the terms hereof and any other matters required to implement this article. The Borough may change, modify, repeal or amend any portion of said rules and regulations at any time.
A. 
Any action by any person, firm, corporation or other entity which violates or does not comply with any provision of this article or any regulation thereof shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $600, plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
The Borough of Dalton reserves the right not to collect municipal waste containing recyclables.
The Borough may enter into agreements with public or private agencies or firms to authorize them to collect all or part of the recyclable materials from curbside or elsewhere as designated by the municipality.
This article is enacted by the Borough of Dalton under the authority of the Act of Legislature, February 1, (1966) 1965, P.L. 1656, No. 581, known as the Borough Code, § 1005, as recodified and amended (see now 8 Pa.C.S.A. § 1005), and any other applicable law arising under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.