[Adopted 6-17-1991 by Ord. No. 523 (Ch. 20, Part 3, of the 1978 Code
of Ordinances)]
The short title of this article shall be the "Borough of Fox
Chapel Recycling Ordinance," and the same may be cited in that manner.
The following words and phrases as used throughout this article
shall have the following meanings:
The Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction
Act of 1988.[1]
Empty all-aluminum beverage or food cans.
Empty food or beverage containers consisting of steel and
aluminum.
The Borough of Fox Chapel.
The entity or entities authorized by the Borough to collect
recyclable materials from residences or authorized by municipal and
institutional establishments that do not receive collection services
from the Borough to collect recyclable materials from those properties.
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.
Structural paper material with an inner core shaped in rigid
parallel furrows and ridges.
Empty steel or tin coated food or beverage containers.
Bottles and jars made of clear, green or brown glass. Expressly
excluded are noncontainer glass, plate glass, automotive glass, light
bulbs, blue glass and porcelain and ceramic products.
All white paper, bond paper and computer paper used in institutional
and municipal establishments and in residences.
Those facilities that house or serve groups of people, including,
but not limited to, churches, including church-sponsored day-care
centers, clubs, nature reserves and schools.
Includes, but shall not be limited to, automotive, truck
and industrial batteries that contain lead.
Leaves from trees, bushes and other plants, garden residues,
chipped shrubbery and tree trimmings and other similar materials,
but does not include grass clippings.
Printed matter containing miscellaneous written pieces published
at fixed or varying intervals. Expressly excluded are all other paper
products of any nature whatsoever.
Public facilities operated by the Borough of Fox Chapel and
other governmental and quasi-governmental authorities operating in
the Borough.
Any garbage, refuse, institutional lunchroom or other material,
including solid, liquid, semisolid or gaseous material, resulting
from operation of residential, municipal or institutional establishments
and from community activities and any sludge not meeting the definitions
of residual or hazardous waste in the Solid Waste Management Act[2] from a municipal or institutional water supply treatment
plant, wastewater treatment plant or air pollution control facility.
The term does not include source-separated recyclable materials.
The Borough of Fox Chapel.
Paper of the type commonly referred to as newsprint and distributed
at fixed intervals, having printed thereon news and opinions, containing
advertisements and other matters of public interest. Expressly excluded
are color comics, glossy advertising inserts and advertising inserts
printed in colors other than black or white often included with newspapers
and newspapers which have been soiled.
Individuals and legal entities who are owners, lessees, officers,
directors, employees and occupants of residences and municipal and
institutional establishments located in the Borough of Fox Chapel.
Empty plastic food and beverage containers only. However,
due to the wide variety of types of plastics and recycling markets
therefor, the Borough may from time to time further stipulate specific
types of plastic which may be recycled.
Materials generated by residences and by municipal and institutional
establishments which are specified by the Borough and which can be
separated from municipal waste and returned to commerce to be reused
as a resource in the development of useful products. Recyclable materials
may include, but are not necessarily limited to, clear glass, colored
glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office paper,
newsprint, corrugated paper, leaf waste, plastics and any other items
selected by the Borough or specified in future revisions to Act 101.
The recyclable materials selected by the Borough may be revised from
time to time as deemed necessary by the Borough.
The collection, separation, recovery and sale or reuse of
recyclable materials which would otherwise be disposed of or processed
as municipal waste. Recycling also includes the mechanized separation
and treatment of municipal waste (other than through combustion) and
creation and recovery of reusable materials.
Any occupied dwelling for which the Borough provides municipal
waste collection services.
Those materials separated at the point of origin for the
purpose of being recycled.
A material whose original purpose has been completed and
which is directed to a disposal or processing facility or is otherwise
disposed. The term does not include source-separated recyclable materials
or material approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection for beneficial use.
A.Â
The Borough hereby establishes a recycling program for the mandatory
separation and collection of recyclable materials and for the separation,
collection and composting of leaf waste from all residences and all
municipal and institutional establishments located in the Borough
for which waste collection is provided by the Borough or by any other
collector. Collection of the recyclable materials shall be made at
least once per month by the Borough, its designated agent or any other
solid waste collectors operating in the Borough and authorized to
collect recyclable materials from residences or from municipal and
institutional establishments. The recycling program shall also contain
a sustained public information and education program.
B.Â
Specific recycling program regulations shall be established by the
Borough Manager. The Manager shall be empowered to make changes to
the recycling program regulations as necessary.
Disposal by persons of lead acid batteries with other municipal
wastes is prohibited and shall be a violation of this article.
A.Â
General. All persons must separate leaf waste from other municipal
waste generated at all residential, municipal or institutional establishments
for collection unless those persons have otherwise provided for composting
of leaf waste.
B.Â
Residential. All persons who are residents of the Borough and persons
in residences shall separate all of those recyclable materials designated
by the Borough from all other municipal waste produced at their residences
and shall store such materials for collection and shall place same
for collection, all in accordance with the program regulations established
hereunder.
C.Â
Municipal and institutional.
(1)Â
Persons must separate high-grade office paper, aluminum, corrugated
paper, leaf waste and such other materials as may be designated by
the Borough generated at all municipal and institutional establishments
and from community activities and store the recyclable materials until
collection.
(2)Â
Each municipal and institutional establishment shall submit, at a
minimum, an annual recycling report to the Borough Council of the Borough. The report shall document the
type and weight of materials recycled during the previous calendar
year. This requirement may be fulfilled by submission of a letter
or form from the collector that certifies recyclable materials are
being collected from the establishments, as long as the collector
reports aggregate amounts of each recyclable material collected from
the establishment.
(3)Â
All employees, users and patrons of municipal and institutional establishments
must be informed of the recycling program by said municipal and commercial
establishments. The education program should describe the program's
features and requirements and should include, as a minimum, an annual
meeting with employees to review the recycling program and an orientation
to the program upon the arrival of any new employee. Receptacles must
be clearly marked with the recycling symbol and the type of recyclable
material(s) that is to be placed in the receptacle clearly indicated.
Signs must also be prominently displayed, stating the requirements
of the program.
(4)Â
Municipal and institutional establishments that generate more than
2,200 pounds of municipal waste per month and sponsors of a community
activity must also implement a waste minimization opportunity assessment
which includes, as a minimum:
(a)Â
Waste characterization, including source, generation rate, management
techniques and management costs. The assessment should expressly consider
high-grade office paper, aluminum, corrugated paper, leaf waste and
any other materials generated in significant quantities.
(b)Â
A description of all possible waste minimization options, including
use and waste reclamation.
(c)Â
An evaluation of the economic and technical feasibility of each
option and a ranking of each option.
(d)Â
An estimate of the payback period for each feasible option.
(e)Â
A statement of which options, if any, will be implemented, including
an explanation and a timetable.
(f)Â
Identification of the individual(s) who will be responsible
for implementing the plan.
(5)Â
The waste minimization plan should be periodically updated. Implementation
of the plan should include:
(a)Â
Recycling or composting of materials, to the greatest extent
feasible.
(b)Â
Use, to the greatest extent feasible, of products and materials
which are recyclable or made of post-consumer materials.
(c)Â
Substitution, to the greatest extent feasible, of durable and
reusable products and materials for products that are not durable
or reusable.
(d)Â
Appropriate education materials and signs made available to
employees or the public to encourage participation in recycling and
waste reduction.
It shall be a violation of this article for any person, firm
or corporation, other than the Borough of Fox Chapel or its designated
collector in the case of residential properties or independent collectors
in the case of municipal and institutional establishments, to collect
recyclable materials placed by residences or municipal and institutional
establishments for collection by the Borough or an authorized collector,
unless such person, firm or corporation has prior written permission
from the generator to make such collection. In violation hereof, unauthorized
collection from one or more residences or one or more municipal or
institutional establishments on one calendar day shall constitute
a separate and distinct offense punishable as hereinafter provided.
Any residence or municipal or institutional establishment may
donate or sell recyclable materials to any person, firm or corporation,
whether operating for profit or not, provided that the receiving person,
firm or corporation shall not collect such donated recyclable materials
from the collection point of a residence or municipal or institutional
establishment without prior written permission from the Borough of
Fox Chapel or other entity responsible for authorizing collection
of recyclable materials to make such a collection.
Disposal of recyclable materials with wastes is prohibited and shall be a violation of this article. All collected recyclable materials shall be taken to a recycling facility except as set forth in § 298-33. Disposal by collectors or operators of recycling facilities of source-separated recyclable materials in landfills or to be burned in incinerators is prohibited.
A.Â
The Borough Manager is hereby authorized and directed to make reasonable
rules and regulations (recycling program regulations) for the operation
and enforcement of this article as deemed necessary, including but
not limited to:
(1)Â
Establishing recyclable materials to be separated for collection
and recycling by residences and additional recyclable materials to
be separated by municipal and institutional establishments.
(2)Â
Establishing collection procedures for recyclable materials.
(3)Â
Establishing reporting procedures for amounts of materials recycled.
(4)Â
Establishing procedures for the distribution, monitoring and collection
of recyclable containers, if applicable.
(5)Â
Establishing procedures and rules for the collection of leaf waste.
B.Â
Any person who shall violate any provisions of this article or the
recycling program regulations shall receive an official written warning
of noncompliance for the first and second offenses. Thereafter, all
such violations shall be subject to the penalties hereinafter provided.
C.Â
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions
of this article or the recycling program regulations shall, upon conviction
in a summary proceeding under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure,
be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of
not more than $1,000 plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees
incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. Upon judgment
against any person by summary conviction, or by proceedings by summons
on default of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and the costs,
the defendant may be sentenced and committed to the Allegheny County
correctional facility for a period not exceeding 30 days. Each day
that such violation exists shall constitute a separate offense, and
each section of this article that is violated shall also constitute
a separate offense.[1]
D.Â
The Borough further reserves the right not to collect municipal waste
containing recyclable materials in combination with nonrecyclable
materials or to not collect recyclable materials not prepared in accordance
with the recycling program regulations or which are commingled with
municipal waste.
E.Â
Any and all violations of this article are hereby declared to be
a nuisance.
(1)Â
If a nuisance exists under this section hereof, the Borough may require such person to abate the nuisance within 30 days of the receipt of notice from the Borough. For purposes of this section, the notice provisions in Subsection B above shall not apply. If such person fails to abate the nuisance, the Borough may cause the nuisance to be abated and collect the cost thereof, together with a penalty of 10% of such cost, from the landowner or occupier of the property.
(2)Â
The collection of the cost of abatement or repair and any associated
or other penalty under the provisions of this article shall not be
construed as stopping the Borough from proceeding in courts of law
or equity to abate, restrain or enjoin conduct forbidden under this
article or from abating the nuisance under existing law. It is hereby
declared to be the purpose of this section to provide additional and
cumulative remedies, and nothing in this section shall in any way
abridge or alter rights of action or remedies now or hereafter existing
in equity or under the common law or statutory law, including enforcement
of the penalty provisions hereunder.
The Borough may enter into (an) agreement(s) with public or
private agencies or firms to authorize them to collect all or part
of the recyclable materials from residential properties.
The Borough Manager may from time to time modify, add to or remove from the recycling program regulations authorized in § 298-35.
