[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Fairfield as § 3-6 of the 1980 Code. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any private or public property upon which repairs to existing
buildings, construction of new buildings, or demolition of existing
structures is taking place.
Putrescible animal and vegetable waste resulting from any
handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
Any printed or written matter, any sample or device, dodger,
circular, leaflet, pamphlet, paper, booklet, or any other printed
matter of literature which is not delivered by United States mail,
including, but not limited to, those which:
Advertise for sale any merchandise, product, commodity, or thing;
or
Direct attention to any business or mercantile or commercial
establishment, or other activity, for the purpose of either directly
or indirectly promoting the interest thereof by sales; or
Direct attention to or advertise any meeting, theatrical performance,
exhibition, or event of any kind for which an admission fee is charged
for the purpose of private gain or profit.
Any used or unconsumed substance or waste material which
has been discarded whether made of aluminum, glass, plastic, rubber,
paper, or other natural or synthetic material, or any combination
thereof, including, but not limited to, any bottle, jar, can, or any
top, cap, or detachable tab of any bottle, jar, or can, any unlighted
cigarette, cigar, match or any flaming or glowing material or any
garbage, trash, refuse, debris, rubbish, grass clippings or other
lawn or garden waste, newspaper, magazines, glass, metal, plastic
or paper containers or other packaging or construction material, but
does not include the waste of the primary processes of mining or other
extraction processing, logging, saw milling, farming or manufacturing.
A container suitable for depositing of litter.
Any dock space or area used by any moving vehicle for the
purpose of receiving, shipping and transporting goods, wares, commodities
and persons located on or adjacent to any stream, river or land.
A park, reservation, playground, beach, recreation center
or any other public areas in the Township, owned or used by any public
agency and devoted to recreation purposes.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
All property, including, but not limited to, vacant land
or any land, building or other structure designed or used for residential,
commercial, business, industrial, institutional or religious purposes,
together with any yard, grounds, walk, driveway, fence, porch, steps,
vestibule, mailbox and other structure appurtenant thereto.
Any and all streets, sidewalks, boulevards, alleys or other
public ways, lakes, rivers, watercourses or fountains and any and
all public parks, squares, spaces, grounds, and buildings.
Any receptacles provided by or authorized by the Township.
All putrescible solid wastes, including garbage.
Nonputrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible
and noncombustible wastes, such as paper wrappings, cardboard, tin
cans, glass, bedding, building materials, abandoned and dismantled
automobiles, scrap metal, industrial waste, broken asphalt, concrete,
and like construction, road debris, and similar materials.
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property
is or may be transported or drawn upon land or water, including devices
used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, drop, discard,
or otherwise place litter of any nature upon any street, sidewalk
or any other public or private property, other than in public receptacles
or in authorized receptacles for collection, or in official Township
disposal areas.
Litter receptacles and their servicing are required at the following
public places which exist in the Municipality, including: sidewalks
used by pedestrians in active retail commercially zoned areas, such
that at a minimum there shall be no single linear quarter-mile without
a receptacle: buildings held out for use by the public, including
schools, government buildings, and railroad and bus stations; parks;
drive-in restaurants; all street vendor locations; self-service refreshment
areas; construction sites; gasoline service station islands; shopping
centers; parking lots; campgrounds and trailer parks; marinas, boat
moorage and fueling stations; boat launching areas; public and private
piers operated for public use; beaches and bathing areas; and at special
events to which the public is invited, including sporting events,
parades, carnivals, circuses, and festivals. The proprietors of these
places or the sponsors of these events shall be responsible for providing
and servicing the receptacles such that adequate containerization
is available.
It shall be unlawful for any person to discard or dump along
any street or road, on or off any right-of-way, any household or commercial
solid waste, rubbish, refuse, junk, vehicle or vehicle parts, rubber
tires, appliances, furniture, or private property, except by written
consent of the owner of said property, in any place not specifically
designated for the purpose of solid waste storage or disposal.
It shall be unlawful for any residential property owner to store
or permit storage of any bulky household waste, including household
appliances, furniture and mattresses, in areas zoned residential,
except in a fully enclosed structure or during days designated for
the collection of bulky items.
It shall be unlawful for any residential property owner to store
or permit the storage of tires in areas zoned residential, except
in a fully enclosed structure or on days designated for the collection
of tires.
It shall be unlawful for any residential property owner to park
or permit the parking of any vehicle on his or her residential lawn.
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or permit the keeping
on streets, vacant lots, and residential lawns except in a fully enclosed
structure, any motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer which is:
It shall be unlawful for any vehicle to be driven, moved, stopped
or parked on any highway unless such a vehicle is constructed or loaded
to prevent any of its load from dropping, sifting, leaking or otherwise
escaping therefrom. Any person operating a vehicle from which any
glass or objects have fallen or escaped, which could cause an obstruction,
damage a vehicle, or otherwise endanger travelers or public property,
shall immediately cause the public property to be cleaned of all glass
or objects and shall pay the costs therefor.
No person shall bring, cart, remove, transport or collect any
litter from outside this Municipality or into this Municipality for
the purpose of dumping or disposing thereof unless authorized by the
Township Committee of the Township of Fairfield.
A.
No person shall sweep into or deposit in any gutter, street or other
public place the accumulation of litter from any building or lot or
from any public or private sidewalk or driveway.
B.
No person who owns or occupies a place of business shall sweep into
or deposit in any gutter, street or other public place the litter
from any building or lot or from any public or private sidewalk or
driveway.
A.
Every person who owns or occupies property shall keep the sidewalk
in front of his premises free of litter.
B.
Every person who owns or occupies a place of business shall keep
the sidewalk in front of his business premises free of litter.
C.
The owner, tenant or occupant, referred to in Subsections A and B of this section, shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter if such owner, tenant or occupant had actual notice of the presence of the litter and fails or refuses to correct the condition within a reasonable time thereafter, or if the litter remained on the premises or on the sidewalk in front of the premises for a sufficiently long period of time to give rise to constructive notice of its presence.
Persons placing litter in public receptacles or in authorized
private receptacles shall do so in such a manner as to prevent it
from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk
or other public place or upon private property.
No person shall throw or deposit litter from a vehicle upon
any street or other public place.
A.
No person shall drive or move any truck or other commercial vehicle
unless the vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent any litter
from being blown or deposited upon any street, alley or other public
place or other private premises.
B.
No person shall drive or move any commercial vehicle or truck if
the wheels or tires carry onto or deposit in any street, alley, or
other public place mud, dirt, sticky substances or foreign matter
of any kind.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any park except in
public receptacles and in such a manner as to prevent such litter
from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any part of the
park or upon any street or other public place. Where the public receptacles
are not provided, all litter shall be carried from the park by the
person responsible for its presence and shall be properly disposed
of elsewhere.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any fountain, pond,
lake, stream, or any other body of water or discharge any waste or
sewage into any such waters or pollute the waters in any manner whatsoever.
No person shall deposit or sell any handbill in or upon any
public place; provided, however, that it shall not be unlawful on
any public place for any person to hand out or distribute without
charge to the receiver any handbill to any person willing to accept
it.
A.
No person shall deposit or unlawfully distribute any handbill in
or upon private premises, except by handing or transmitting any such
handbill directly to the occupant of such private premises; provided,
however, that in case of private premises which are not posted against
the receiving of handbills or similar materials, such person, unless
requested by anyone upon such premises not to do so may securely place
any such handbill in such a manner as to prevent such handbill from
being deposited by the elements upon any public place or other private
premises, except mailboxes may not be so used when prohibited by federal
postal law or regulations.
B.
Exemption for newspapers and political literature. The provisions
of this section shall not apply to the distribution upon private premises
only of newspapers or political literature, except that newspapers
and political literature shall be placed in such a manner as to prevent
their being carried or deposited by the elements upon any public place
or other private premises.
A.
No person shall deposit any handbill in or upon any vehicle unless
the occupant of the vehicle is willing to accept it.
B.
Cleanup. It shall be the responsibility of any persons distributing
handbills to maintain the area which they are utilizing free of any
litter caused by or related to said handbill distribution.
No person shall post or affix any notice, poster or other paper
or device calculated to attract the attention of the public upon any
public place, except as may be authorized or required by law. No person
except the owner or tenant shall post any such notice on private property,
without the permission of the owner or tenant.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, agent, or contractor in charge
of a construction or demolition site to permit the accumulation of
litter before, during, or after completion of any construction or
demolition project. It shall be the duty of the owner, agent, or contractor
in charge of a construction site to furnish containers adequate to
accommodate flyable or non-flyable debris or trash at areas convenient
to construction areas, and to maintain and empty the receptacles in
such a manner and with such a frequency as to prevent spillage of
refuse.
B.
Each contractor shall be responsible for the job site so that litter
will be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements
upon any public place or other private premises.
C.
Litter or other debris, including dirt and mud, deposited as the
result of normal construction process upon any public place or private
premises shall be removed by the contractor.
The person owning, operating or in control of a loading or unloading
dock shall maintain private receptacles for collection of litter,
and shall at all times maintain the dock area free of litter in such
a manner that litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited
by the elements upon any public place or other private premises.[1]
It shall be unlawful for any residential or commercial property
owner to permit open or overflowing waste disposal bins on his or
her property.
No person shall upset or tamper with a public or private receptacle
designed or used for the deposit of litter or cause or permit its
contents to be deposited or strewn in or upon any public place or
private premises.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any open or vacant
private property whether owned by such person or not.
[Amended by Ord. No. 444-98]
A.
Notice to remove. The Municipal Zoning Officer or his duly designated
agent or the County Health Department is authorized and empowered
to notify the owner of any open or vacant private property or the
tenant or agent of such owner to dispose properly of litter located
on such owner's property which is dangerous to public health,
safety or welfare. Notice shall be by registered or certified mail,
return receipt requested, addressed to said owner or his agent or
tenant at his last known address, or served personally upon said owner,
tenant or agent.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
B.
Action upon noncompliance. Upon failure, neglect or refusal of any owner, tenant or agent so notified to dispose properly of the said litter within 10 days after receipt of written notice specified in Subsection A of this section, or within 10 days after the date of such notice in the event it is returned to the Township by the post office department because of inability to make delivery thereof, provided the notice was properly addressed to the last known address of the owner, tenant or agent, the Municipal Zoning Officer or his duly designated agent, or the County Health Department or its duly designated agent is authorized and empowered to dispose of such litter and the cost thereof shall be certified to the Township Committee.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
C.
Action by Township Committee. If the Township Committee after examining
the certificate finds the cost to be correct, it shall cause the cost
to be charged against said land as set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.14.
Such charge shall become a lien upon such lands and shall be added
to and become and form part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied
upon such lands, the same to bear interest at the same rate as taxes,
and shall be collected and enforced by the same officers and in the
same matter as taxes.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the distribution
of mail by the United States.
B.
Nothing set forth in this chapter shall be deemed to prohibit:
(1)
The creation and maintenance of a bona fide compost pile or heap
upon private premises where such compost pile or heap contains solely
organic refuse and garbage, excluding human body waste and dead animals,
the end product of said compost pile or heap to be used incident to
gardening activities, and provided that the material of which such
compost pile or heap is comprised shall not be supplied by persons
other than the owner or tenant of the private premises upon which
the compost pile or heap is located.
(2)
The deposit and maintenance of yard clippings, leaves, branches and
twigs for trees, and other similar natural refuse, at a location for
collection by the Township pursuant to a prescribed removal program
of the Township therefor.
(3)
The deposit and maintenance of other litter in a location along the
street line suitable for Township or other authorized collection,
provided that such rubbish and other litter, if so deposited and maintained,
shall not be so deposited and maintained at such location for a period
exceeding one day.
(4)
The creation and maintenance of a woodpile on private premises and
said woodpile to be kept stacked and reasonably secured, and to be
used to collect and maintain wood for purposes of burning in a fireplace
or stove located within a structure existing upon said private premises.
All trash and garbage collected within or without the Township
and disposed of in the Township shall be disposed of in accordance
with the regulations set forth by the Department of Environmental
Protection and those set down by the Township of Fairfield which will
be published and maintained in the Township building from time to
time and updated in accordance with recycling requirements by the
County of Cumberland, State of New Jersey, and Superior Court of New
Jersey, State of New Jersey.
There shall be a prima facie presumption created that trash,
refuse, litter and/or other dumpings made in violation of this chapter
are attributable to those person(s) or entities that can be determined
or identified through examination of the garbage, refuse, rubbish
and/or other litter placed in the Township. It shall be an affirmative
defense that a person so presumed to have violated this chapter did,
in fact, deliver, transport or have said garbage, refuse, rubbish
and/or other litter removed by some third party, upon identification
and verification thereof.
The provisions of this chapter shall be administered and enforced
by Township officials, law enforcement officers, and members of the
general public, and said officials and citizens are specifically charged
with the duty to enforce this chapter, and, to that end, to make and
sign complaints for violations in the Township Municipal Court.
[Amended by Ord. No. 338-97; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art.
II)]
Any person, firm, corporation, or other entity who or which violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to a penalty as provided in § 1-5 of this Code. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion
of this chapter is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional
by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed
a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof.
