Borough of Brookhaven, PA Garbage and Rubbish Collection and Disposal

No person shall place newspapers or papers of any nature on the streets of the Borough to be collected by a collector without having securely tied such papers to prevent their scattering on the streets.

Bags of any nature containing paper and placed on the streets or sidewalks of the Borough for collection by a collector, shall be securely tied so as to prevent the scattering of such paper on the streets.

§ 1060.03 Garbage and rubbish from business premises.

[Ord. 328, passed 3-4-1974; Ord. 708, passed 7-5-2006]

No accumulation. No person owning leasing, occupying or having charge of any premises used for commercial purposes shall maintain, permit to accumulate or keep thereon any trash, junk, debris, garbage or rubbish unless such trash, junk, debris, garbage or rubbish is stored in watertight refuse containers provided with tight covers and so operated as to prevent offensive odors escaping therefrom and refuse from being blown, dropped or spilled.

Refuse containers. All refuse containers, commonly referred to as "dumpsters," used for commercial businesses shall adhere to the following storage requirements.

Dumpsters are to be closed at all times when not being used. All dumpsters shall be equipped with watertight covers so as to prevent leakage.

Any new or replacement dumpsters installed after the effective date of this chapter shall comply with the following additional requirements.

(a)

All dumpsters must be stored on a concrete pad so as to facilitate the washing down of any and all liquid spills from garbage. The concrete pad must be a minimum of four inches in depth with wire mesh reinforcements.

(b)

Dumpsters are to be fenced in on all four sides with access gates for collection purposes.

(c)

The fenced in area outside of and on top of the dumpster shall remain clear and free from all trash, graffiti, vandalism, debris and other refuse material.

Licenses. Within 30 days after the effective date of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any property owner or occupier to own, locate or maintain a trash dumpster in the Borough without first having obtained a license for each such dumpster from the Board of Health upon the payment of $50 per year for each dumpster located in the Borough. The license application shall require the name, address, age and occupation of the person, partnership or corporation applying for the license, the address where the dumpster is to be located, an accurate description of the business for which the dumpster shall be used and the number of dumpsters the applicant wishes to license. The Borough shall, with the consent of the Board of Health and only if the applicant has complied with all licensing requirements and agrees to and fully complies with all storage requirements and all applicable ordinances of the Borough issue a license setting forth the name of the applicant, the name of the business for which the dumpster will be maintained the address where the dumpster will be located and the number of dumpsters for which there is a license.

Collection. Commercial establishments shall privately contract for and have their accumulation of refuse collected in accordance with Division (E) hereof and at reasonable times so as to protect the public health and safety.

(E)

Frequency of collection. Trash, junk, debris, garbage or rubbish shall be removed from the premises when collection containers are full and at least weekly unless the Board of Health, in writing, authorizes removal less often. The Board shall also have the power to require removal more frequently if deemed necessary under the circumstances for sanitation and health reasons.

(F)

Violations and penalties.

Any person or persons, partnership or corporations who shall violate any provision of this section shall have his, her or its license revoked without prior warning or notice and must immediately remove the dumpsters.

Any person(s), partnership or corporation who shall violate any provision of this section or shall fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof shall be subject to a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $1,000, to be collected in the same manner as penalties are now collected by law; and each day's failure to comply with any such provision shall constitute a separate violation.

§ 1060.04 Hauling.

The producers of refuse or the owners of premises upon which refuse is accumulated who desire personally to collect and dispose of such refuse, and persons who desire to dispose of waste material not included in the definition of refuse, and collectors of refuse from outside of the Borough who desire to haul over the streets of the Borough, shall use a watertight vehicle provided with a tight cover and so operated as to prevent offensive odors escaping therefrom and refuse from being blown, dropped or spilled. Council shall have authority to make such other reasonable regulations as it may deem necessary concerning individual collections and disposal and relating to the hauling of refuse over Borough streets by collectors from outside of the Borough. Any person aggrieved by any such regulation made by Council shall have a right of appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction as provided by Commonwealth law.

§ 1060.05 Charge for collection from residential districts; payment to tax collector.

[Ord. 630, passed 12-17-1998; Ord. 640, passed 1-31-2000; Ord. 648, passed 4-3-2000; Ord. 651, passed 12-27-2001; Ord. 662, passed 12-18-2001; Ord. 672, passed 12-17-2002]

There is hereby established an annual refuse collection fee, which shall be as established by Council by annual resolution, for each dwelling unit located in the areas of the Borough zoned R1A, R1 and R2, and for each dwelling unit located north of Edgmont Avenue and east of Brookhaven Road in the area zoned R4.

The fee established pursuant to Division (A) of this section shall be paid by the owner of the real estate from which refuse is collected by May 31 of each year. Should payment be made on or before May 31 of each year, the amount due shall be the fee established pursuant to Division (A) of this section. Should payment not be made by May 31 of each year, a penalty of 10% shall be added to the bill, and interest on the unpaid balance shall be charged at the rate of 0.75% per month.

The fee, penalty and interest provided for in this section shall be collected by the Borough Tax Collector, whose compensation for the collection of such fee shall be determined from time to time by motion of Council.

§ 1060.06 Recycling program (repealed). [1]

[1]

Editor's Note: Section 1060.06 was repealed by implication by Ord. 547, passed September 9, 1991. See Chapter 1061.

§ 1060.07 Municipal solid waste disposal plan.

[Ord. 502, passed 9-14-1987; Ord. 792, passed 9-12-2016]

Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

ACT

The Solid Waste Management Act of 1980 (35 P.S. §§ 6018.101 et seq.), as amended.

AUTHORITY

The Delaware County Solid Waste Authority.

COLLECTOR

Any person collecting or transporting municipal solid waste for owners or occupants of property in the municipality, including the municipality itself if it undertakes the collection of municipal solid wastes directly, and any business or institution within the municipality which generates municipal solid waste and uses its own employees and equipment for the collection and transportation of such waste.

CONTRACTOR

One or more contractors with whom the county or authority contracts for construction and operation of the proposed resource recovery plant or other solid waste facilities.

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste or other material, including solid or semisolid material generated in residential, municipal, commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities, and other solid waste which is within the definition of "municipal solid waste" as set forth in the Act and which the county, authority or contractor, by ordinance or regulation, is willing to accept at the plant, but excluding:

Any liquid waste or sludge;

All wastes which are defined by existing or future federal or state law or regulations as hazardous waste or industrial residual wastes;

(3)

Any waste which may be marketable and which is intentionally segregated for purposes of recycling; and

(4)

Materials specifically excluded under applicable county ordinances.

MUNICIPALITY

The Borough of Brookhaven.

PERSON

Any individual, partnership, association, corporation or governmental entity, with the exception of the county, the authority or its designated contractor.

PLANT

The energy and/or material recovery facilities, transfer stations or solid waste plants owned by the county, the authority or the contractor, including all associated property and equipment.

SOLID WASTE FACILITY

Any site owned and operated by the county, the authority or its designated contractor, for the purpose of transfer, processing or disposal of municipal solid waste, including landfills, resource recovery plants and transfer stations.

SOLID WASTE PLAN

The County-Wide Solid Waste Management Plan, prepared pursuant to the Act, and dated December, 1986.

Prohibitions. No person shall accumulate upon any property in the municipality any municipal solid waste, or dispose of it, except in accordance with this section and other applicable laws, ordinances or regulations.

Plant operations and charges. The municipality has been advised by the county that the solid waste plan proposes to provide for a plant or plants which will be operated efficiently and economically by the contractor and/or by the county and in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, and also that the contractor and/or the county will impose reasonable charges, which charges will be uniform among all classes of users of the plant or plants.

Operations by licensed collectors. Except as it pertains to municipal solid waste collected directly by the municipality, all collectors of municipal solid wastes generated within the municipality shall be licensed by the municipality and shall be responsible for collecting municipal solid waste from properties in the municipality pursuant to a contract between them and the municipality and/or contracts between them and the owners or occupants of properties.

(E)

Disposal at designated site. All collectors shall deliver and dispose of all municipal solid waste collected within the municipality at the solid waste plant designated by the county, subject to such reasonable regulations for the operation thereof as may be established by the county and/or the contractor. Delivery and disposal at any other place shall be a violation of this chapter and cause for revocation of the collector's license, except in special circumstances approved in advance by the municipality and the county and/or the contractor. All collectors shall comply in their operations with all applicable laws, ordinances and regulations pertaining to the collection and transportation of municipal solid waste.

(F)

Private dumps, transfer stations and landfills. No person shall use or permit to be used any property owned or occupied by him or her within the municipality as a public or private dump, transfer station or landfill for municipal solid waste, whether generated within the municipality or elsewhere, without the express written approval of the municipality.

(G)

Abatement of nuisances. In addition to the remedies provided in § 1060.99, any continued violation of this section or other applicable law which constitutes a nuisance in fact, or which, in the opinion of Council, constitutes a nuisance, may be abated by proceedings against the violator in a court of equity.

(H)

Rules and regulations. The collection of municipal solid waste in the municipality and the disposal thereof shall be subject to such further reasonable rules and regulations as may from time to time be promulgated by Council, including, without limitation, regulations as to the form of license applications, the amounts of fees to be charged for such licenses, the terms of licenses and license issuance procedures. However, no such rules and regulations shall be contrary to this section, the county solid waste plan or applicable law.

(I)

Amendments; contracts. The municipality reserves the right to amend this section or to repeal it at any time, provided that the requirement for use of the designated solid waste facility for the disposal of municipal waste from the municipality shall not be amended or repealed without the prior express written approval of the county during the term of the contract between the county (or authority) and the contractor providing for the construction and operation of the plant, which contract shall have a term of 25 years. For purposes of security of the contractor's financing, such requirement shall be deemed to be a contract between the county, the contractor and the municipality, which contract, subject to the terms of the joint cooperation agreement set forth in Division (J) of this section, the municipality agrees to enforce so that the municipal solid waste from the municipality will be available to provide a source of energy for the plant. If the municipality is not now a collector, but in the future it becomes a collector, it agrees to deliver all municipal solid waste so collected to the plant.

(J)

Joint cooperation agreement. The term of this agreement shall be for a period of 25 years, commencing on January 1, 2017 and ending on December 31, 2041.

(K)

Plan adopted. The municipality hereby adopts the solid waste management study prepared by the county as the ten-year solid waste management plan required by the Act. The county is hereby authorized to submit the plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources for final approval on behalf of the municipality.

(L)

Construction and operation of plant required. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the municipality shall have neither the right nor the obligation to dispose of its municipal solid waste at the plant which is contemplated under this section until such plant is constructed and fully operational.

§ 1060.08 Garbage and rubbish from residential premises.

[Ord. 756, passed 12-19-2011]

No accumulation. No person owning, occupying or having charge of any premises used for residential purposes shall maintain, permit to accumulate or keep thereon any trash, junk, debris, garbage or rubbish unless such trash, junk, debris, garbage or rubbish is stored in refuse containers so operated as to prevent offensive odors escaping therefrom and refuse from being blown, dropped or spilled.

Time for placing refuse for collection. No person shall place trash, junk, debris, garbage, rubbish or refuse containers at or near the curb earlier than 5:00 p.m. the evening prior to the day of scheduled collection of accumulated refuse.

Location for placing refuse for collection. No person shall place trash, junk, debris, garbage, rubbish or refuse containers on or in any street, roadway, or other public thoroughfare, but rather shall place such trash, junk, debris, garbage, rubbish or refuse containers on or at the curb for collection.

Bulk trash pickup. Bulk trash items shall be limited to no more than three items per premises for any scheduled pickup date. The following items are not permitted to be placed out for bulk trash pickup: refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, computers, building materials and auto parts.

§ 1060.09 Interference with garbage; permit.

[Ord. 764, passed 11-14-2012]

Permit requirement. It shall be unlawful for any individual to interact in any way with any refuse placed at curbside for collection by an entity contracted by the Borough, other than the person placing such refuse at curbside, a member of such person's household, or an agent or employee of any entity contracted by the Borough for the collection of refuse.

Permit procedure. To obtain a permit required by Division (A) above, the person desiring the permit shall make an application to the Borough in writing and therein set forth his or her name, age, residence, make, model and license plate number of any vehicle such person may be using for permitted activities.

Revocation of permits. Upon request by the Borough Health Officer, any Borough police officer or any inspector to Borough Council, a permittee may suffer revocation of a permit issued hereunder for any action Council may deem not to be in the best interest of the health, safety or welfare of any resident or property within the Borough. Upon request by the Borough Health Officer, any Borough police officer or any Borough inspector, the Borough Manager may suspend any permit issued hereunder until the next regularly scheduled Borough Council legislative meeting.

Permitted periods. All permits issued hereunder shall expire on January 1 of the year after issuance.

(E)

Permit fees. The fee for any permit issued hereunder shall be $25 per year.

All fees shall be paid for the use of the Borough.

Permits shall be issued free of any charge to charitable organizations. Charitable information will be required.

(F)

Permits to be displayed. Each permittee shall cause his or her permit to be placed inside on the dashboard driver's side of any vehicle used in any permitted activity. Any person undertaking any permitted activity without a vehicle shall keep his or her permit on his or her person.

(G)

Enforcement. Any person violating the terms of this section shall be guilty of a summary offense. Each contact with refuse shall be a separate violation. Each offense shall be punishable as provided in § 1060.99.

§ 1060.99 Penalty. [1]

[Ord. 463, passed 2-18-1985; Ord. 502, passed 9-14-1987; Ord. 764, passed 11-14-2012]

Whoever violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of § 1060.06, or any regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, shall be fined not more than $300, except that the maximum fine for failure to comply with § 1060.06(C) shall be $10 for the first offense or $50 for any succeeding offense. No enforcement of § 1060.06(C) shall be made until two months from the effective date of this section.

Whoever violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of § 1060.07 shall be fined not more than $300 and, in default of payment thereof, shall be imprisoned not more than 30 days. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation or noncompliance occurs or continues, as well as for each truckload of illegally delivered trash.