[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991; Ord. 2093, passed 7-1-1991]
As used in this chapter:
ACT 101
The Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988.
ALUMINUM
All empty aluminum beverage or food cans.
BIMETAL CONTAINERS
Empty food or beverage containers consisting of steel and aluminum.
COLLECTOR
The entity or entities authorized by the Municipality to collect recyclables from residences or community activities authorized by commercial, Municipal, institutional and multifamily establishments, and community activities that do not receive collection services from the Municipality to collect recyclable materials from those properties.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Events that are sponsored by public or private agencies or individuals that include, but are not limited to, fairs, bazaars, picnics and organized sporting events attended by 200 or more individuals per day.
CORRUGATED PAPER
Structural paper material with an inner core shaped in rigid parallel furrows and ridges.
GLASS CONTAINERS
Bottles and jars made of clear, green or brown glass. Expressly excluded are non-container glass, plate glass, automotive glass, light bulbs, blue glass and porcelain and ceramic products.
HIGH GRADE OFFICE PAPER
All white paper, bond paper and computer paper used in commercial, institutional and Municipal establishments or at community activities.
INSTITUTIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS
All facilities that house or serve groups of people, including, but not limited to, hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, day care centers, schools and universities.
LEAF WASTE
Leaves from trees, bushes and other plants, garden residues, chipped shrubbery and tree trimmings, but not including grass clippings.
MULTIFAMILY HOUSING
Any properties having three or more dwelling units per structure.
MUNICIPAL ESTABLISHMENTS
Public facilities operated by the Municipality and other governmental and quasi-governmental authorities.
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from the operation of residential, Municipal, commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities, and any sludge not meeting the definition of residual or hazardous waste in the Solid Waste Management Act from a Municipal, commercial or institutional water supply treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant or air pollution control facility. The term "Municipal waste" does not include source-separated recyclable materials.
NEWSPAPER
Paper of the type commonly referred to as newsprint and distributed at fixed intervals, having printed thereon news and opinions and containing therein advertisements and other matters of public interest. Expressly excluded are newspapers which have been soiled, color comics and glossy advertising inserts printed in colors other than black and white often included with newspapers.
OPERATOR
A person engaged in the operation of a recycling facility and/or collection and transportation program associated with such facility. When more than one person is so engaged in a single operation, all persons shall be deemed jointly and severally responsible for compliance with this chapter.
PERSON
An owner, lessee or occupant of a residence or of a commercial, Municipal or institutional establishment, or an attendant at a community activity.
PLASTIC CONTAINERS
Empty plastic milk jugs and plastic pop bottles.
RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
Materials which are specified by the Municipality and generated by residences, commercial, Municipal and institutional establishments and community activities and which can be separated from Municipal waste and returned to commerce to be reused as a resource in the development of useful products.
RECYCLING
The collection, separation, recovery and sale or reuse of metals, glass, paper, leaf waste, plastics and other materials which would otherwise be disposed or processed as Municipal waste, or the mechanized separation and treatment of Municipal waste (other than through combustion) and the creation and recovery of reusable materials.
RECYCLING FACILITY
A facility employing a technology that is a process that separates or classifies Municipal waste and creates or recovers reusable materials that can be sold to or reused by a manufacturer as a substitute for, or a supplement to, virgin raw materials. The term "recycling facility" shall not mean transfer stations or landfills for solid waste or composting facilities or resource recovery facilities.
SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCE
A detached, single-family home, a townhouse, a duplex and apartment units in a building with two or fewer units.
SOURCE-SEPARATED RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
Those materials separated at the point of origin for the purpose of being recycled.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
There is hereby established a recycling program, which program shall include mandatory source separation and collection of recyclables from garbage and rubbish in the Municipality of Penn Hills.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
(a) 
The Manager is hereby authorized and directed to make reasonable rules and regulations for the operation and enforcement of this chapter as deemed necessary, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) 
Establishing recyclable materials to be separated for collection and recycling by residences, and additional materials to be separated by commercial, Municipal and institutional establishments and at community activities.
(2) 
Establishing collection procedures for recyclable materials.
(3) 
Establishing reporting procedures for amounts of materials recycled.
(4) 
Establishing procedures for the distribution, monitoring and collection of recycling containers.
(5) 
Establishing procedures and rules for the collection of leaf waste.
(b) 
The Municipality hereby authorizes the Manager and/or his agents, including, but not limited to, police officers, Department of Code Enforcement officers and zoning officers, to enforce any and all provisions of this chapter. The Municipality also has the power of random inspection to insure compliance.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
(a) 
All persons who are residents of the Municipality shall separate all of those recyclable materials designated by the Municipality from all other Municipal waste produced at their homes, apartments and other residential establishments, and store such materials for collection in accordance with the guidelines established herein.
(b) 
The Municipality hereby selects clear and colored glass, aluminum and other metal cans, plastic milk jugs, plastic pop bottles, newspapers and leaves as materials to be recycled. The Municipality also reserves the right to revise the selection of these materials in accordance with Act 101 to respond to changing markets. By amendment to this chapter, the Municipality may expand, reduce or otherwise change materials to be recycled.
(c) 
Glass containers shall be emptied and cleaned, and metal rings or caps shall be removed.
(d) 
All Recyclables shall be Emptied and Rinsed. Recyclables shall not be compacted in household trash compactors.
(e) 
Newspapers shall be tied in easy-to-manage bundles or placed in paper bags, stacked alongside the curbside collection container and kept dry.
(f) 
All recyclable materials, except leaves, shall be placed in the household recycling container provided to each single-family residence in the Municipality, with newspapers placed alongside the container. Recyclables shall be placed at the curbside for collection, unless rear-yard pick-up has been authorized by the Municipality. It shall be unlawful for a person to dispose of solid waste which contains recyclables.
(g) 
The Municipality will deliver to each household a container which must be used as the container for recyclables. No other use of this container is permissible. It must remain with the property upon change of ownership or tenancy, and it must be replaced, at the expense of the property owner, should the container be damaged, lost, stolen or otherwise not available. The Municipality will also purchase a container for each apartment unit. Owners or managers of the buildings are responsible for receiving and distributing the containers to each resident of their building. The container must be used only for recycling and must remain with the unit. If the container is lost, it must be replaced at the owner's or tenant's expense.
(h) 
An owner or landlord of multifamily rental housing property with three or more units, or his or her agent, shall comply with its recycling responsibilities by establishing a collection system for recyclables and leaves at each property. The collection system must include suitable containers for sorting the recyclable materials, easily accessible locations for the containers and written instructions to the occupants concerning the use and availability of the collection system. An owner or landlord, or his or her agent, who complies with this chapter shall not be liable for noncompliance of occupants of such owner's or landlord's buildings.
If recyclable materials are collected by a collector other than the Municipality or its authorized agents, an owner or landlord, or his or her agent, shall submit an annual report to the Department of Planning and Development by January 15 of each year. The report shall contain information on the tonnage of materials recycled during the previous year.
(i) 
Persons must separate high grade office paper, aluminum, corrugated paper, leaf waste and other such materials as may be designated by the Municipality, generated at commercial, Municipal and institutional establishments and from community activities, and store such recyclable materials until collection. A person may be exempted from the provisions of this subsection if that person submits documentation to the Municipality annually indicating that the designated recyclable materials are being recycled in an appropriate manner.
If recyclable materials are collected by a collector other than the Municipality or its authorized agent, occupants of said establishments shall submit an annual report to the Municipality by January 15 of each year. The report shall contain information on the tonnage of materials recycled during the previous year.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
(a) 
The Municipality will establish a leaf collection program for single-family residences.
(b) 
Leaves shall not be Placed Out for Garbage Collection. Leaves are to be bagged in specially formulated bags available at various locations throughout the Municipality. The Municipality will distribute information as to where the leaf bags can be purchased. Leaves shall be placed at the curb no sooner than 24 hours prior to designated leaf collection days, at which time they will become the property of and collected by Municipal agents.
(c) 
Single-family residences are not required to bag leaves for collection at the curb but have the option of creating household leaf composting areas, provided that such areas are properly maintained so as to not create a nuisance to adjacent properties.
(d) 
The Municipality shall provide for the collection, transportation and composting of leaves from single-family residences. Such compost shall become the property of the Municipality, and a program shall be developed for the distribution, sale or use of this compost.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
From the time of placement of recyclables at the curb for collection, or otherwise when delivered to an authorized recycling agent in accordance with the terms of this chapter, items shall be the property of the Municipality or its authorized agent. It shall be a violation of this chapter for any person not authorized by the Municipality to collect a pickup or cause to be collected or picked up any such items. Any and each such collection in violation hereof from one or more locations shall constitute a separate and distinct offense punishable as provided in § 1061.99. This section is not intended to prevent the homeowner from directly delivering recyclable materials to any authorized recycling agent.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
Disposal by persons of recyclable materials with wastes is prohibited and shall be a violation of this chapter. Collected recyclable materials shall be taken to a recycling facility. Disposal by collectors or operators of recycling facilities of source-separated recyclable materials in landfills or by the burning of such materials in incinerators is prohibited.
[Ord. 2093, passed 7-1-1991]
(a) 
Generally. An operator of a recycling facility within the boundaries of the Municipality shall:
(1) 
Develop the recycling facility in accordance with the local Zoning Ordinance, Building Code and other local development ordinances.
(2) 
Comply with the recycling fee provisions provided in Subsection (b) hereof.
(3) 
Comply with the reporting and record-keeping provisions provided in Subsection (c) hereof.
(b) 
Recycling Fee. There is hereby imposed a recycling fee of $1 per ton for all recyclables processed at a recycling facility. Operators shall make the recycling fee payment quarterly. The fee shall be paid on or before the fifteenth day of April, July, October and January for the three months ending the last day of March, June, September and December. Recyclables shall be weighed in accordance with Section 701(c) of Act 101.
(c) 
Reporting and Record-Keeping. The operator's recycling fee shall be accompanied by information sufficient to describe the weight and volume of recyclables received by the recycling facility during the payment period and any other aggregate deemed necessary by the Municipality to carry out the purposes of this chapter or Act 101. A copy of records must be kept at the facility for a period of five years and shall be made available to the Municipality for inspection upon request.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
(a) 
The Municipality may provide drop-off centers for various recyclables, and residents may choose to transport recyclables to these drop-off centers or otherwise transport recyclables in accordance with Act 101.
(b) 
Any residence or commercial, Municipal or institutional establishment or community activity 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 a commercial, Municipal or institutional establishment or a community activity without prior written permission from the Municipality or other entity responsible for authorizing collection of recyclable materials to make such a collection.
(c) 
The Municipality and/or its agents shall not be responsible for collecting recyclables, other than bundled newspaper, not contained in the household container provided by the Municipality. Households with unusually large quantities of recyclables can store these recyclable for the next available collection, transport the materials to a drop-off center or authorized recycling agent or contract independently for collection. Additional containers can be purchased from the Municipality if the household determines that one container will not be sufficient on a regular basis.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
The Municipality shall, from time to time, create incentive programs to promote and increase participation in recycling programs. No such incentive program shall relieve property owners from the responsibility for compliance with this chapter.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
Council hereby adopts this chapter in accordance with the provisions of Act 101. Where provisions of Allegheny County plans or other authorities conflict with the provisions of this chapter, the provisions of this chapter shall apply.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
Any property owner subject to the creation of undue hardship as a result of the provisions of this chapter may apply for an exemption. The property owner must demonstrate that the hardship is extreme and not self-imposed, and otherwise demonstrate just cause. The Manager may deny the request, approve the request or approve the request with conditions.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
The Municipality may, from time to time, modify, add to or remove from the standards and regulations provided in this chapter as authorized by § 1061.03.
[Ord. 2084, passed 2-4-1991]
(a) 
Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever violates or fails to comply with any provision of this chapter shall be fined not more that $500.
(b) 
Whoever violates § 1061.04 shall be fined not more than $50 for a first offense or $200 for a second offense. No enforcement of § 1061.04 shall be made until two months from the effective date thereof, and until such time as the household, landowner and/or business is advised, via direct mail, of the contents of § 1061.04 and this section, to enable the Municipality to implement educational programs.