[Added 2-13-2023 by Ord.
No. 2023-05]
Princeton hereby continues the previously adopted Princeton
Recycling Plan. Pursuant to the New Jersey Statewide Mandatory Source
Separation and Recycling Act ("Recycling Act"), the Princeton Recycling
Plan shall consist of the Mercer County Recycling System as set forth
in Ordinance No. 2006-19 adopted by the Board of Chosen Freeholders
(now County Board of Commissioners) of the County of Mercer, State
of New Jersey on December 21, 2006, and as more fully set forth in
the amendment to the Mercer County Solid Waste Management Plan detailing
its recycling plan also incorporated into that ordinance ("Mercer
County Recycling Plan").
[Added 2-13-2023 by Ord.
No. 2023-05]
For the purposes of this article, the words and phrases set
forth herein shall have the meaning set forth in the definitions contained
in Mercer County Ordinance No. 2006-19, which definitions are incorporated
herein by reference as if fully restated.
[Added 2-13-2023 by Ord.
No. 2023-05]
Pursuant to the Recycling Act, each resident, commercial, industrial
or institutional establishment in the municipality shall conform to
the Mercer County Recycling Plan to meet the State mandated recycling
goals. As part of implementation of the Princeton Recycling Plan,
it is hereby required that:
(a) Municipality:
(1)
Princeton hereby adopts this article to provide recycling within
its borders pursuant to the Recycling Act adopting herein the Mercer
County Recycling Plan as its official municipal recycling program.
(2)
All municipal contracts for solid waste collection and/or disposal
within Princeton shall be consistent with this article and the Mercer
County Recycling Plan.
(3)
Princeton shall provide for a collection system for leaves generated
from residential premises within the municipal boundaries, for certain
scheduled time periods, and, unless leaves are stored or recycled
for composting or mulching by the generator, place the leaves in the
Joseph P. Maher Ecological Center in Lawrence Township.
(4)
Princeton may deliver tires to Mercer County Improvement Authority's
Solid Waste Transfer Station, or such site as designated by the Mercer
County Improvement Authority, for transfer to a tire recycler.
(5)
Princeton shall, at a minimum, within 30 days after the adoption
of this article and at least once every six months thereafter, notify
all persons occupying residential, commercial, and institutional premises
within the municipal boundaries of recycling opportunities, and the
source separation requirements of this article and the Mercer County
Recycling Plan. In order to fulfill the notification requirements
of this subsection, this municipality may, in its discretion, place
an advertisement in a newspaper circulating in the municipality, post
a notice in public places where public notices are customarily posted,
include a notice with other official notifications periodically mailed
to residential taxpayers, or any combination thereof, as the municipality
deems necessary and appropriate.
(6)
Princeton shall, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 13:1E-99.16(c), within
30 days of the effective date of this article, and at least once every
36 months thereafter, conduct a review and make necessary revisions
to the master plan and development regulations adopted pursuant to
P.L. 1975, C. 291 (C. 40:55D-1 et seq.), which revisions shall reflect
changes in state, county and municipal policies and objectives concerning
the collection, disposition and recycling of designated recyclable
materials.
The revised state plan shall include provisions for the collection,
disposition and recycling of recyclable materials and recycling of
designated materials in this article, and for the collection, disposition
and recycling designated recyclable materials within any development
proposal for the construction of 50 or more units of single-family
residential housing or 25 or more units or multi-family residential
housing and any commercial or industrial development proposal for
the utilization of 1,000 square feet or more of land.
(b) Residents:
(1)
On and after the official commencement date of the County Recycling
System within Princeton, each person residing in areas designated
for recycling collection, shall separate for curbside collection on
designated collection days and such additional days as may be designated
by the Mercer County Improvement Authority, those materials designated
in the Mercer County Recycling Plan as listed below; and shall do
so in the manner as set forth in this article.
(2)
All residents shall recycle, or cause to be recycled, at a minimum,
the following categories of recyclables:
a.
Acceptable glass containers;
b.
Acceptable metal containers;
c.
Acceptable plastic containers;
f.
Covered electronic devices.
g.
Office paper and other paper;
(3)
Any and all persons having been found to have violated the provisions
of the Princeton Recycling Plan will be assessed warnings, penalties
and fines pursuant to Section 15-4.7a. of this article.
(4)
At the time of placement of recyclable materials designated
for collection by the Princeton Recycling Plan at the curb or streetside
of residential units, said materials shall be considered the sole
property of the Mercer County Improvement Authority and shall be considered
a conscious contribution by that resident to the County Recycling
System for collection by the Mercer County Improvement Authority or
its agent.
(5)
Any resident within Princeton may donate or sell designated
recyclable materials to any person, whether operating for profit or
not-for-profit, provided that the receiving person may not perform
curbside collection under any circumstances unless that person has
registered with the Mercer County Improvement Authority as a private
recycler.
(c) Commercial, industrial and institutional establishments:
(1)
All commercial, industrial, and institutional establishments
located within Princeton shall recycle, or cause to be recycled, at
a minimum, the following categories of recyclables:
a.
Acceptable glass containers;
b.
Acceptable metal containers;
c.
Acceptable plastic containers;
f.
Covered electronic devices;
g.
Food waste as defined within N.J.S.A. 13:1E-99.122, as may be
amended;
h.
Office paper and other paper;
(2)
All commercial/industrial/institutional establishments located
within Princeton shall submit a source separation recycling plan to
the Mercer County Improvement Authority to meet the state recycling
mandates identifying or incorporating the following:
a.
All solid waste material generated, listed by type;
b.
All volumes of these waste categories currently recycled;
c.
Any agreement with any solid waste hauler or with a separate
entity for the recycling of source separated designated materials
as defined within the Mercer County Recycling Plan; and
d.
A description of current or proposed recycling efforts for designated
materials.
(3)
The schedule for submittal of these commercial/industrial/institutional
recycling plans to the Mercer County Improvement Authority shall be
as follows:
a.
All commercial/industrial/institutional establishments whose
waste is collected by private haulers and not serviced by municipal
collection shall prepare the plan within four months of enactment
of this article and shall implement same within two months following
approval of the plan by the Mercer County Improvement Authority; and
b.
All commercial/industrial/institutional establishments whose
waste is collected through a municipal collection system shall be
part of the municipal collection system of recyclables.
(4)
All commercial/industrial/institutional establishments required
to submit a recycling plan under this article may, at their option,
prepare a joint recycling plan with any other entity or entities whereby
a common hauler and/or collection point, for common pickup, is set
forth. However, each commercial/industrial/institutional establishment
shall prepare a plan identifying that they are part of this joint
plan and shall attach a copy of same, incorporating it by reference.
(5)
Any such commercial/industrial/institutional recycling plan
shall be consistent with those terms, conditions and goals set forth
in the Mercer County Recycling Plan and this article. The failure
to submit said plan or comply with same shall subject the commercial/industrial/institutional
establishments to penalties pursuant to Section 15-4.7b. of this article.
(6)
An extension of the time for plan preparation and/or plan implementation
of up to 90 days may be requested from the Mercer County Improvement
Authority depending upon the size of the establishment. Justification
for such a request shall be submitted to the Mercer County Improvement
Authority in writing and shall be verified as necessary or justified.
(7)
Pursuant to Mercer County Recycling Ordinance No. 2006-19, upon
failure of a commercial/industrial/institutional establishment to
meet the source separation recycling provisions of this article and/or
the source separation and recycling provisions of the Recycling Act,
if not exempted pursuant to subsection c.8 as described below, the
Mercer County Improvement Authority shall provide said recycling service,
and all fees and costs for providing said recycling service shall
be assessed at rates to be established by the Mercer County Improvement
Authority through the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and Mercer
County's Solid Waste Franchise; and penalties shall be assessed
as provided for in this article.
(8)
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 13:1E-99-16 of the Recycling Act, this
municipality shall have the right to exempt persons occupying commercial
and institutional premises within the municipal boundaries from the
source separation requirements of the article if those persons have
otherwise provided for the recycling of the recyclable materials designated
in the Mercer County Recycling Plan from solid waste generated at
those premises. This municipality shall annually submit to the Mercer
County Improvement Authority a list of those commercial/industrial/institutional
establishments requesting exemptions under this subsection and the
results of its determination with an explanation for said action.
To be eligible for an exemption pursuant to this subsection, a commercial
or institutional solid waste generator shall annually provide written
documentation to this municipality and the Mercer County Improvement
Authority of the total number of tons recycled. Persons occupying
commercial and institutional premises exempted under this subsection
shall not be exempted from the reporting provisions of subsection
c.3. as described above.
(d) Private Recyclers:
(1)
Any person or group of persons wishing to collect recyclable
materials shall register with the Mercer County Improvement Authority
as a "private recycler."
(2)
No private recycler shall conduct recycling collection activities
within Princeton on designated county collection days.
(3)
Upon registration each private recycler shall receive an identification/registration
decal from the Mercer County Improvement Authority and shall prominently
display same on recycling vehicles when collecting recyclables within
Princeton.
(4)
An ongoing condition of collection activities within the municipality
shall be the submittal of certified weight tickets to the Mercer County
Improvement Authority for material sold to quantify levels for state
mandated recycling goals. Said tickets shall be submitted to the Mercer
County Improvement Authority no later than 30 days following the date
of sale of the subject material.
[Added 2-13-2023 by Ord.
No. 2023-05]
The enforcement of the Princeton Recycling Plan shall be provided
individually and severally by Princeton with regard to enforcement
of this article, and/or the Mercer County Improvement Authority, and/or
the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
[Added 2-13-2023 by Ord.
No. 2023-05]
No person shall collect recyclables within Princeton unless
registered with the Mercer County Improvement Authority and the requisite
fee has been paid, unless an exemption has been granted by the Mercer
County Improvement Authority in accordance with Mercer County Ordinance
No. 2006-19. The identification/registration decal of each person
so registered be prominently displayed on each recycling vehicle at
all times while collecting recyclables within Princeton.
[Added 2-13-2023 by Ord.
No. 2023-05]
(a) Failure to register or to display the identification registration
decal on vehicles while collecting recyclables within Princeton shall
subject such private recycler to a fine of $250 per offense; and
(b) Any person or entity conducting recycling collection activities within
Princeton on designated county recycling collection days shall be
assessed a penalty of $250 per offense.
[Added 2-13-2023 by Ord.
No. 2023-05]
(a) Residents:
(1)
Any resident of Princeton who is found to have violated the
provisions of this article shall be subject to the following procedures
and penalties:
a.
A warning shall be issued on the first three occasions that
said article is violated, and thereafter;
b.
A cessation in the collection of garbage which contains recyclable
materials from that household; and/or
c.
A fine up to $500 per day of violation depending upon the extent
of and circumstances of the violation to be assessed pursuant to N.J.S.A.
13:1E-9 by the Mercer County Improvement Authority, as authorized
hereby and pursuant to the inclusion of this article within the Mercer
County Solid Waste Management Plan. The terms and provisions of this
article may be enforced individually and severally by Princeton, the
Mercer County Improvement Authority and the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection.
(b) Commercial, Industrial and Institutional Establishments:
(1)
Failure to submit the plan or have an approved plan in place
as required by this article shall subject the commercial/industrial/institutional
establishment to a fine up to $100 per day until plan submittal requirements
are met.
(2)
Any commercial/industrial/institutional establishment located
within Mercer County found to have violated their required recycling
plan as submitted to the county pursuant to Section 15-4.3 of this
article shall be subject to the following procedures and penalties:
a.
A warning on the first three occasions that said plan is violated,
and thereafter; and
b.
A fine up to $1,000 per day of violation depending upon the
extent of and circumstances of the violation and the size of the violating
establishment, to be assessed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 13:1E-9 by the
Mercer County Improvement Authority, as authorized hereby. The terms
and provisions of this article may be enforced individually and severally
by Princeton, the Mercer County Improvement Authority and the New
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.