This article shall be known and referred to as the "Solid Waste Ordinance."
[Adopted 3-12-1991 by Ord. No. 1504; amended in its entirety 11-12-2024 by Ord. No. 1784]
The following words and terms, as used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed thereto in this section, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Large items of solid waste, including, but not limited to, appliances, furniture, large auto parts, trees, branches or stumps, which may require special handling due to their size, shape or weight, including, but not limited to, any item of waste heavier than 50 pounds in weight or greater than four feet in any dimension.
All solid waste emanating from any establishment engaged in nonmanufacturing or nonprocessing business, including, but not limited to, stores, markets, office buildings, restaurants, shopping centers and theaters.
All municipal and residual waste, including building materials, grubbing waste, and rubble resulting from construction, remodeling, repair and demolition operations on houses, commercial buildings and other structures and pavements.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Solid waste, comprised of garbage, refuse and rubbish, which normally originates in a private residential household or apartment house.
Any solid waste derived from animal, grain, fruit or vegetable matter that is capable of being decomposed by microorganisms with sufficient rapidity to cause such nuisances as odors, gases or vectors.
Any person, firm, copartnership, association or corporation who may be authorized by the Borough to collect, transport and dispose of solid waste from Borough properties for a fee as herein prescribed or otherwise approved by resolution by Borough Council.
All wastes defined as hazardous under the regulations of the United States Environmental Protection Agency as specified in 40 CFR 261 and under the regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as specified in 25 Pa. Code Ch. 261a, including all latest and future amendments thereto.
Garbage, rubbish, refuse, lunchroom or office waste and other material resulting from operation of residential, commercial, municipal or institutional establishments and from community activities.
The Borough of McKees Rocks, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution, cooperative enterprise, municipal authority, federal or state government or agency, state institution, or any other legal entity which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. In any provision of this article prescribing a fine, imprisonment or penalty, or any combination of the foregoing, the term "person" shall include the officers and directors of any corporation or other legal entity having officers and directors.
All materials which are discarded as useless.
Any person owning, occupying, possessing, renting, or in any manner lawfully using real property within the Borough for residential living purposes as a matter of law or equity.
All municipal waste except garbage and other decomposable matter. This category includes, but is not limited to, ashes, bedding, cardboard, cans, clothing, crockery, glass, leather, metals, paper, plastic, rags, straw, wood and yard cleanings/cuttings.
All garbage, rubbish, refuse and other discarded materials, including, but not limited to, solid and liquid waste materials resulting from residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, industrial and agricultural activities.
From and after the effective date of this article, and for reasons of safety, health and sanitation, it shall be unlawful for any person to:
A.
Accumulate or permit to accumulate upon any public or private property within the Borough any garbage, refuse, rubbish, bulky waste, domestic waste, municipal waste or any other solid waste, except in accordance with the provisions of this article.
B.
Accumulate or permit to accumulate upon any public or private property within the Borough any hazardous waste.
C.
Burn, bury or dispose of any solid wastes upon any public or private property within the Borough.
D.
Operate as a "hauler" or "private collector" to collect, transport or remove any solid waste from any public or private property within the Borough without first receiving approval to do so in accordance with the provisions of this article. Property owners or tenants may remove bulky solid waste from their own properties as long as the same is properly and legally disposed of.
E.
Throw, place or deposit, or cause or permit to be thrown, placed or deposited any solid waste in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, body of water, public or private property within the Borough, except in accordance with the provisions of this article.
A.
From and after the effective date of this article, the Borough shall have the sole and exclusive right, privilege and obligation to provide for the collection and disposal of municipal waste from all residential properties, including single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses and apartment buildings, within the Borough. No person is hereafter permitted to contract for this service by or through any other agency or business, except as provided and/or required herein.
B.
The Borough shall provide for the collection and disposal of municipal waste, subject to the limitations as set forth in this article, from residential properties, either directly or by entering into a periodic contract with one or more private collectors to provide this service. The Borough shall be empowered to establish, from time to time, by resolution of Borough Council duly adopted, a schedule of fees and rules for providing such service and to charge each property owner a fee computed according to such prevailing schedule. Any fees so established shall be computed based upon the prevailing costs to the Borough of providing such service, including reasonable allowances to cover costs to the Borough for implementation, administration and management of such service. All residential properties shall use this service as herein provided.
C.
The property owner shall be responsible for all associated costs and fees associated with solid waste and garbage removal. Where the property owner is a landlord, the landlord shall require and be responsible for tenant compliance with this article. All garbage service accounts shall be in the name of the property owner.
D.
All commercial, municipal, institutional and agricultural premises or enterprises shall be required to privately negotiate and contract individually with the Borough's private collector or any properly licensed and approved hauler of their choice for the collection and disposal of their own solid wastes.
E.
All residents and property owners shall comply with any rule, regulation, policy or term of service, associated with the collection and disposal of municipal waste and recycling services, which shall be adopted and amended from time to time by resolution.
F.
The Borough shall provide for the collection of municipal waste from residential properties at least once per week, in accordance with residential collection schedules published regularly by the Borough or its contracted hauler. Regularly scheduled weekly collections shall exclude the collection of any bulky waste or construction and demolition waste from any property. It is the responsibility of any person requiring the collection and disposal of such excluded wastes to privately negotiate and contract individually with the Borough's private collector or any properly licensed and approved hauler of their choice for the collection and disposal of such excluded wastes. The Borough may elect, at its sole discretion, to establish one or more special collection days during the year for the collection of bulky wastes; however, construction and demolition waste shall not be collected by the Borough at any time.
G.
Private collection of solid waste from any commercial, municipal, institutional and agricultural premises or enterprise shall be performed as often as is necessary to control health hazards, odors, flies, and unsightly conditions; however, in no event shall such collections be made less frequently than once per week.
H.
All collection activity shall be conducted only during the hours from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., unless prior approval of an exception has been granted in writing by the Borough.
I.
Residents may not place garbage receptacles at curb earlier than 6:00 p.m. on the day prior to scheduled garbage pickup. Residents must retrieve receptacles by 8:00 p.m. on day of pickup.
J.
It shall be unlawful for any resident at any time to place any garbage or rubbish on any street, alley, sidewalk or public right-of-way, or to place any garbage or rubbish on any real estate of any other resident without the written permission of said other resident and the Borough.
K.
Nonresident dumping of garbage, bulky items and/or other solid waste is expressly prohibited. This section shall not prohibit the hauling of garbage or rubbish through the Borough in the course of transporting it from one location to another location outside the Borough, provided that the waste is being transported in closed, leakproof containers or otherwise completely enclosed.
L.
With the exception of pickup days when garbage receptacles are placed out for collection, garbage receptacles and bulky waste shall be properly stored on the owner or customer's premises at all times to prevent garbage and solid waste from spilling, direct access to elements, or being accessed by animals and vermin.
M.
No garbage shall be permitted to accumulate indoors in a manner that threatens the welfare, health or safety of a resident(s). No garbage shall be permitted to accumulate outdoors for more than one week.
N.
No receptacle or bulky waste may be stored in the front yard of a property, unless prior approval of exception has been granted in writing by the Borough.
O.
Requirements relating to garbage receptacles, bulky waste and weekly limitations on quantities shall be governed by the Borough's agreement with its designated hauler. These requirements shall be communicated to residents at least once annually.
P.
Owners and residents shall be responsible with compliance with the International Property Maintenance Code, as adopted, and other Borough ordinances relating to garbage and waste.
Q.
All haulers and haulers under contract with the Borough must comply with the following regulations:
(1)
Any solid waste collected within the Borough must be conveyed by the hauler to an approved transfer station, processing facility or disposal site, which must have a valid current operating permit in force, which has been issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
(2)
All collection vehicles shall be watertight and capable of being enclosed or fitted with a cover to prevent wastes from spilling out. Vehicles shall be kept in good operating condition and cleaned as frequently as necessary to prevent health hazards, odors, vectors and other nuisances.
(3)
All vehicles used for the collection and transportation of solid waste must comply with all applicable codes, standards and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and any other agency having jurisdiction thereover.
R.
All collection, transportation and disposal activities shall comply with all applicable federal and state laws, regulations, codes and standards, including, but not limited to, the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act of 1980 (Act 97).
A.
No person shall engage in the collection, transportation or disposal of any solid waste material from any public or private property within the Borough without first applying for and receiving written authorization from the Borough. This provision may be waived, on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the Borough.
B.
Applications shall be made to the Borough on forms provided for such purpose by the Borough.
C.
Any approval issued by the Borough may be revoked at any time by the Borough in the event that the hauler or private collector violates any provision of this article or in the event that there is a material change in the status of any condition precedent to the approval, including, but not limited to, a violation of the Borough's Code.
A.
The municipality shall be responsible for the collection of any fees for solid waste collection and disposal from residential customers, unless duly delegated by agreement with a third party. Other licensed haulers shall be responsible for the collection of any collection and disposal fees from commercial, institutional, and industrial customers.
(1)
Any residential customer who fails to pay a bill for more than 30 days from the date the bill was mailed shall be notified in writing via first-class mail that their hauling service may be subject to suspension for failure to pay the same ("notice"). Notice shall be given to the service address and, if different, the official owner mailing address used for real estate tax bill mailing.
(a)
The notice shall provide the residential customer the right to an appeal. Appeals must be initiated in writing by the owner, state the factual and legal grounds for appeal and include the required appeal fee required by the Borough Fee Schedule, as amended from time to time.
(b)
All appeals shall be heard by Borough Council or a designated Committee thereof within 30 days in a manner consistent with the Local Agency Law.
(2)
If a customer fails to pay in full within seven days from expiration of the notice and does not appeal, the customer shall be notified in writing via first-class mail and posting that garbage service shall be immediately suspended.
(3)
In the event of service shutoff, the Borough shall include administrative fees, costs and penalty to the residential customer's municipal obligation ("total obligation").
(4)
Garbage service shall be restored until payment in full of the total obligation.
(5)
In addition to the rights of the Borough to suspend service for nonpayment, the municipality shall have the authority to lien the property any unpaid amounts against the owner's property.
B.
The Borough, may at any time hereunder, in addition to terminating service and/or prosecuting violators by and through enforcement and/or injunctive proceedings before the Magisterial District Court or a court of competent jurisdiction, direct immediate compliance with this article to protect the welfare, health and safety of the residents and community. Said notice shall be in writing and provided to the owner(s) and resident(s) at least 48 hours in advance. Service of the notice may be effectuated upon posting the property and, in the event of a registered rental unit, emailing the designated property manager. In the event that the violation is not remedied, the Borough shall have a right to enter the property and remediate the condition. The actual cost of said removal shall be due and owing to the Borough, which if not paid within 30 days of invoicing may be filed as a municipal lien and indexed against the property in a manner consistent with the law.
C.
The Borough reserves the right to adopt via resolution, subject to amendment from time to time, reasonable billing and service rules and regulations, which shall be available on the Borough's website.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article 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 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. In addition to or in lieu of enforcement under this section, the Borough may enforce this article in equity in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.
This article shall be deemed severable and if any part thereof be declared illegal, unconstitutional or void in any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining parts thereof shall continue in full force and effect. All ordinances or parts of ordinances or resolutions, insofar as they are inconsistent herewith shall be hereby repealed. This article shall be effective retroactive to October 1, 2024.