As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meaning indicated, unless a different meaning appears clearly from
the context:
ACT 101
The Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction
Act, Act of July 28, 1988, P.L. 528, No. 101, as now or hereafter amended.
ALUMINUM
All food and beverage cans made of the light in weight, ductile
and malleable metallic substance or element commonly known as "aluminum."
This description excludes aluminum foil, trays, plates, and miscellaneous
aluminum products.
ASHES
The residue resulting from the burning of wood, coal, coke,
or any other combustible material.
ASSISTED COLLECTION
Refers to a service offered to handicap, elderly, and/or
infirm residents who are unable to manage transporting their municipal
solid waste and recyclables to the curb. This service requires the
driver to leave the truck, retrieve the cart from a location on the
resident's property and visible from the road, empty the contents
and return it to its original location.
AUTOMATED COLLECTION
The collection of municipal solid waste and/or recyclables
at curbside through the process of using an electronic and/or mechanical
arm to lift and empty carts into the collection truck without the
use of manual labor and/or retrofitted devices on a rear-loader or
other types of trucks, commonly known as "flippers."
BI-METALLIC CANS
Empty food or beverage containers consisting of both steel
and aluminum.
BULK ITEMS
Any items with a weight or volume greater than allowed to
be stored within curbside carts, including, but not limited to, rugs,
furniture, mattresses, and other miscellaneous household items from
a residential unit provided by the Township as part of the automated
collection program. Items excluded from this curbside collection include,
but are not limited to, tires, construction debris, recyclables, metal
goods, appliances, hazardous waste, and electronics pursuant to the
Covered Device Recycling Act (CDRA), Act 108 of 2010.
CART
Refers to a heavy-duty plastic container (approximate size
of 35/65/95 gallons), equipped with wheels, handles and a tight-fitting,
nondetachable cover. Carts shall be capable of curbside municipal
solid waste and recyclable collection. Cart weight, when full, shall
not exceed manufacturer's weight maximum.
COMMERCIAL
Of or pertaining to any wholesale, retail, industrial, manufacturing,
transportation, financial or professional service or office enterprise,
business establishment, and educational institutions.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Refers to Township sponsored events, including, but not limited
to, the Forks Township Community Days.
COMPOSTING
The process of the biological decomposition of organic solid
waste being biologically decomposed under controlled anaerobic or
aerobic conditions to yield humus-like product.
CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS
Also referred to as "C & D" and refers to waste that
includes, but is not limited to, lumber, pipes, bricks, concrete,
rebar, wood, paneling, linoleum, drywall, carpet, plumbing fixtures,
fencing, or roofing materials that result from construction or demolition
activities.
CONTAINER
Refers to a watertight, metal or plastic receptacle used
for the collection and storage of municipal solid waste or recyclables
at a residential unit, municipal facility or community event and placed
curbside for Township-wide collection as may be approved from time
to time by the Township.
CURBSIDE
That location at the edge of any lot, parcel or piece of
land adjacent to a public right-of-way and is the correct location
for the placement of solid waste and recycling containers for the
purpose of collection by the designated hauler, which shall be: a)
adjacent to the residential unit; and b) no more than five feet from
the public street used by collection vehicles.
CURBSIDE COLLECTION
The Township-wide collection of municipal solid waste and
recyclables from carts or Containers from any residential unit, municipal
facility, or community event by the designated hauler for removal
and delivery thereof to an approved PA DEP approved waste facility
or to a recycling processor.
DESIGNATED FACILITY
Any specific site designated by the Township as the specific
place or site to which municipal solid waste or recyclable Materials,
must or may be delivered; or in the absence of a specific site, any
approved site for the delivery of any category of solid waste or recyclable
Materials.
DESIGNATED HAULER
The individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, corporation,
or association performing collection and transportation of municipal
solid waste, recyclables, bulk items, yard waste, and metal goods/appliances
from residential units, municipal facilities, and community events
located in the Township pursuant to a contract with the Township and
transporting same to the designated landfill, designated recycling
vendor, or designated compost facility.
DISPOSAL
The deposition or placing of solid waste and/or residue as
described herein into a stated permitted site, facility, location,
area, or premises to be used for the disposal of municipal solid waste
in accordance with any and all county, state and federal regulations
and licensed or permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection.
DUAL STREAM
The process of separating recyclable Materials based upon
the type of recyclable Materials as curbside and/or at the Township
Recycling Center.
ELECTRONICS
Refers to items excluded from the waste stream and as described
in the Covered Device Recycling Act (CDRA), PA Act 108 of 2010.
FOOD WASTE
Vegetable and other food scraps, including meat, dairy products,
grease and bones, paper which has been contaminated with food, fat
or grease, and compostable paper including paper towels, paper plates,
tissue and waxed paper.
GENERATOR
A person who produces or creates any municipal solid waste
or recyclables.
GLASS
All empty food and beverage jars or bottles, the product
being transparent or translucent (clear or colored). Expressly excluded
are noncontainer glass, window or plate glass, light bulbs, and porcelain
and ceramic products.
GRASS CLIPPINGS
Lawn waste resulting from mowing of residential and commercial
lawns. For the purpose of this contract, grass clippings shall be
considered solid waste unless the Township chooses to exercise its
option to compost with yard waste.
HAULER, CONTRACTOR OR COLLECTOR
A general term referring to any person who collects, hauls,
or transports municipal solid waste or recyclables for removal from
premises, and who is in possession of all pertinent permits and licenses
which may be required for the collection, storage or disposal of municipal
solid waste or recyclable Materials.
HAZARDOUS WASTE
Any chemical, compound, mixture, substance or article which
is designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
or appropriate agency of the Commonwealth to be hazardous as that
term is defined by or pursuant to Federal or Commonwealth Law.
HIGH-GRADE OFFICE PAPER
Bond, copier, letterhead or paper typically sold as "white
ledger" paper, and computer paper.
INSTITUTIONAL
Of, or pertaining to, any establishment engaged in service
to persons, including, but not limited to, hospitals, nursing homes,
schools, universities, churches and social or fraternal societies
and organizations.
LANDLORD
The owner of residential or commercial properties, made subject
to a lease, or such owner's authorized agent.
LEAF WASTE
Includes yard waste, leaves, garden residues, shrubbery and
tree trimmings, and similar material, but not including grass clippings.
MANUAL COLLECTION
The process by which individual(s) manually empty curbside
containers and dump their contents into the hauling truck and return
the empty container(s) to the curbside.
METAL ITEMS
Includes but is not limited to: appliances, hot-water heaters,
BBQ grills, bed frames, bicycles, etc. The exact list of acceptable
items and terms of collection shall be determined and modified by
the Township as necessary from time to time.
MIXED PAPER
Paper suitable for recycling including high-grade office
paper, paperboard (cereal boxes, etc.), colored paper, envelopes,
newsprint, junk mail, paper bags, phone books, magazines, school paper,
etc.
MULTIFAMILY DWELLING
Structures for residential living consisting of four or more
attached residential units.
MUNICIPAL FACILITIES
All facilities owned and/or utilized by the Township, including,
but not limited to, municipal offices, police and fire stations, community
center, public works, and recycling center within the boundaries of
the Township.
MUNICIPAL REGULATIONS
Includes policies, procedures, rules, and regulations adopted
and revised from time to time by the Municipality which govern and
pertain to all aspects of the municipality's solid waste and recycling
program, litter, scavenging and moving permits.
MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE
Any garbage, refuse, industrial, lunchroom or office waste
and other materials, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous material, resulting from operation of residential, municipal
or commercial or institutional establishments, or from community activities
and which are not classified as residual or hazardous waste, except
farm-produced manure, other agricultural waste and food processing
with used on land where such materials will improve the condition
of the soil, the growth of crops or the restoration of the land for
the same purposes, and any sludge not meeting the definition of "residual
or hazardous waste," as defined in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania solid
waste Management Act. This term shall specifically exclude construction debris,
recyclables, leaf waste, yard waste, tires, electronics pursuant to
the PA CDRA Act, and hazardous waste as defined herein.
MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING REPORT
A report completed and signed by each person who generates,
collects, or transports municipal solid waste or recyclable Materials
within the Township and which specifies, inter alia: a) the source,
type, quantity and delivery point for the municipal solid waste or
recyclable Materials; b) statement indicating materials were collected
within the Township boundaries and not mixed with materials from outside
the Township boundaries, and c) clearly states the months and year
of collection.
NEWSPRINT
Paper which has been used for the production of daily, weekend
and special edition publications commonly known as "newspapers" and
includes glossy advertising inserts.
PERSON
Any agent, individual, partnership, corporation, association,
institution, cooperative enterprise, municipality, municipal authority,
federal government or agency, state institution or agency, or any
other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject
of rights and duties. In any provisions of this chapter 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.
PLASTICS
Empty and rinsed plastic food, beverage, and household bottles
clearly marked on the bottom with numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
(excluding Styrofoam) and enclosed by the recycling triangle and excluding
any and all plastic bags.
PRIVATE COLLECTOR/HAULER
Any person, business, or entity properly permitted by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) and registered
with the Township, to provide collection and transport of solid waste
or recycling services on behalf of residents, municipalities, commercial
businesses, or institutions within the boundaries of the Township.
PROCESSING
The means by which recyclable Materials are sorted and prepared
for marketing.
RECYCLABLES (also referred to as "recyclable Materials")
Includes office and mixed paper, cardboard and flatboard,
newspapers including colored inserts, manila and brown folders, glossy
paper, magazines, empty aerosol cans, telephone books, bi-metal, tin
and aluminum cans, clear, green, and brown glass bottles and jars,
and plastics (numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7), leaf waste, and yard
waste, and any other items that may be recycled by commercial businesses
or institutions and reported to Northampton County and the PA DEP
annually.
RECYCLE OR 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 creation and recovery of reusable materials
other than a fuel for the operation of energy.
RESIDENTIAL UNIT
Any premises utilized primarily as a residential dwelling
unit, but excluding multifamily dwellings and any other residence
otherwise excluded herein.
SCAVENGING
The removal of recyclable Materials by any unauthorized person.
SINGLE STREAM
A recycling collection process, also referred to as "mixed
recyclables" whereby all Township-designated recyclables are placed
unsorted in one or more carts by Township residents at curbside for
collection by the designated hauler. This collection process may also
be employed at designated locations within Township municipal facilities
and at community events.
STEEL CANS
The ferrous metal food or beverage containers commonly known
as "tin cans."
THEFT OF SERVICE
Refers to placing any municipal solid waste or recyclables
in any other persons waste or recyclables cart or container without
permission.
TOWNSHIP RECYCLING CENTER
Located at 1051 Frost Hollow Road, this dropoff center provides
for the collection of various residential and commercial recyclables.
UNACCEPTABLE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLABLES
Includes chemotherapeutic waste, wet paint, explosives, gas
cylinders, hazardous waste, infectious/pathological waste, radioactive
materials, construction debris, and electronics pursuant to the Pennsylvania
Covered Device Recycling Act, yard waste of any kind specifically
excluded from the waste stream by any local, county, or state law.
YARD WASTE
Includes leaf waste, plant materials (leaves, branches, brush,
flowers, roots, etc.), debris commonly thrown away in the course of
maintaining yards and gardens. Yard waste shall not include loose
soils, sod, food waste, including food waste from gardens or orchards;
food compost; plastics and synthetic fibers; lumber; tree stumps,
any wood or tree limbs over four inches in diameter; human or animal
excrement; noxious weeds and soil contaminated with hazardous substances.
It shall be unlawful for any person to store, dump, discard
or deposit, or to permit the storage, dumping, discarding or depositing
of any municipal solid waste or recyclables upon the surface of the
ground or underground within the Township, except in proper containers
for purposes of storage or collection, and except where the municipal
solid waste or recyclables are of such size or shape as not to permit
their being placed in such containers, in which case, they shall be
disposed of pursuant to bulk collection. It shall be unlawful for
any person to dump or deposit any municipal solid waste or recyclables
in any stream, body of water or on any public right-of-way within
the Township.
No person shall ignite, cause, feed, permit or maintain any
open fire for the destruction of recyclables or yard waste.
Recyclables and yard waste shall be kept separate from municipal
solid waste, for the purpose of recycling and composting respectively,
to the extent required by the following provisions:
A. Owners and occupants of all residential properties shall keep separate
the following recyclables for the purpose of curbside recycling: clear
or colored glass containers, aluminum and steel/bi-metallic cans,
plastic bottles with recycling numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, cardboard,
magazines, newspapers, mixed paper, and leaf waste.
B. Owners and occupants of all commercial, municipal and institutional
establishments and properties and sponsors or organizers of community
activities shall keep separate the following recyclables: clear glass
containers, brown glass containers, green glass containers, aluminum
cans, steel/bi-metallic cans, corrugated cardboard, newspapers, high-grade
office paper, and mixed paper. Yard waste shall also be kept separate
for the purpose of composting. Owners and occupants of commercial,
municipal and institutional establishments may seek an exemption to
the requirements of this section (as specified under Act 101, Section
(c)(1)(iii) if the owners and occupants have otherwise provided for recycling of the materials they are required by this chapter to recycle. To be eligible for an exemption a commercial, municipal or institutional solid waste generator must submit an annual report showing materials that were recycled and the total number of tons recycled to the Township no later than February 15 of each year. Recyclables shall be prepared and stored in accordance with the provisions set forth in §
159-12 of this chapter.
Carts shall be placed curbside pursuant to municipal regulations
as the Township deems necessary. It shall be a violation of this chapter
to mix or place any designated recyclable Material or leaf waste in
with municipal solid waste.
All private haulers operating within the boundaries of the Township,
and permitted pursuant to the terms of this chapter, shall submit
to the Township or its designee a quarterly recycling report including
any and all weight slips obtained from the facility or facilities
to which the recyclables were delivered or taken. Each such recycling
report shall be submitted on or before the 15th day of the following
month, for the preceding month.
All recyclable materials shall become the property of and shall
be owned by the Township or the designated hauler (as set forth in
any waste or recycling contract with the Township) when such materials
are collected at curbside. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed
to impair the ownership of recyclables by the person who generated
them prior to such pickup. Collection of recyclables materials by
persons not authorized by the Township is prohibited.
Any person granted a license by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
shall not in any manner be construed as an agent, servant or employee
of the Township but shall, at all times, be considered and remain
an independent contractor.
The Township reserves the right to direct recyclables and/or
leaf or yard waste to a designated Recycling Processor and or Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection approved yard waste composting
facility.
Recyclable materials that are collected by the Township shall
be recycled according to Act 101.