[Adopted 1-6-1992 by Ord. No. 4-92]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
APPLICANT
Means a person desirous of being licensed as a "collector."
COLLECTOR
Means a person licensed by the Township to collect, transport and dispose of municipal waste.
DISPOSAL
Means the incineration, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of municipal waste into or on the land or water in a manner that the municipal waste or a constituent of municipal waste enters the environment, is emitted into the air or is discharged to the waters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
DISPOSAL AREA
Means any site, location, area, building, structure, transfer station, or premises to be used for municipal waste disposal.
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Means any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste and other material, including solid, liquid, semi-solid or contained gaseous material resulting from operation of residential, municipal, commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities, and any sludge not meeting the definition of residual or hazardous as defined by the laws or regulations of the commonwealth. The term does not include farm-produced manure, other agricultural waste and food processing waste 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. The term does not include source-separated recyclable materials.
PERSON
Means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution, cooperative enterprise, municipal authority, federal government or agency, state institution and agency, or any other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
PROCESSING
Means any technology used for the purpose of reducing the volume or bulk of municipal waste or any technology used to convert part or all of such waste materials for off-site reuse. Processing facilities include, but are not limited to, transfer facilities, composting facilities, and resource recovery facilities.
RECYCLABLES
means those items-designated by the Township of Colebrookdale from time to time as being materials having an economic value in the secondary materials market, and which the residents of the Township of Colebrookdale are required to store and dispose of only in accordance with the provisions of the Colebrookdale Township Recycling Ordinance.[1]
REFUSE
Is a general term and shall mean all matter and materials which are discarded or rejected by the owners or producers thereof as offensive or useless, or which by their presence or accumulation may injuriously affect the health, comfort and safety of the community; it shall include ashes, garbage, rubbish and other refuse materials, but exclude human body waste and recyclables.
STORAGE
Means the containment of any waste on a temporary basis in such a manner as not to constitute disposal of such waste. It shall be presumed that the containment of any waste in excess of one year constitutes disposal. This presumption can be overcome by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
TOWNSHIP
Shall mean the Township of Colebrookdale, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
TRANSPORTATION
Means the off-site removal of any municipal waste at any time after generation.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 450, Art. II, Recycling.
A. 
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 waste upon the surface of the ground or underground within the jurisdictional limits of the Township, except in proper containers for purposes of storage or collection, and except where the waste is of such size or shape as not to permit its being placed in such containers.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to dump or deposit municipal waste in any stream or body of water within the jurisdictional limits of the Township.
C. 
Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to prohibit any person from hauling such municipal waste, on an irregular and unscheduled basis, to any facility permitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection.
D. 
Nothing contained in this article shall prohibit a farmer from carrying out the normal activities of his farming operation, including composting and spreading of manure or other farm-produced agricultural wastes.
It shall be unlawful for any person, other than such persons as are duly licensed by the Township, to collect and transport municipal waste of any nature within, from, or into the Township. Persons shall be licensed to collect, transport, and dispose of municipal waste for persons other than oneself through a permit which may be issued by the Township. All applications for permits shall be reviewed and shall be approved in accordance with the following criteria:
A. 
A municipal solid waste collection permit may be issued to only those persons who can comply with the provisions and intent of this article.
B. 
Applicants for a municipal waste collection permit must furnish the following information:
(1) 
The number of vehicles and the make, model, license plate number and size of the vehicle to be used for collection and hauling.
(2) 
The location, address, hours of business, and telephone number of the business office to receive calls from persons in the Township who receive collection service.
(3) 
A certificate of the applicant's workers' compensation insurance as required by law.
(4) 
A certificate of insurance coverage providing comprehensive liability and property damage insurance covering not only the collector but also the Township, the limits of which shall not be less than $300,000/$500,000 for liability coverage and $100,000 for property damage. The collector shall furnish certificates evidencing such coverage to the Township at the time of application for the permit.
(5) 
The applicant will declare the DEP-approved disposal site where waste will be taken. The disposal site(s) shall be listed on the permit. The facility must be listed in the Berks County Solid Waste Management System Plan once that plan is fully implemented.
(6) 
In addition to the above, the applicant for a municipal waste collection permit shall furnish all other information which the Township may request and deem necessary prior to the issuance of a permit.
(7) 
The Township may deny a permit for the following reasons:
(a) 
If the applicant's permit had been revoked or suspended previously.
(b) 
If the applicant has or is violating any ordinance of the Township of Colebrookdale, the Solid Waste Management Act[1] or any regulations of the Department of Environmental Protection relating to the environment and to solid waste or has been convicted of the same.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq.
(c) 
If the applicant has any uncollected judgments filed against him resulting from lawsuits filed against him by any customer.
(d) 
Where, in the Township of Colebrookdale or elsewhere, the hauler has failed to fulfill his duties as a refuse hauler in general or in particular has failed to pick up refuse in a workmanlike manner on a regularly scheduled basis.
C. 
Permits shall be issued on a calendar year basis, but may be revoked at any time by the Township in accordance with the following:
(1) 
Failure of the permittee to furnish and provide collection and disposal of municipal waste in accordance with the terms of this article and the conditions under which the license was issued:
(2) 
Administrative proceedings.
(a) 
In case of violation or failure to comply with the provisions of this article, the Township Board of Commissioners shall conduct a hearing and give the collector five days' written notice to appear and answer the charge.
(b) 
Upon determination that a violation did occur, the Township Board of Commissioners may issue a warning or revoke the permit.
(3) 
The issuance of a permit under this article does not grant a vested right to the hauler to the continued right to haul municipal waste in the Township of Colebrookdale, and the Township of Colebrookdale reserves the right to amend this article at any time or to contract for refuse services or to initiate the public collection of municipal waste.
D. 
Conditions relating to municipal waste collection permits.
(1) 
An annual fee shall be paid for a municipal solid waste collection permit in accordance with a schedule or charges established by resolution of the Township Board of Commissioners. The annual permit fee shall cover the period of time from February 1 of one year through and including January 31 of the immediately succeeding year. The permit fee shall not be devisable or prorated. The fees shall be submitted with the application for such permit. Payment shall be made by check only and made payable to the "Township of Colebrookdale."
(2) 
Number of vehicles. Persons receiving a municipal waste collection permit shall not use more vehicles for the collection and hauling of municipal waste within the Township than the number of vehicles listed on the application and approved on the permit issued. Any change in the listed vehicles as reported in the application must be reported to the Township at least five days' prior to the date such change shall take place except in an emergency, provided the Township is promptly notified. If an increased number of vehicles are to be used, the appropriate fee shall be paid to the Township as provided for herein. The use of a temporary replacement vehicle by reason of the withdrawal of a vehicle from service for scheduled or unscheduled maintenance shall be reported to the Township immediately by the collector.
(3) 
Signs.
(a) 
Each permitted vehicle shall have the municipal solid waste permit displayed on the vehicle as instructed by the Township at the time the permit is received.
(b) 
Collectors shall have placed on the doors or each side of the body of each vehicle the name of the firm and the telephone number of the firm's office or headquarters. The size of such lettering shall be no less than four inches in height and clearly legible. Vehicles shall be so marked within 10 days after such permits are issued and the vehicles used in the Township.
(4) 
The collector shall be responsible to maintain each vehicle used to perform work in the Township in good operating condition to assure that the schedule of collections can be maintained. The vehicles must be kept clean and painted so as to present a favorable appearance. The Township shall have the right to inspect all vehicles prior to the issuance of a permit and during the period the permit is in effect.
(5) 
The collector shall be responsible for the manner in which their employees perform work pertaining to collection, hauling and disposal of municipal waste under the terms of this article.
A. 
The storage of all municipal waste shall be practiced so as to prevent the attraction, breeding, or harborage of insects or rodents and to prevent conditions which may create potential hazards to the public health or which create fire and other safety hazards, odors, unsightliness or public nuisance.
B. 
Any person accumulating or storing garbage on private or public property in the Township for any purpose whatsoever shall place the same, or cause the same to be placed, in sanitary closed or covered containers in accordance with the following standards:
(1) 
Containers used for the storage of municipal waste shall be: of metal, plastic or fiberglass construction; rust and corrosion resistant; equipped with lids; waterproof and leakproof.
(2) 
All garbage shall be drained of excess liquids and wrapped in paper or be placed in plastic bags before being placed in the waste storage containers previously described, and all ashes shall be free of any burning material before being deposited for collection.
(3) 
No person, except the occupants of the property on which a waste container is placed and an authorized collector, shall remove the lids of the container and/or remove the contents thereof.
(4) 
Municipal waste of a highly flammable or explosive nature, or highly infectious or contagious refuse, shall not be stored for ordinary collection, but shall be disposed of in accordance with the direction of the Township.
(5) 
Containers, other than bulk containers, shall be placed at such locations as may be agreed upon by the person and the permitted collector.
(6) 
Bulk containers shall be placed, whenever possible, at ground level and at a point on the property being serviced by the collector that will enable clear and easy access to the container by the collector's vehicle.
A. 
All municipal waste produced, collected and transported from within the jurisdictional limits of the Township shall be promptly disposed of at facilities permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and in accordance with the Berks County Solid Waste Management System Plan once that plan is implemented.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for a permitted or authorized collector in the Township to dispose of municipal waste collected within the Township at a place other than a facility noted above.
C. 
The Township is hereby authorized to collect municipal waste from Township property, to include litter baskets on Township sidewalks, and to dispose of this waste for a fee in either a receptacle of a permitted collector or at designated disposal sites.
A. 
Any person transporting municipal waste within the Township shall prevent or remedy any spillage from vehicles or containers used in the transport of such municipal waste.
B. 
All persons permitted to collect municipal waste shall do so in vehicles that are provided with either closed containers which are covered or which have measures taken to prevent waste from being blown from vehicle.
C. 
The transfer of waste from one collection vehicle to another may not take place in the Township of Colebrookdale, except such transfer may take place on property in a district zoned for trash transfer facilities. No such transfer may take place on a public right-of-way or block traffic, create litter, or in any other manner constitute a nuisance, create health hazards, or violate any other ordinance or statute of the Township.
[Amended 10-7-2024 by Ord. No. 3-2024]
A. 
All persons of the Township shall arrange for the storage, collection, transportation, and disposal of municipal waste. Municipal waste to be collected by the permitted hauler shall be prepared for and collected at least once each week, except where such conditions beyond the control of the hauler prevent it.
B. 
Any person or commercial establishment authorized to dispose of their own refuse shall provide for collection at intervals short enough to prevent accumulations of refuse that may be unsafe, unsightly, or potentially harmful to the public health.
C. 
All agreements for collection, transportation and disposition of municipal waste shall be by private contract between the person and the collector.
D. 
Nothing herein shall limit the right of the Township to implement public collection of solid waste either by entering into contracts or to engage in any collection practice permitted by law.
A. 
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 and costs of prosecution; provided, however, that each violation of any provision of this article and each day the same is continued shall be deemed a separate offense. Further provided, however, that nothing in this article shall prohibit the Township from instituting suit in equity to restrain a violation of this article when conduct constituting a violation of this article creates a public nuisance.
B. 
The remedies and penalties prescribed in this article shall be deemed to be concurrent. The existence or exercise of any remedy shall not prevent the Township from exercising any other remedy provided by this article or otherwise provided at law or equity.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances which are inconsistent with the terms of this article are hereby repealed.
If any sentence, clause, section, or part of this article is for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid, such unconstitutionality, illegality, or invalidity shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses, sections, or parts of this article. It is hereby declared as the intent of the Board of Commissioners that this article would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid sentence, clause, section, or part thereof not been included herein.