[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of West Milford as Sec. 5-1 of the 1976 Revised General Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Nuisances — See Ch. 230.
Unsolicited printed matter — See Ch. 279.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 285.
Solid waste; recycling — See Ch. 321.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
GARBAGE
Putrescible animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
LITTER
Any used or unconsumed substance or waste material which has been discarded, whether made of aluminum, glass, plastic, rubber, paper or other natural or synthetic material, or any combination thereof, including, but not limited to, any bottle, jar or can, or any top, cap, or detachable tab of any bottle, jar, or can, any unlighted cigarette, cigar, match or any flaming or glowing material or any garbage, trash, refuse, debris, rubbish, grass clippings or other lawn or garden waste, newspapers, magazines, glass, metal, plastic or paper containers or other packaging or construction material but does not include the waste of the primary processes of mining or other extraction processes, logging, sawmilling, farming or manufacturing.
[Amended 10-18-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-19]
LITTER RECEPTACLE
A container suitable for the depositing of litter.
[Added 10-18-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-19]
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this state subject to municipal jurisdiction.
[Added 9-21-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-15]
PUBLIC PLACE
All streets, sidewalks, boulevards, alleys or other public ways, and all public parks, squares, spaces, grounds and buildings.
REFUSE
All putrescible and nonputrescible solid waste (except body wastes), including garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobiles, and solid market and industrial waste.
RUBBISH
Nonputrescible wastes, consisting of both combustible and noncombustible wastes, such as paper, wrappings, cigarettes, cardboard, tin cans, yard clippings, leaves, wood, glass, bedding, crockery and similar materials.
VEHICLE
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transferred or drawn upon a highway, including devices used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks.
[Amended 10-18-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-19]
A. 
Littering prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, drop, discard or otherwise place any litter of any nature upon public or private property other than in a litter receptacle, or having done so, to allow such litter to remain. Whenever any litter is thrown or discarded or allowed to fall from a vehicle or boat in violation of this chapter, the operator or owner, or both, of the motor vehicle or boat shall also be deemed to have violated this chapter.
[Amended 9-21-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-15]
B. 
Illegal dumping.
[Amended 10-13-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-22]
(1) 
It shall be unlawful for any person, regardless of intent, to engage or be permitted to engage in the disposal of solid waste in excess of 0.148 cubic yards of solids or 30 United States gallons of liquid, whether for profit or otherwise.
(2) 
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subsection of the Township's Code, any person who is convicted of this specific subsection shall be subject to a fine of not less than $2,500 for a first offense, not more than $5,000 for a second offense and not more than $10,000 for a third and every subsequent offense. In addition, the individual convicted of such violation must make restitution in the form of reimbursement to the Township for all costs and expenses incurred from the storage and/or disposal of such materials that are to be legally disposed. Each day during which the violation continues constitutes an additional, separate and distinct offense.
(3) 
This subsection shall not apply in the instance where solid waste is disposed at a solid waste facility or a disposal site which has authorization from the appropriate state regulatory agency having jurisdiction over solid waste management to accept solid waste for disposal.
(4) 
The provisions of this subsection may be enforced by a police officer of the municipality, a representative of the Township Health Department, and or the Department of Public Works and Engineering.
C. 
Open or overflowing waste disposal bins. It shall be unlawful for any residential or commercial property owner to permit open or overflowing waste disposal bins on his or her property.
D. 
Uncovered vehicles. It shall be unlawful for any vehicles to be driven, moved, stopped or parked on any highway unless such a vehicle is constructed or loaded to prevent any of its load from dropping, sifting, leaking or otherwise escaping therefrom. Any person operating a vehicle from which any glass or objects have fallen or escaped, which could cause an obstruction, damage a vehicle, or otherwise endanger travelers or public property, shall immediately cause the public property to be cleaned of all glass or objects and shall pay the costs therefor.
E. 
Additional prohibitions in residential districts. In residentially zoned areas, it shall be unlawful:
(1) 
To store any bulky household items, such as appliances, furniture or mattresses, except in a fully enclosed structure or during days designated for the collection of bulky items; and
(2) 
To store tires, except in a fully enclosed structure.
[Amended 10-18-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-19]
A. 
Litter receptacles and their servicing are required at the following public places which exist in the Township: sidewalks used by pedestrians in active retail commercially zoned areas, such that at a minimum there shall be no single linear quarter-mile without a receptacle; buildings held out for use by the public, including schools, government buildings, and railroad and bus stations; parks; drive-in restaurants; all street vendor locations; self-service refreshment areas; construction sites; gasoline service station islands; shopping centers; parking lots; campgrounds and trailer parks; marinas, boat moorage and fueling stations, boat launching areas; public and private piers operated for public use; beaches and bathing areas; and at special events to which the public is invited, including sporting events, parades, carnivals, circuses, and festivals. The proprietors of these places or the sponsors of these events shall be responsible for providing and servicing the receptacles such that adequate containerization is available.
B. 
Persons placing litter in public receptacles or in authorized private receptacles shall do so in a manner which prevents the litter from being carried or deposited by the elements upon a public place or upon private property.
[Amended 10-18-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-19]
No person, including merchants owning or occupying a place of business, shall sweep into or deposit in a gutter, road, right-of-way or other public place within the Township the accumulation of litter from a building or lot or from a public or private sidewalk or driveway. Persons owning or occupying property shall keep the sidewalk and drainage swale in front of their premises free of litter, including leaves. This shall not apply to placement of leaves when duly authorized. All sweepings shall be collected and properly containerized for disposal.
No person shall bring, cart, remove, transport or collect any litter from outside the Township and bring it into the Township for the purpose of dumping or disposing thereof. No truck or other vehicle containing litter in the Township shall be parked or allowed to remain standing on any street in the Township or on any public or private property.
Advertisements, handbills, circulars and papers may be distributed in the Township only if they are so securely placed at each dwelling that they will not be blown away by the wind; otherwise no person shall place any advertisement, handbill, circular or paper on or in any public street, sidewalk, building or vehicle within the Township.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 285, Printed Matter, Unsolicited.
[Added 10-18-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-19; amended 7-5-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-24]
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any owner, agent, or contractor in charge of a construction or demolition site to permit the accumulation of litter before, during, or after completion of any construction or demolition project. It shall be the duty of the owner, agent, or contractor in charge of a construction site to furnish containers adequate to accommodate flyable or nonflyable debris or trash at areas convenient to construction areas, and to maintain and empty the receptacles in such a manner and with such a frequency as to prevent spillage of refuse.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any owner, agent or contractor in charge of a construction or demolition site to dispose of construction site debris without obtaining a receipt from an approved solid waste disposal company or facility and presenting said receipt to the Township. The Township Construction Official may grant an exception to this requirement for small jobs, the debris from which can be disposed of by regular garbage collection.
[Added 10-18-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-19]
It shall be the duty of the owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or person in charge of any structure to keep and cause to be kept the sidewalk and curb abutting the building or structure free from obstruction or nuisances of every kind, and to keep sidewalks, areaways, backyards, courts and alleys free from litter and other offensive material.
[Added 10-18-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-19]
In the event that the owner or possessor of private property or lands shall refuse or neglect to abate or remedy the condition which constitutes a violation of § 208-2C, 208-4, 208-7 or 208-8, the Township may cause the condition to be abated and remedied. Upon the removal of any materials prohibited to be stored or abandoned on lands by this chapter by or under the direction of an appointed officer or officers of this jurisdiction, in cases where the owner or tenant shall have refused or neglected to remove same in manner and within five days of receiving a notice of violation, such officer shall examine the certificate, and if found correct shall cause the cost as shown thereon to be charged against said lands, and same will be added to and become and form part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon said lands. The same shall bear interest at the same rate as taxes and shall be collected and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.
[Added 10-18-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-19; amended 7-5-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-24]
In addition to the remedies provided in § 208-9, any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to:
A. 
A fine not less than $100 nor exceeding $2,000.
[Amended 12-7-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-25; 8-23-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-012]
B. 
In addition to the fine, the court in its discretion may impose:
(1) 
A term of imprisonment not exceeding 90 days.
(2) 
Performance of community service not exceeding 90 days.
[Added 7-5-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-24]
A reward of between $100 and $1,000 may be paid to any person or persons providing information leading to the detection and apprehension of any person found guilty of violating this chapter. The reward is payable after conviction out of a fund established for this purpose, but no such reward may be paid to any public employee whose duty it is to investigate or to enforce the law. The Health Officer is authorized to award the reward with the consent of the Township Council.
[Added 9-21-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-15]
All police officers of the Township, regular and special, and the Health Officer or his/her duly authorized designee, are hereby given full power and authority and are charged with the duty to enforce all provisions of this chapter.