[Adopted 8-16-1994 by Ord. No. 81694]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Township of German Waste Reduction and Recycling Ordinance."
This article is enacted pursuant to the Solid
Waste Management Act, No. 97, July 7, 1980 and the Municipal Waste
Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, No. 101, July 28, 1988.
It is the purpose of this article to:
A.
Require waste reduction and recycling as a means of
managing municipal waste, conserving resources and supplying energy.
B.
Protect the public health, safety and welfare from
the short and long term dangers of collection, transportation, processing
and storage of municipal waste.
C.
Utilize, wherever feasible, the capabilities of private
enterprise in accomplishing the desired objections of an effective,
comprehensive solid waste management program.
D.
Establish and implement within the Township of German
a recycling program to return valuable materials to productive use,
to conserve energy and to protect capacity at municipal waste processing
or disposal facilities.
E.
Recycle at least 25% of all municipal waste and source-separated
recyclable material generated in the Township of German on and after
__________.
F.
The weight or volume of municipal waste generated
per capita in this Township of German on __________ should, to the
greatest extent practicable, be less than the weight or volume of
municipal waste generated per capita on the effective date of this
article.
G.
Each person living or working in the Township of German
shall be taught the economic, environmental, and energy value of recycling
and waste reduction, and shall be encouraged through a variety of
means to participate in such activities.
H.
The Township of German shall, to the greatest extent
practicable, procure and use products and materials with recycled
content, and procure and use materials that are recyclable.
The following words and phrases when used in
this article shall have the meanings given to them in this section
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
The restoration, reclamation, recovery, etc., of a natural
resource adversely affected by the activity of a person.
The mean daily volume received at a facility taking into
account weather, seasonal variations, scheduled community cleanup
days and other factors.
The commonwealth and its departments, boards, commissions,
and agencies, commonwealth owned universities, and the Sate Public
School Building Authority, the State Highway and Bridge Authority,
and any other authority now in existence or hereafter created or organized
by the commonwealth.
Plastic beverage carriers that degrade by biological process,
photodegradation, chemodegradation or degradation by other natural
processes. The degradation process does not produce or result in a
residue or by-product considered to be hazardous waste.
The Department of Environmental Protection of the commonwealth
and its authorized representatives.[1]
The deposition, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking or
placing of solid waste into or on the land or water in a manner that
the solid waste or a constituent of the solid waste enters the environment,
is emitted into the air or is discharged to the waters of this commonwealth.
A study which analyzes a specific municipal waste processing
or disposal system to assess the likelihood that the system can be
successfully implemented, including, but not limited to, an analysis
of the prospective market, the projected costs and revenues of the
system, the municipal waste-stream that the system will rely upon
and various options available to implement the system.
The municipality other than the county within which a municipal
waste landfill or resource recovery facility is located or is proposed
to be located.
Leaves, garden residues, shrubbery and tree trimmings, and
similar material, but including grass clippings.
Counties, cities, boroughs, towns, Townships,
school districts and any other authority now in existence or hereafter
created or organized by the commonwealth.
All municipal or school or other authorities
now in existence or hereafter created or organized by any county,
city, borough, Township, or school district or any combination thereof.
Any and all other public bodies, authorities,
councils of government, officers, agencies or instrumentalities of
the foregoing, whether exercising a governmental or proprietary function.
The entire process, or any part thereof, of storage, collection,
transportation, processing, treatment and disposal of solid wastes
by any person engaging in such process.
A source separation and collection program for recycling
the Township of German's waste or source-separated recyclable materials,
or a program for designated drop-off points or collection centers
for recycling the Township of German's waste or source-separated recyclable
materials, that is operated by or on behalf of the Township of German.
The term includes any source separation and collection program for
composting yard waste that is operated by or on behalf of the Township
of German. The term shall not include any program for recycling construction/demolition
waste or sludge from sewage treatment plants or water supply treatment
plants.
Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste
and other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous material, resulting from the operation of residential, municipal,
commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities
and any sludge not meeting the definition of residual or hazardous
waste in the Solid Waste Management Act from a municipal, commercial,
or institutional water supply treatment plant, wastewater treatment
plant or air pollution control facility. The term does not include
source-separated recyclable materials.
Any facility that is designed, operated or maintained for
the disposal of municipal waste, whether or not such facility possesses
a permit from the department under the Solid Waste Management Act.
The term does not include any facility that is used exclusively for
disposal of construction/demolition waste or sludge from sewage treatment
plants or water supply treatment plants.
The Township of German of Fayette County, Pennsylvania.
A person engaged in solid waste processing or disposal. Where
more than one person is so engaged in a single operation, all persons
shall be deemed jointly and severally responsible for compliance with
the provisions of this article.
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution,
or cooperative enterprise. In any provisions 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.
Plastic rings or similar plastic connectors used as holding
devices in the packaging of beverages, including, but not limited
to, all carbonated beverages, liquors, wines, fruit juices, mineral
waters, soda and beer.
Contamination of any air, water, land or other natural resources
of the Township of German that will create or is likely to create
a public nuisance or to render the air, water, land or other natural
resources harmful, detrimental or injurious to public health, safety,
or welfare, or to domestic, municipal, commercial, industrial, agricultural,
recreational, or other legitimate beneficial uses, or to livestock,
wild animals, birds, fish or other life.
Any product generated by a business or consumer which has
served its intended end use, and which has been separated or diverted
from solid waste for the purposes of collection, recycling, and disposition.
The term includes industrial by-products that would otherwise go to
disposal or processing facilities. The term does not include internally
generated scrap that is commonly returned to industrial and manufacturing
processes.
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.
Those activities required to be conducted prior to constructing
a processing or disposal facility that has been shown to be feasible,
including, but not limited to, public input and participation, siting,
procurement and vendor contract negotiations, and market and municipal
waste supply assurance negotiations.
Any commonwealth agency or local public agency.
Goods, supplies, equipment, materials and printing containing
postconsumer materials.
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.
A facility employing a technology that is a process that
separates or classifies municipal waste and creates or recovers reusable
materials that can be sold to or reused by a manufacturer as a substitute
for or a supplement to virgin raw materials. The term "recycling facility"
shall not mean transfer stations or landfills for solid waste nor
composting facilities or resource recovery facilities.
Any garbage, refuse, other discarded material or other waste,
including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials
resulting from industrial, mining and agricultural operations and
any sludge from an industrial, mining or agricultural water supply
treatment facility, wastewater treatment facility or air pollution
control facility, provided that it is not hazardous. The term shall
not include coal refuse as defined in the Act of September 24, 1968
(P.L. 1040, No. 318), known as the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act.
The term shall not include treatment sludges from coal mine drainage
treatment plants, disposal of which is being carried on pursuant to
the Act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known as The Clean
Streams Law.
A processing facility that provides for the extraction and
utilization of materials or energy from municipal waste that is generated
off-site, including, but not limited to, a facility that mechanically
extracts materials from municipal waste, a combustion facility that
converts the organic fraction of municipal waste into a fuel product.
The term also includes any facility for the combustion of municipal
waste that is generated off-site, whether or not the facility is operated
to recover energy. The term does not include:
Any composting facility.
Methane gas extraction from a municipal waste
landfill.
Any separation and collection center, drop-off
point or collection center for recycling, or any source-separation
or collection center for composting leaf waste.
Any facility, including all units in the facility,
with a total processing capacity of less than 50 tons per day.
Any waste, including, but not limited to, municipal, residual
or hazardous waste, including solid, liquid, or semisolid or contained
gaseous materials. The term does not include coal ash, or drill cuttings.
The Act of July 7, 1980 (P.L. 380, No. 97).
Materials that are separated from municipal waste at the
point of origin for the purpose of recycling.
The containment of any municipal 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 municipal waste in excess
of one-year constitutes disposal. This presumption can be overcome
by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
The off-site removal of any municipal waste at any time after
generation.
Any method, technique or process, including, but not limited
to, neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological
character or composition of any municipal waste so as to neutralize
such waste or so as to render such waste safe for transport, suitable
for recovery, suitable for storage or reduced in volume.
Design, manufacture or use of a product to minimize weight
of municipal waste that requires processing or disposal, including,
but not limited to:
A.
Responsibilities. The Township of German shall have
the power and its duty shall be to assure the proper and adequate
transportation, collection and storage of municipal waste which is
generated or present within its boundaries, to assure adequate capacity
for the disposal of municipal waste generated within its boundaries
by means of the procedure set forth in § 1111 of the Municipal
Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act and to adopt and
implement a program for the collection and recycling of municipal
waste or source-separated recyclable materials as provided in this
article.
B.
Powers. In carrying out its duties under this section,
the Board of Supervisors of the Township of German may adopt resolutions
establishing procedures, regulations and standards for the recycling,
transportation, storage and collection of municipal wastes, or source-separated
recyclable materials which shall not be less stringent than, and not
in violation of or inconsistent with, the provisions and purposes
of the Solid Waste Management Act, the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling
and Waste Reduction Act and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
C.
Duties. The Township of German shall implement the
provisions of this article by collecting, transporting, processing
or marketing source-separated materials or may contract, subject to
competitive bidding, with any person to carry out its duties for the
recycling, transportation, collection and storage of municipal waste
and source-separated recyclable materials, if the recycling, transportation,
collection or storage activity or facility is conducted or operated
in a manner that is consistent with the Solid Waste Management Act,
The Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, this
article and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto. Any such
person shall be jointly and severally responsible with the Township
of German when carrying out its duties for transportation, collection
or storage activity or facility.
The Township of German hereby establishes and
implements a source separation and collection program for recyclable
materials in accordance with § 1501 of the Municipal Waste,
Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act. The source separation
and collection program shall include the following regulations:
A.
Persons are hereby required to separate three materials,
deemed appropriate hereafter, from other municipal waste generated
at their homes, apartments and other residential establishments and
to store each material until collection. The three materials shall
be designated periodically from the following: clear glass, colored
glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office paper,
newsprint, corrugated paper and plastics. Nothing in this article
shall be deemed to impair the ownership of separated materials are
placed at curbside or similar location for collection of the Township
of German.
B.
Persons are hereby required to separate leaf waste
from other municipal waste generated at their homes, apartments and
other residential establishments until collection unless those persons
have otherwise provided for the composting of leaf waste. The Board
of Supervisors of the Township of German shall allow an owner, landlord,
or agent of an owner or landlord of multifamily rental under this
section by establishing a collection system for recyclable materials
at each property. The collection system must include suitable containers
for collecting and sorting materials, easily accessible locations
for the containers, and written instructions to the occupants concerning
the use and availability of the collection system. Owners, landlords
and agents of owners or landlords who comply with this article shall
not be liable for the noncompliance of the occupants of their buildings.
C.
Persons are hereby required to separate high grade
office paper, aluminum, corrugated paper and leaf waste and other
material deemed appropriate generated as commercial, municipal, or
institutional establishments and from community activities and to
store the material until collection. The Board of Supervisors of the
Township of German shall exempt persons occupying commercial, institutional
and municipal establishments within its municipal boundaries from
the requirements of this article if those persons have otherwise provided
for the recycling of materials that they are required by this article
to recycle. To be eligible for an exemption under this subsection,
a commercial or institutional solid waste generator must, annually,
apply for a permit to do so and pay a fee established pursuant to
resolution, and provide written documentation to the Township of German
of the total number of tons recycled or estimated to be recycled.
D.
At least once per month, the following separated materials
are hereby required to be placed at the curbside or a similar location
in the designated containers for collection and a collection charge
as indicated below may be billed to each dwelling unit within the
Township of German according to procedures established pursuant to
a resolution of the Board of Supervisors of German Township in order
to recover that portion of the cost of collection which cannot be
recovered through the sale of the recycled materials.
E.
The Township of German shall collect recyclable materials
from curbside or similar locations designated by Resolution at least
once per month from each residence or other person generating municipal
waste in the Township of German.
F.
The Township of German shall solicit bids and award
contracts for the sale of collected materials for recycling, giving
preferential consideration, for the collection, marketing and disposition
of recyclable materials, to persons engaged in the business of recycling
on the effective date of this article.
The Township of German shall establish a comprehensive
and sustained public information and education program concerning
recycling program features and requirements. As a part of this program,
the Secretary of the Board of Supervisors for the Township of German
shall, at least 30 days prior to the initiation of the recycling program
and at least once every six months thereafter, notify all persons
occupying residential, commercial, institutional and municipal premises
within its boundaries of the requirements of this article. The Secretary
of the Township of German shall, as he or she deems necessary and
appropriate, place an advertisement in a newspaper circulating in
the Township of German, post a notice in public places where public
notices are customarily posted, including a notice with other official
notifications periodically mailed to residential taxpayers or utilize
any combination of the foregoing.
An operator of a landfill or resource recovery
facility may contract with the Township of German to provide recycling
services in lieu of the curbside recycling program as determined from
time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of German. The contract must ensure that at least 25% of the waste
received is recycled provided that the economic and environmental
impact of the proposed technology used for the recycling received
prior approval from the Department of Environmental Protection.
A.
Persons who operate a municipal waste landfill, resource
recovery facility or transfer station under contract with the Township
of German shall establish at least one drop-off center at a location,
designated by the Township of German by Resolution of the Board of
Supervisors of the Township of German, for the collection and sale
of at least three recyclable materials.
B.
The three materials shall be chosen by the Board of
Supervisors of the Township of German pursuant to a resolution from
the following: clear glass, colored glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic
cans, high grade office paper, newsprint, corrugated paper and plastics.
The center shall be located at the facility or in a place that is
easily accessible to persons generating municipal waste that is processed
or disposed at the facility. Each drop-off center must contain bins
or containers where recyclable materials may be placed or temporarily
stored. If the operation of the drop-off center requires attendants,
the center shall be open at least eight hours a week, including four
hours during evenings or weekends, pursuant to a schedule established
by resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the Township of German.
C.
Each operator shall, at least 30 days prior to the
initiation of the drop-off center program and at least once every
six-month thereafter, provide public notice of the availability of
the drop-off center. The operator shall place an advertisement in
a newspaper circulating in the Township of German or provide notice
in another manner approved by the Board of Supervisors of German Township.
On or before __________ of each year, the Secretary
of the Township of German shall submit a report to the Fayette County
Solid Waste Department which shall describe the weight or volume of
materials that were recycled by the municipal recycling program in
the preceding calendar year.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate
any provision of this article, upon conviction thereof in an action
brought before a Magisterial District Judge in the manner provided
for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules
of Criminal Procedure, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less
than $100 nor more than $1,000 plus costs and, in default of payment
of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 90
days. Each day that a violation of this article continues or each
section of this article which shall be found to have been violated
shall constitute a separate offense.
