[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Catskill as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Junk dealers — See Ch. 115.
[Adopted 5-6-1969]
The Town Board of the Town of Catskill does hereby adopt and enact this article which shall be known and may be cited as the "Ordinance Regulating and Prohibiting Use of Lands Within the Town of Catskill for Disposal of Garbage and Rubbish."
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ASHES
The residue from fires used for cooking and heating buildings.
GARBAGE
Includes any refuse from animal and vegetable matter, and foodstuffs after it has been used as food, refuse from the kitchen, market, house or store, floor sweepings, table waste or animal or vegetable matter, vegetables, meats, fish, bones, fat and all offal, and organic waste substance, but shall not include fresh trimmings from meat markets or slaughterhouses.
PERSON
Includes one or more persons of either sex, natural persons, corporations, partnerships, associations, joint-stock companies, societies, clubs and all other entities of any kind capable of being sued.
[1]
PUBLIC NUISANCE
Affecting health, is a nuisance which is a thing, act or occupation, or use of property, premises, equipment or structure, either private or public, affecting the health of one or more people.
REFUSE or RUBBISH
Includes combustible trash including but not limited to paper, cartons, boxes, barrels, wood, excelsior, tree branches, logs and tree stumps, yard trimmings, wood furniture, bedding and waste petroleum products; noncombustible trash including but not limited to metal, tin cans, metal furniture, small quantities of rock and pieces of concrete, glass, crockery or other metal fixtures; and street rubbish including but not limited to street sweepings, leaves, catch basin dirt and contents of little receptacles. Refuse shall not include earth and wastes from building operations nor shall it include solid waste resulting from industrial process and manufacturing operations such as food processing waste, boiling house cinders, lumber scraps and shaggings.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, spill, place or deposit or leave or cause to be thrown, spilled, placed, deposited or left, or to permit any servant, agent or employee to throw, spill, place, deposit or leave in or upon any street, highway, alley, sidewalk, park, public building, in any running water or body of water within the Town of Catskill, or other public place in the Town of Catskill any sweepings, filth, rubbish, garbage, vegetables, dead carcass, sewage, slops, excrement, compost, stable manure, ashes, soot, tin cans, rags, waste paper barrels, crates, boxes, litter or loose combustible material, including waste petroleum products, materials subject to be carried by the wind or unwholesome or putrescible matter of any kind.
It shall be unlawful for any person as a passenger in or as owner, driver, manager or conductor of any cart, truck, automobile, bicycle, conveyance or other vehicle to scatter, drop or spill or permit to be scattered, dropped or spilled, whether the same be wrapped up in bundles, in bags or otherwise, any stone or building rubbish, or other light materials of any sort, or manufacturing, trade or household wastes, refuse, rubbish of any sort or ashes or manure, garbage or other organic refuse or other offensive matter therefrom, or permit the same to be blown off therefrom by the wind, in or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, vacant lot, vacant premises, public buildings or other public place.
It shall be unlawful for any person, either as owner, lessee, agent, tenant or otherwise, to throw, cast, deposit or place or to cause or permit to run, drop or remain or to be thrown, cast or deposited any rubbish, garbage, manure, offal or other decomposable organic or putrescible matter which will or might create a nuisance or act as or become a breeding place for flies or as food for rats, or discarded thing capable of holding water which might serve as breeding places for mosquitoes or combustible matter which might serve to increase the fire hazard of neighboring property, in or upon any vacant lot or land or vacant place upon the surface of any lot or land, enclosed or otherwise, except at such place or places designated or provided by the Town Board of the Town of Catskill, provided that garbage, manure, offal and other putrescible matter may be temporarily kept in suitable cans, vessels, tanks or containers which are watertight and provided with tightly fitting covers. Nothing in this section shall be construed as to prohibit the depositing of manure or fertilizers upon any private property for the purpose of cultivating or improving the same.
Public health, welfare and safety being promoted thereby, all garbage, as the same is hereinbefore defined, must be kept in covered cans of the approved type, with two handles to carry. All other rubbish, little waste, sweepings, refuse, ashes, papers, rags, glass, bottles, wood waste and materials of the like character must be kept in suitable receptacles which shall be covered or sealed.
It shall be unlawful to dispose of any garbage or refuse anywhere in the Town of Catskill except in a lawfully established garbage or refuse sanitary landfill site, dump or dumping grounds designated by the Town Board. There shall be no open dumps within the general limits of the Town of Catskill.
A. 
No person or corporation shall collect for pay, transport or dispose of garbage within the Town of Catskill unless duly licensed by the Town Clerk of the Town of Catskill. The fee for such license under this article shall be such as may be determined by the Town Board, by resolution, for each year for each conveyance used for transporting garbage. No license shall be granted by the Town Clerk unless a certificate of approval of conveyance to be licensed shall have been made by the Health Officer of the Town of Catskill and duly filed with the Town Clerk. For the purpose of making such approval, the Health Officer shall duly inspect all boxes and conveyances for the transportation of garbage at least once every six months and file his certificate of approval or disapproval of the same with the Town Clerk.
B. 
Any person or corporation who shall engage in the collection of garbage without obtaining a license therefor shall be in violation of this article.
C. 
Any license issued hereunder shall be effective from the date of its issuance until the 31st day of December of the year for which issued, after which a new application for license must be made yearly.
D. 
Such license shall be personal with the licensee. It may not be sold, assigned, transferred or disposed of in any manner.
Any municipality-owned landfill site, dump or dumping grounds designated by the Town Board for that purpose shall be for the exclusive use of the residents of the Town of Catskill, except that the Town Board may grant permission for use of the sanitary landfill site, dump or dumping grounds by outside persons or corporations who agree to pay such fees as are satisfactory to the Town Board. Such fees shall be assumed to be their prorated share of the cost of maintenance. Any such person or corporation who shall, without permission, transport garbage from outside the Town of Catskill and dump or discharge the same upon any municipality-owned sanitary landfill site, dump or dumping grounds or at any other place in the Town of Catskill shall forfeit his or its license after a hearing before the Town Board held after five days' notice, in writing, has been given to the licensee stating the time, place and purpose of said hearing.
A. 
Any municipality-owned sanitary landfill site, dump or dumping grounds shall be open to commercial collectors and the public at the times fixed by said municipality and the municipality shall post said times on an appropriate sign at said sanitary landfill site, dump or dumping grounds.
B. 
No dumping will be permitted at any other time in order that the operator of the equipment at the landfill site, dump or dumping grounds will have time to properly compact and cover the refuse at the close of each day's operation, the object being to make a closed cell of each day's deposit. No garbage or refuse will be permitted to be exposed overnight.
C. 
The disposal by the landfill method shall be planned as an engineering project. The general supervision shall be provided by the Highway Superintendent.
D. 
Sufficient standby equipment shall be provided to prevent delay in covering due to breakdowns or peak loads.
E. 
No fill shall be removed from any municipality-owned sanitary landfill site, dump or dumping grounds by any person or corporation for any purpose.
F. 
The custodian of the landfill site, dump or dumping grounds shall be in full charge of all matters concerning dumping and placing of refuse at the landfill site, dump or dumping grounds and failure to obey the directions of the custodian shall be deemed a violation of this article. All persons using a municipality-owned sanitary landfill site, dump or dumping grounds shall obey the orders of the custodian as to when and where to dump their refuse. All materials cleaned from trucks or cans shall be disposed of in the trench by the carrier and not left on the road.
G. 
A speed limit of 15 miles per hour shall be maintained on access roads leading to the dumping area.
H. 
All garbage trucks or vehicles should be equipped with a permanent-type cover to prevent papers, boxes and trash from blowing out of the vehicle body.
I. 
No material shall be burned at the landfill site, dump or dumping grounds and any person bringing hot ashes or causing a fire to start at the landfill site, dump or dumping grounds shall be subject to penalties imposed for violations of this article.
J. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to pick over the refuse deposited at said landfill site, dump or dumping grounds.
The Highway Superintendent will be responsible for the proper operation, control and maintenance of any designated sanitary landfill site, dump or dumping grounds proposed by the Town Board of this town.
A. 
Any person, firm or corporation who commits or permits any act or acts in violation of any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of an offense and shall upon conviction thereof be liable to a penalty or fine of not more than $250 or imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both such fine and imprisonment, for each and every offense. Each day such violation shall continue or be permitted to exist shall constitute a separate violation or offense.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
Conviction for any above-mentioned violation shall constitute and effect an immediate forfeiture of the license.
C. 
Any person, firm or corporation violating this article shall be subject in lieu of criminal action to a civil penalty enforceable and collectable by the town in the amount of $250 for each such offense. Such penalty shall be collectable by and in the name of the town for each day that such violation shall continue.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
D. 
In addition to the above-provided penalties and punishment, the Town Board may also maintain an action or proceeding in the name of the town in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with or to restrain by injunction the violation of this article.
[The Town of Catskill is currently subject to the recycling regulations of Greene County.]