[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Cortlandt 8-20-1991 as
part of L.L. No. 1-1991. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Appearance tickets — See Ch.
5.
Recreational areas — See Ch.
228.
Sludge and hazardous materials — See Ch.
253.
It is the purpose of this chapter to promote
the health, comfort, convenience and general welfare of all residents
of the community and to protect and preserve the rights of the Town
of Cortlandt and its inhabitants by regulating the methods and procedures
of collecting and disposing of garbage, rubbish and refuse within
the Town of Cortlandt.
For the purpose of this chapter, the terms used
herein are defined as follows:
BUSINESS AREA
The business, light manufacturing and heavy manufacturing
districts as shown on the revised Map of the Town of Cortlandt.
CONTAINER
A watertight, nonrusting metal or plastic container of substantial
construction with sloping sidewalls, its volume or capacity not to
exceed 45 gallons nor its total full weight to exceed 70 pounds, equipped
with a tight-fitting cover of the same material as the container and
bail or substantial handle(s). The Town shall not be responsible for
breakage of plastic containers. Securely tied plastic bags at least
1.5 mils thick, the weight of which does not exceed the ability of
the bag to hold the material without breaking when picked up by the
neck, may be substituted as a "container"; an automated compaction
unit with a capacity for six cubic yards or dumpsters; or any other
container as may be approved by the Director of the Department of
Environmental Services.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
GARBAGE
Every waste accumulation of animal, vegetable, fruit or similar
organic matter that attends the preparation, use, cooking, dealing
in or storage of meat, fish, fowl, fruit or vegetables.
NONACCEPTABLE WASTE
The Director of the Department of Environmental Services
or his designee shall from time to time promulgate and file with the
Town Clerk a list of all waste which is deemed to be "nonacceptable."
The criteria for determining nonacceptability shall be that it is
not acceptable to the resource recovery plant operators to which all
of the Town's other refuse and rubbish is delivered. Said list as
promulgated herein shall be filed with the Town Clerk and shall take
effect immediately upon its filing with the Town Clerk.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
PERSON
Any natural person, firm, copartnership, association or corporation.
RECYCLABLES
The Director of the Department of Environmental Services
will establish a list of materials and items that are to be recycled
by the residents of the Town. Said list will be filed with the Town
Clerk and received and filed by the Town Board at a regular meeting.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
REFUSE
Inorganic wastes such as glass, porcelain, crockery, metals,
tin cans or other similar incombustible matter, and shall also include
grass clippings, leaves and tree trimmings.
RESIDENTIAL AREA
The residence districts as shown on the revised map of the
Comprehensive Zoning Map of the Town of Cortlandt, as well as any
multifamily dwellings that are permitted under the Zoning Ordinance
of the Town of Cortlandt.
RUBBISH
Includes litter, paper, paper products or materials, cardboard,
wood, rubber, cloth, leather or any other similar combustible material.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
The removal and disposal of garbage, refuse
and rubbish in the Town of Cortlandt, New York, shall be under the
jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Services. The Director
of the Department of Environmental Services is hereby empowered to
make and publish regulations concerning the days and time of collection
for garbage, combustible rubbish and refuse, the location and number
of containers and any and all other regulations pertaining to the
collection and disposal of these wastes as he may deem advisable,
provided that such regulations are not contrary to this chapter, and
further provided that no regulation shall become effective until a
copy thereof is filed in the office of the Town Clerk of the Town
of Cortlandt.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
A. The container shall be maintained in good condition
by the owner thereof and shall not be permitted to have any ragged
or sharp edges or any other defects liable to hinder or harm the person
collecting the contents thereof.
B. Should the container deteriorate to such an extent
that the handles thereof become dangerous and liable to injure or
hinder the person collecting the contents of said container or should
it leak, it must be replaced by a proper container within one week
after receipt of written notice from the Department of Environmental
Services of said condition. All such improper receptacles shall be
removed by the Town collectors.
C. A container
shall not exceed 45 gallons nor shall its total full weight exceed
70 pounds. All containers shall contain proper handles.
Said container shall be kept covered at all
times with a proper tight-fitting cover except while garbage is being
put into such can or while the same is being emptied. It shall be
unlawful for anyone other than authorized collectors to disturb any
container or to remove the cover or any of the contents thereof or
cause the contents thereof to be strewn or scattered on the lawns,
sidewalks, streets, alleys, parks, playgrounds, empty lots or other
public places in the Town of Cortlandt.
A. All garbage must be drained and wrapped in paper or
plastic bags before placing in the container.
B. Dead shrubbery, limbs of trees, flowers, hedge clippings
and the like may be deposited for collection, provided that the same
are cut into lengths of not greater than four feet and are securely
tied in bundles not more than two feet in diameter.
C. No garbage, rubbish or refuse or other waste matter
shall be put out on the street in the residential area for collection
by any person before 7:00 p.m. on the night preceding collection nor
after 7:00 a.m. of the day of collection. Empty cans must be removed
by sunset of the day of collection.
D. No garbage, rubbish or refuse or other waste matter
shall be put out on the street in the business area on collection
days by any person before 7:00 a.m. nor after 8:00 a.m.
E. Commercial collections shall be limited to Monday
through Friday, holidays excepted.
F. During the time period from Memorial Day through Labor
Day, the aforesaid collection time of 7:00 a.m. shall be 6:00 a.m.,
and the exact start and end of said pickup time shall be set forth
annually by the Director of Environmental Services with the approval
of the Town Supervisor.
[Amended 9-17-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
The Town of Cortlandt will continue to recycle.
The Director of the Department of Environmental Services shall promulgate
rules and regulations with respect to the type of recyclables to be
collected and the manner in which said recyclables are to be left
at curbside for collection. For the first 90 days of the recycling
period, anyone who fails to comply with recycling shall be given a
warning notice by the Director of the Department of Environmental
Services. At the expiration of said ninety-day period, anyone who
does not properly recycle those materials as included in the list
heretofore promulgated by the Director of the Department of Environmental
Services shall be subject to the fines and penalty provisions of this
chapter. The Director of the Department of Environmental Services,
with the consent of the Town Board, may implement recycling programs
in all or part of the Town for various materials.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
A. The Director of the Department of Environmental Services
shall from time to time promulgate a list of those items which shall
be collected by the Town on an appointment-type basis and only upon
payment of a fee by the property owner for the collection of the same.
The items to be included in this area include but are not limited
to automobile tires.
B. The Director of the Department of Environmental Services
is hereby empowered to promulgate rules and regulations concerning
the collection of these items and will also promulgate the fees to
be charged with respect to the collection of these items.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
The Director of the Department of Environmental
Services shall be responsible for the operation of the Town-owned
disposal facilities when in operation, but not limited to the hours
of operation, the material which may be deposited therein and the
method of disposal.
A. Limitations on properties served. It shall be the
duty of every person who accumulates garbage, refuse or rubbish to
prepare the same for removal by the Sanitation Division of the Town
of Cortlandt, except where disposition by a private collector is arranged.
Empty cardboard or wooden cartons which have not been flattened shall
not be picked up.
B. Availability and extension of service.
(1) Not more than the equivalent of three thirty-gallon
containers of garbage, rubbish or refuse shall be collected in each
of two collections in any one week from any one place of business,
store, factory or similar establishment or from any property in a
residential area without a charge therefor. In the case of residential
multifamily dwellings, this limitation shall be for each dwelling
unit contained therein.
(2) The Director of the Department of Environmental Services
is hereby authorized to arrange date and time schedules for the collection
of garbage, refuse and rubbish for the various sections of the Town.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
(3) Where the property owner or tenants provide an approved garbage container which can be mechanically emptied into a Town truck, the Director of the Department of Environmental Services may authorize Town trucks to enter upon such property, with the written permission of the owners, to empty such container in accordance with Subsection
B(1) of this section.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
(4) The Director of the Department of Environmental Services
shall not be required to remove from either private residences or
from commercial establishments mechanically operated vehicles or machinery
or any parts thereof, including tires.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
(5) All multiple residences of more than three stories
in height constructed after the effective date of this chapter shall
process all garbage through a compactor or individual compactors before
collection by the Town.
(6) All multiple residences of 10 or more units in any
single development shall place their garbage and refuse in one-and-one-half-
or two-yard containers or compactors of a type compatible with the
Town's mobile collection equipment as approved by the Director of
the Department of Environmental Services.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
(7) Greater volumes or quantity.
(a)
Notwithstanding anything contained herein, those
parcels of land receiving refuse collections in volumes or quantity
greater than the above amounts as of April 1, 1991 (which parcels
are listed below), shall continue to have the same volume or quantity
as enumerated below, collected until such time as:
[1]
The currently existing business entity terminates
its operations or significantly changes the nature and scope of its
operations in relation to those currently in existence; or
[2]
The business entity sells, conveys or transfers
said entity to a different person, corporation, partnership or association,
or there occurs a bulk sale of assets of said corporation, partnership
or association assets or a transfer of a majority of the shares of
stock of such corporation or a transfer of more than 50% of the partnership
units.
(b)
Upon the happening of any of the foregoing events,
then garbage collection shall comply with the other sections of this
chapter.
[Amended 8-17-1993 by L.L. No. 2-1993; 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to engage in the business for hire of collecting, handling
or transporting through the streets or public ways of the Town of
Cortlandt any rubbish, ashes and scrap paper without first obtaining
a license to engage in such business. Every person, firm or corporation
desiring to engage in such business shall make application to the
Director of the Department of Environmental Services by setting forth
the name of such person, firm or corporation, the residence, if an
individual, or the address and place of business, if a firm or corporation,
and pay a fee for such license in the sum as set by resolution of
the Town Board from time to time for each vehicle to be used in the
conduct of such business. Each such license so issued shall expire
on the 31st day of December following such date of issue. All vehicles
to be used for such purpose must be approved by the Director of the
Department of Environmental Services as satisfactorily constructed
to prevent littering of the Town highways and/or streets and so as
not to adversely affect the health, safety and convenience of the
people of the Town. The Director of the Department of Environmental
Services may withdraw approval, and upon such withdrawal he must cancel
the license within 10 days after written notice to the applicant at
the address listed on application. A copy of all licenses will be
filed with the Town Clerk.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to:
A. Place or cause to be placed in or upon any public
street, sidewalk or alley of the Town of Cortlandt any ashes, dirt,
garbage, refuse or rubbish except as might be provided by this chapter
or rules promulgated hereunder.
B. Place or cause to be placed in or upon any property
within the Town of Cortlandt any garbage, refuse or rubbish except
as might be provided by this chapter.
C. Place or cause to be placed any garbage, refuse or
rubbish or foreign matter of any kind whatsoever in any fountain,
pool, pond, lake, stream, culvert, reservoir or its tributaries or
watershed or any body of water in a park or elsewhere within the Town,
except that this provision shall not prohibit the authorized treatment
and control of pools or reservoirs to control or regulate water purity
or aquatic vegetation by persons or corporations having all required
permits issued by state, county, Town or watershed authorities having
jurisdiction over such treatment or such permits.
Any person, firm or corporation engaged in the
business of cutting or trimming trees or shrubs or in the construction,
remodeling and/or demolition of buildings shall be responsible for
the disposal of such trees, tree and shrub cuttings and trimmings
or discarded building materials at the expense of such person, firm
or corporation. It shall be unlawful for such person, firm or corporation
to deposit the aforesaid at any location within the Town, whether
privately or publicly owned, unless licensed by the Department of
Environmental Conservation.
[Amended 7-16-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
In addition to any other department authorized
to enforce this chapter, the Director of the Department of Environmental
Services or his designee may issue appearance tickets with respect
to violations of this chapter.
In a case where a provision of this chapter
is found to be in conflict with any provisions of the Health and Sanitary
Code of the County of Westchester and/or the Sanitary Code of the
State of New York, the provisions of this chapter shall apply.
The provisions of this chapter shall supersede
local laws, ordinances, codes and regulations to the extent that such
laws, ordinances, codes or regulations are inconsistent with the provisions
of this chapter, provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed
to prevent the adoption of a law, ordinance or regulation which is
more restrictive or establishes a higher standard for the collection
and disposal of refuse, rubbish and garbage as provided in this chapter,
and such more restrictive requirements or higher standard shall govern
during the period in which it is in effect.