[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of South River as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
General penalty — See Ch. 1, Art. I.
Housing standards — See Ch. 188.
Parks and playgrounds — See Ch. 246.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 258.
Solid waste — See Ch. 287.
[Adopted 10-7-1970 by Ord. No. 1970-20 (Ch. 128 of the 1977 Code)]
Certain words as used in this article are defined as follows:
BOROUGH
The Borough of South River.
GARBAGE
Putrescible animal and vegetable wastes 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, newspaper, 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 4-18-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-28]
PARK
A park, reservation, recreation center or any other area in the Borough either owned or leased and either used or operated by the Borough and devoted to active or passive recreation.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
PRIVATE PREMISES
Any dwelling, house, building or other structure used either wholly or in part for private residential purposes, whether inhabited or temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant, and includes any yard, grounds, walk, driveways, porch, steps, vestibule or mailbox belonging to or appurtenant to such dwelling, house, building or other structure.
PUBLIC PLACE
Any and all streets, alleyways, sidewalks, roadways, parking areas open to the public and any and all public parks, squares, spaces, grounds and public buildings.
REFUSE
All putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes (except body wastes), including ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobiles, other abandoned personal property and solid market and industrial wastes.
RUBBISH
Nonputrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible and noncombustible wastes, such as circulars, leaflets, pamphlets, wrappers, handbills, newspapers and all and any other printed material, cigarettes, cardboard, tin cans, yard clippings, leaves, wood, glass and other like material.
[Amended 4-18-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-28]
It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, drop, discard or otherwise place litter of any nature upon any public or private property, other than a litter receptacle.
Persons placing litter in public receptacles or in duly authorized private receptacles shall do so in such a manner as to prevent such litter from being scattered upon any street, alleyway, sidewalk or other public place or upon private property.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any pond, lake, stream, river or any other body of water within or bordering the Borough of South River.
No person while a driver or passenger in any vehicle shall throw or deposit litter upon any public places or private property within the Borough of South River except in officially designated places.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any occupied private property within the Borough, whether owned by such person or not, except that the owner or person in control of private property may maintain authorized private receptacles for collection. Such owner or person in control of private property shall at all times maintain the premises free of litter; provided, however, this section shall not prohibit storage of litter in private receptacles for collection.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any open or vacant private property within the Borough, whether owned by such person or not.
[Amended 4-18-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-28]
No person shall sweep into or deposit in any gutter, street, catch basin or other public place any accumulation of litter from any public or private sidewalk or driveway. Every person who owns or occupies property shall keep the sidewalk in front of his or her premises free of litter. All litter sweepings shall be collected and properly containerized for disposal.
[Amended 4-18-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-28]
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.
[Amended 4-18-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-28]
It shall be unlawful for any vehicle to be driven, moved, stopped or parked on any public roadway unless such a vehicle is constructed, covered or loaded to prevent any of its load from dropping, sifting, leaking or otherwise escaping therefrom. Any person operating a vehicle from which any materials which constitute litter 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 such materials and shall pay the costs therefor.
[Added 4-18-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-28]
It shall be unlawful for any person to discard or dump along any street or road, on or off any right-of-way, any household or commercial solid waste, rubbish, refuse, junk, vehicle or vehicle parts, rubber tires, appliances or furniture on private property in any place not specifically designated for the purpose of solid waste storage or disposal.
[Added 4-18-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-28]
Litter receptacles and their servicing are required at the following public places which exist in the municipality, including 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 station; 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 station; 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.
[Added 4-18-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-28]
It shall be unlawful for any residential or commercial property owner to permit open or overflowing waste disposal bins on his or her property.
[Added 4-18-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-28]
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 immediately following 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.
[Added 4-18-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-28]
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, to cause to be placed or to hire another person to place any advertisement, handbill or unsolicited material of any kind in or on any street, sidewalk, building or vehicle within the community in such a manner that it may be removed by natural forces.
[Added 4-18-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-28]
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 § 214-8, 214-10, 214-13 or 214-14 of this article, the municipality may cause the condition to be abated and remedied. Upon the removal of any materials prohibited to be stored or abandoned on lands by § 214-8, 214-10, 214-13 or 214-14 of this article 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 the materials within five days of receiving a notice of violation, such officer shall certify the cost thereof to the municipality, which shall examine the certificate and, if found correct, shall cause the cost as shown thereon to be charged against said lands and will be added to and become and form a part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon said lands. The costs 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. The provisions of this section shall be in addition to any fine, penalty or community service which may be imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction for violation of the provisions of this article.
[Amended 2-9-1977 by Ord. No. 1977-6; 6-26-1986 by Ord. No. 1986-16]
Any person who violates any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided in Chapter 1, Article I, General Penalty. Each violation of any of the provisions of this article and each day that such violation continues shall be deemed and taken to be a separate and distinct offense.
[Adopted 8-7-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-23]
The purpose of this article is to establish requirements to control littering in the Borough of South River so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for the failure to comply.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings stated herein unless their use in the text of this article clearly demonstrates a different meaning. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural number include the singular number, and words used in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
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, saw milling, farming or manufacturing.
LITTER RECEPTACLE
A container suitable for the depositing of litter.
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this state subject to municipal jurisdiction.
A. 
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.
B. 
Whenever any litter is thrown or discarded or allowed to fall from a vehicle or boat in violation of this article, the operator or owner, or both, of the motor vehicle or boat shall also be deemed to have violated this article.
This article shall be enforced by the Borough of South River Police Department.
Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this article shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000.