[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting
of the Town of Chelmsford 1952 by Art. 35. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Amended 5-1-1989 ATM by Art. 34]
It shall be unlawful for any person to dump
any refuse or other solid waste, as defined in MGL c. 16, § 18,
on either public or private property other than an area approved and
licensed by the Board of Health or the Department of Environmental
Quality Engineering. Violators of this section shall be punishable
by a fine of $300 for each offense and shall be required to remove
the illegally dumped refuse and dispose of it in accordance with town,
state and federal regulations. Any violator shall be responsible for
all costs and expenses incurred in the removal and disposal of said
waste. Said penalties shall be cumulative with fines and penalties
under any federal or state criminal or civil statute.
[Added 5-6-1974 ATM by Art. 25; amended 5-16-1977 ATM by Art.
32; 5-16-1977 ATM by Art. 34; 5-21-1979 ATM by Art. 48; 10-17-2005 ATM by Art. 22; 5-3-2007 ATM by Art. 17]
Restricted material: To insure compliance with
the state solid waste facility regulation, 310 CMR 19.017, which prohibits
the disposal as trash of certain recyclable materials, it shall be
unlawful to have the following materials disposed of in, or collected
with the trash. The Town shall direct its contracted waste hauler,
which is obligated to comply with all state and local laws, not to
collect any such visible recyclable materials with the trash. It shall
be unlawful for any person other than the contracted recycling hauler
to remove any such recyclable materials placed out for collection
for the contracted recycling hauler. Violation of this subsection
shall be punishable by a fine of $25 for the first offense and subsequent
offenses $100.
A.
Glass containers: glass bottles and jars, excluding
light bulbs, Pyrex cookware, plate glass, drinking glasses, windows,
windshields and ceramics;
B.
Metal containers: aluminum, steel or bimetal beverage
and food containers;
C.
Recyclable paper: all paper, cardboard, and paperboard
products (e.g., office paper, newspaper, unwaxed cardboard and cereal
boxes), excluding tissue paper, paper towel, paper plates, cups and
other low-grade paper products which become unusable to paper mills
as a result of normal intended use;
D.
Single resin narrow-necked plastic: all narrow-necked
plastic containers of any resin type. Narrow-necked containers are
those for which the diameter of the opening is smaller than the diameter
of the base (e.g., a soda bottle is narrow-necked but a yogurt container
is not);
E.
Whole tires: unshredded motor vehicle tires, meaning
tires which have not been cut, sliced or ground into four or more
pieces such that the circular form of the tire has been eliminated;
F.
Yard waste and leaves: grass clippings, weeds, garden
materials, shrub trimmings and brush one inch or less in diameter,
deciduous and coniferous leaves;
G.
Cathode ray tubes (CRTs): any intact, broken, or processed
glass tube used to provide the visual display in televisions, computer
monitors and certain scientific instruments such as oscilloscopes
(310 CMR 19.006);
H.
Lead-acid batteries: lead-acid batteries used in motor
vehicles or stationary applications; and
I.
White goods: large appliances, including refrigerators,
freezers, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, gas or electric
ovens and ranges and hot water heaters (310 CMR 19.0006).
[Added 6-11-1990 ATM by Art. 14]
A.
All residents, excepting those in structures or complexes
with five or more dwelling units, shall use the town-provided solid
waste collection services unless the town is provided with proper
documentation that solid waste is being disposed of in accordance
with all applicable municipal, state and federal laws. It shall be
unlawful for any resident to use town-provided solid waste collection
services without paying the applicable fee for such services.
B.
Violation of this section shall be punishable by a
fine of $100 for each offense.
[Added 10-28-1991 ATM by Art. 12]
A.
The Town of Chelmsford shall continue its program
of curbside pickup and disposal of solid household waste through the
use of a private contractor or contractors.
B.
The Town of Chelmsford shall continue a program that
encourages all residents to recycle specified items.
C.
The Town of Chelmsford shall continue its program
for the disposal of household hazardous waste and related items.
D.
Funding for the above programs shall be through the
appropriation of funds by an Annual or Special Town Meeting and/or
the establishment of an annual or other periodic user or subscriber
fee or charge.
(1)
In the event that funding for any or all solid waste
programs is derived from a Proposition 21/2 override, then those funds
shall be exclusively used for such services for the fiscal year initially
authorized for and all future years. All such solid waste programs
shall include service to all single-family residences and all multifamily
complexes. However, the Town shall not provide solid waste collection
services to non-governmental multifamily complexes with four or more
rental units.
[Added 4-27-1992 STM by Art. 2; amended 10-23-2017 ATM by Art.
22]
(a)
The Town Manager shall, when presenting a budget
to Town Meeting, specifically account for such funds.
(b)
In the event that Town Meeting shall fail to
appropriate all or any part of the funds for such services, the unused
amount of the proposition override shall not be raised nor shall it
be used for any other purpose.
(2)
Any and all funds received by the town from the sale
of materials collected and/or marketed through any of the solid waste
programs shall be used only for the purposes contained in this section.
[Added 4-27-1992 STM by Art. 2]
(3)
In the event that a user or subscriber fee or charge
is established, said funds will be accounted for and maintained in
a program-specific enterprise fund or account. Such fund shall be
administered by the Town Accountant in accordance with applicable
state laws, rules and regulations concerning this type of account.
(4)
Notwithstanding the above, the Manager may negotiate
contractual terms whereby the town's selected contractor manages and
administers the annual fee for the collection, transportation and/or
disposal or marketing of solid wastes and recyclables, in which event
fees may be made directly to the contractor and shall be accounted
for under the terms of the contract.
[Added 4-27-1992 STM by Art. 3]
E.
No program shall significantly subsidize another program,
except as follows:
(1)
Billing. In the event that an annual user or subscriber
fee is established for household solid waste, the incidental cost
of billing and payment processing for other programs shall be borne
by the household solid waste program, provided that such billing and
payment processing is included as part of the household solid waste
program's billing and payment schedule.
(2)
Administration of programs. In the event that an annual
user or subscriber fee is established for household solid waste, the
cost of administering the various nonhousehold solid waste programs
shall be borne by the solid waste program. In the event that the actual
or projected costs of administering these other nonhousehold solid
waste programs exceeds 20% of the total cost of administration, the
town shall either fund such excess amount through an increase in nonhousehold
solid waste fees or other appropriation.
(3)
Equipment. Equipment used to administer, support and
manage the solid waste program may be utilized by other departments
of the town. Said use shall be under the direction of the Town Manager.
F.
The Board of Health shall regulate and license trash
haulers in accordance with the state laws. Said regulations shall
provide for an annual or multi-year licensing period that runs concurrently
with the annual user fee, if such a fee or charge is made.[1]
G.
The Town Manager shall be responsible for the establishment
and overall management of the various programs provided for in this
section. The Board of Health shall be responsible for providing overall
direction and enforcement of those areas of any of the programs that
are assigned to it by state law, local bylaw, the Select Board or
the Town Manager.
[Amended 6-17-2021 ATM by Art. 29]
H.
The Town Manager shall, based upon information provided
to him or her by the Town Finance Director, Town Accountant and other
sources, recommend to the Select Board the amount of the annual or
other periodic user fee and/or charge. The Select Board shall establish
this fee and/or charge prior to the Annual Spring Town Meeting. The
Town Manager shall, when presenting his or her budget to the Annual
Spring Town Meeting or any other Town Meeting, include in his or her
budget a provision allowing for the appropriation of funds from general
town funds for any of the programs included in this section. The Town
Manager shall implement such changes and adjust any fees and/or other
charges accordingly.
[Amended 6-17-2021 ATM by Art. 29]
I.
All user and other fees assessed and/or charged under
the terms of this section shall be against the assessed owner of the
property. In the event that a property owner shall fail to pay a fee
or charge made under this section, the Town Manager shall be authorized
to suspend the service that has not been paid for. The Town Manager
shall give the property owner 10 days' notice by first class mail
of the action to be taken. The Town Manager shall notify the Board
of Health of the proposed action.
J.
A property owner may elect to use an alternate trash
hauler to comply with the terms of this section and requirements of
the Board of Health for the disposal of household trash, provided
that the alternate trash hauler has been licensed by the Board of
Health and appropriate documentation is provided to the Town Manager
within 30 days of the start of the annual or other service period
established by the Town Manager. In the event that a property owner
fails to provide the appropriate documentation, it shall be presumed
that the property owner is participating in the town programs. The
Town Manager shall have the authority to establish appropriate rules
and regulations for the implementation of this provision and the apportionment
of fees and/or charges based upon partial year use. The Town Manager
shall be authorized to establish rules and regulations that allow
for abatements and payment deferral based on hardship or other similar
circumstances.
K.
In the event that a property owner wishes to appeal
a decision of the Town Manager, the Select Board, upon written request
by the property owner, shall hear such appeal and modify the Town
Manager's decision, provided that such decision shall be based upon
the terms of this section and applicable laws, rules and regulations
as they pertain to the programs included in this section. An affirmative
vote of three members of the Select Board shall be required to alter
a decision of the Town Manager.
[Amended 6-17-2021 ATM by Art. 29]
L.
In the event that the programs shall be totally funded
by general funds available to the town and that no user fee or other
charge shall be required in a given fiscal year, the nonfinancial
assets of the program shall be given to the town at no cost or charge.
Any surplus of funds in the enterprise account shall be returned to
the users as a credit against their real estate taxes and/or other
fees and betterments by the Town Treasurer-Collector.
[Amended 10-21-1999 ATM by Art. 31]
M.
Interpretation and implementation of the terms this
section shall be made by the Town Manager. This section shall go into
effect at the earliest date permissible by applicable state law. All
funds collected for the current year's programs shall be handled in
accordance with the provisions of this section.
N.
The Town Manager shall, within 120 days of the adoption
of this section, prepare and make available the rules and regulations
implementing the various programs included in this section.
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