The short title of this Article shall be the
"Borough of Wilkinsburg Recycling Ordinance," and the same may be
cited in that manner.
The following words and phrases used throughout
this Article shall have the following meanings:
ACT 101
The Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction
Act of 1988.
ALUMINUM
All empty aluminum beverage or food cans.
COLLECTOR
The entity or entities authorized by the municipality to
collect recyclable materials from residences or authorized by commercial,
municipal and institutional establishments that do not receive collection
services from the municipality to collect recyclable material from
those properties.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Events that are sponsored by public or private agencies or
individuals that include but are not limited to fairs, bazaars, socials,
picnics and organized sporting events attended by two hundred (200)
or more individuals per day.
CORRUGATED PAPER
Structural paper material with an inner core shaped in rigid
parallel furrows and ridges.
GLASS CONTAINERS
Bottles and jars made of clear, green or brown glass. Expressly
excluded are noncontainer glass, plate glass, automotive glass, light
bulbs, blue glass and porcelain and ceramic products.
HIGH-GRADE OFFICE PAPER
All white paper, bond paper and computer paper used in commercial,
institutional and municipal establishments or in residences.
INSTITUTIONAL ESTABLISHMENT
Those facilities that house or serve groups of people, including
but not limited to hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, day-care
centers, schools and universities.
LEAD ACID BATTERIES
Includes but is not limited to automotive, truck and industrial
batteries that contain lead.
LEAF WASTE
Leaves from trees, bushes and other plants, garden residues,
chipped shrubbery and tree trimmings, but not including grass clippings.
MAGAZINES and PERIODICALS
Printed matter containing miscellaneous written pieces published
at fixed or varying intervals. Expressly excluded are all other paper
products of any nature whatsoever.
METAL CANS
Includes aluminum, bimetal containers and ferrous containers.
MUNICIPAL ESTABLISHMENT
Public facilities operated by the borough and other governmental
and quasi-governmental authorities.
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Any garbage, refuse, industrial, lunchroom or other material,
including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material,
resulting from 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.
NEWSPAPERS
Paper of the type commonly referred to as "newsprint" and
distributed at fixed intervals, having printed thereon news and opinions,
containing advertisements and other matters of public interest. Expressly
excluded are newspapers which have been soiled, color comics, glossy
advertising inserts and advertising inserts printed in colors other
than black and white often included with newspapers.
PERSONS(S)
Owners, lessees and occupants of residences and commercial,
municipal and institutional establishments.
PLASTIC CONTAINERS
Empty food and beverage containers. Due to the wide variety
of types of plastics, the municipality may stipulate specific types
of plastic which may be recycled.
RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
Materials generated by residences and commercial, municipal
and institutional establishments which are specified by the municipality
and can be separated from municipal waste and returned to commerce
to be reused as a resource in the development of useful products.
Recyclable materials may include but are not necessarily limited to
clear glass, colored glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans and
any other items selected by the municipality or specified in future
revisions to Act 101. The recyclable materials selected by the borough
may be revised from time to time as deemed necessary by the borough.
RECYCLING
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.
RESIDENCES
Any occupied single- or multifamily dwellings for which the
borough provides municipal waste collection service.
WASTE
A material whose original purpose has been completed and
which is directed to a disposal or processing facility or is otherwise
disposed. The term does not include source-separated recyclable materials
or material approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Resources for beneficial use.
Disposal by persons of lead acid batteries with
other municipal wastes is prohibited and shall be a violation of this
Article.
[Amended 11-30-1994 by Ord. No. 2472]
All recyclable materials placed by persons for collection by the borough or authorized collector pursuant to this article shall, from time of placement at the curb, become the property of the borough or the authorized collector, except as otherwise provided by §
222-8 of this article. Nothing in this article shall be deemed to impair the ownership of separated recyclable materials by the generator unless and until such materials are placed at the curbside for collection.
It shall be a violation of this article for
any person, firm or corporation, other than the borough or one authorized
by the Borough Council or other entity responsible for collection
of recyclable materials, to collect recyclable materials placed by
residences for collection by the borough or an authorized collector,
unless such person, firm or corporation has prior written permission
from the generator to make such collection. In violation hereof, unauthorized
collection from one (1) or more residences or commercial, municipal
and institutional establishments on one (1) calendar day shall constitute
a separate and distinct offense punishable as hereinafter provided.
Any residence or commercial, municipal or institutional
establishment may donate or sell recyclable materials to any person,
firm or corporation, whether operating for profit or not, provided
that the receiving person, firm or corporation shall not collect such
donated recyclable materials from the collection point of a residence
or commercial, municipal or institutional establishment without prior
written permission from the Borough Council or other entity responsible
for authorizing collection of recyclable materials to make such a
collection.
Disposal by persons of recyclable materials
with wastes is prohibited and shall be a violation of this Article.
The collected recyclable materials shall be taken to a recycling facility.
Disposal by collectors or operators of recycling facilities of source-separated
recyclable materials in landfills or to be burned in incinerators
is prohibited unless markets do not exist and the collectors or operators
have notified the borough in writing.
The borough may enter into (an) agreement(s)
with public or private agencies or firms to authorize them to collect
all or part of the recyclable materials from curbside.
The Borough may, from time to time, modify, add to or remove from the standards and regulations herein and as authorized in §
222-10.