[Adopted 11-11-1990 by Ord. No. O-4-90]
The short title of this article shall be the "Township of Unity
Recycling Ordinance," and the same may be cited in that manner.
The following words and phrases, as used throughout this article,
shall have the following meanings:
ACT 101
The Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction
Act of 1988.
ALUMINUM
Empty all-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 materials from
those properties.
COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS
Those properties used primarily for commercial or industrial
purposes, and those multiple dwelling residential buildings containing
more than four dwelling units.
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 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 and in residences.
INSTITUTIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS
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.
MUNICIPAL ESTABLISHMENTS
Public facilities operated by the municipality 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 the 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.
NEWSPAPER
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.
PERSON(S)
Owners, lessees and occupants of residences and commercial,
municipal and institutional establishments.
PLASTIC CONTAINERS
Empty plastic 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,
high-grade office paper, newsprint, corrugated paper, leaf waste,
plastics and any other items selected by the municipality or specified
in future revisions to Act 101. The "recyclable materials" selected
by the municipality may be revised from time to time as deemed necessary
by the municipality.
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 the creation and recovery of reusable materials.
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.
[Amended 6-24-2008 by Ord. No. O-12-2008]
In accordance with and pursuant to the provisions of the Second
Class Township Code and Act 101, Unity Township hereby establishes a recycling program for the mandatory separation and collection of recyclable materials and the separation, collection and composting of leaf wastes from all residential, commercial, municipal and institutional establishments located within the Township of Unity for which waste collection is provided by the municipality or by any other collector. Rules and regulations for this recycling program, including the identification of items to be recycled, the imposition of fees thereof, and the submission of reports regarding recycling collections are set forth in Article
II of this chapter.
Disposal by persons of lead acid batteries with other municipal
wastes is prohibited and shall be a violation of this article.
All recyclable materials placed by persons for collection by the municipality or authorized collector pursuant to this article shall, from the time of placement at the curb, become the property of the municipality or the authorized collector, except as otherwise provided by §
93-8 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.
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 Unity Township Supervisors or other entity responsible for authorizing
the 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 burning in incinerators is prohibited unless
markets do not exist and the collectors or operators have notified
the Unity Township Supervisors in writing.
The municipality 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 curbsides.
The municipality may, from time to time, modify, add to or remove from the standards and regulations herein and as authorized in §
93-10.
[Adopted 6-24-2008 by Ord. No. O-12-2008]
Collectors engaged in the hauling of garbage and refuse from
residential households in the Township of Unity shall offer as an
additional service to the residents of Unity Township the collection
of recyclable materials as set forth herein on at least a monthly
collection basis.
Collectors engaged in the hauling of recyclable materials as
set forth herein shall include the reasonable costs for the collection
of recyclable materials as part of the regular monthly charge assessed
to residential households in Unity Township.
Unity Township shall provide, at locations to be determined
from time to time by the Board of Supervisors, facilities and equipment
for the recycling of newspapers, magazines, catalogs and telephone
books.
Any collector of residential municipal waste within the Township
of Unity shall submit to the municipality a report, annually or on
such other time frame as the municipality may determine, identifying
the nature and quantity of materials recycled within the municipality.