[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health of the Town of Groton 9-20-1999.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to:
A.
The following requirements will be imposed upon all agencies
permitted by the Town to collect, haul and dispose of solid waste and recyclable
material:
(1)
All persons collecting acceptable wastes and recyclables
in the Town of Groton shall obtain a permit from the Board of Health prior
to commencing with the collection.
(2)
This permit will be valid for a period of not more than
one year; renewable annually on the first day of November, subject to the
review and approval by the Board of Health.
B.
At the time of the application, the refuse collection
company shall submit to the Board of Health the following:
(1)
A permit fee of $300 is required (nonrefundable).
(2)
A proposed schedule of the day and area of the Town in
which collection will take place.
(3)
A map of the Town indicating the proposed routes of collection
and delivery.
(5)
A description of the collection vehicle(s) to be used,
including the make, model, year, type and size of compactor, and the company
name appearing on the vehicle(s).
(6)
Insurance certificates as described in the regulations.
C.
Permits will be nontransferable except with the approval
of the Board of Health.
In accordance with the authority vested in the Town of Groton's Board
of Health by MGL C. 111, §§ 31A and 31B and 310 CMR 19.00 et
seq, regulations are promulgated.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The Town of Groton's Board of Health Department.
Individual items too large or too heavy for a thirty-gallon trash
bag or barrel, but not classified as white goods. Examples of bulky wastes
include furniture, mattresses and rugs.
Retail stores, professional buildings, contractors, industries, churches,
private schools and all other buildings other than residential dwellings and
municipal buildings are considered businesses.
Waste, in any amount, which is defined, characterized or designated
as hazardous by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or appropriate
state agency by or pursuant to federal or state law, or waste in any amount
which is regulated under federal or state law. For purposes of these regulations,
the term "hazardous waste" also includes gasoline, waste oil, other automotive
fluids, oil-based paint and related solvents/thinners/pesticides and their
storage cans; and lead/acid batteries (such as automobile batteries).
All hazardous waste (except for waste motor oil, lead/acid batteries
such as automobile batteries accepted by the Town of Groton Transfer Station
personnel), commercial garbage, construction debris from contracted or commercial
work, ashes from heating plants and coal stoves, stones, rocks, automobile
parts, pesticides, leaves, yard waste, recyclable materials and sewage wastes.
Any person(s) or company which has applied for and obtained the appropriate
permit to collect solid waste and recyclable materials within the limits of
Groton, Massachusetts.
The curbside collection of recyclable materials generated by the
households, municipal facilities, business and public and private schools
of Groton.
Material that has the potential to be recycled and which is not commingled
with solid waste or contaminated by significant amounts of toxic substances
as per 310 CMR 19.0006.
The permittee shall drive by and provide collection service to those
residences, businesses and municipal facilities in Groton which have contracted
with the permittee to provide collection services. Promotional materials will
be distributed, informing residents as to when and how the materials will
be collected.
Consists of all rubbish, garbage or refuse normally generated, but
excluding explosives and ordnance materials, sludge, highly flammable substances,
cesspool or other human waste, human or animal remains and hazardous refuse
of any kind, such as cleaning fluids, crankcase oils, cutting oils, paints,
acids, caustics, poisons, drugs, radioactive materials, fine powdery earth
used for filter cleaning fluid and refuse of similar nature. Any recyclable
materials are specifically excluded from solid waste.
The Town of Groton, a body corporate and politic of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, including all streets and ways and all buildings and improvements
within the municipal boundaries, as set forth on the official map.
Refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, freezers, washers, dryers, air
conditioners, etc.
The permittee shall adhere to the collection schedules and routes approved
by the Board of Health. Any modification of collection schedules and/or routes
shall be submitted to the Board of Health for approval prior to implementation.
The Board of Health shall reserve the right to require the permittee to modify
the collection schedule and/or routes for the convenience of the Board of
Health and the public.
Point of collection shall be at curbside, which shall mean within five
feet of the sidewalk, side of the curb or edge of the street.
A.
Separation of recyclables from solid waste will take
place at the source; i.e., individual homeowners will perform separation.
Each household will receive a container from the permittee into which recyclable
material will be deposited. Green glass, brown glass, clear glass, aluminum
cans, tin coated ferrous cans, plastic soda bottles, plastic milk jugs and
all other colored No. 1 and No. 2 plastic containers will all be deposited
into the container designated for recyclables. Newspaper, cardboard, boxboard
and other paper items will be bundled or bagged and placed on top of or beside
the container.
B.
The permittee shall pick up the recyclable materials
set out for collection in accordance with processing standards outlined below:
(1)
Glass. Rinse empty bottles and jars, free from food debris.
There shall be no cookware, plate glass, safety glass, light bulbs, ceramics
and nonglass materials mixed in with recyclables. Caps, lids and neck rings
should be removed from bottles.
(2)
Cans. Steel and tin-coated steel cans and lids will be
empty, rinsed and dry. Labels may remain and lids may be attached or placed
inside the can.
(3)
Aluminum. Aluminum cans and containers will be empty,
rinsed, clean and dry.
(4)
Plastic containers: All No. 1 and No. 2 type plastic,
including HDPE milk jug type, PET soft drink type bottles and colored HDPE
containers. Caps, lids and neck rings should be removed from bottles. All
bottles shall be empty and rinsed.
(5)
Paper and cardboard: Tied in bundles with string or placed
in brown paper bags. All paper, including magazines, catalogs, junk mail,
chipboard/boxboard, corrugated cardboard, telephone books and other clean
paper will also be permitted. All plastic window inserts are to be removed
from junk mail. Unacceptable paper is that with wax, foil or plastic coating
or food contamination, as well as tissues, paper towels, Christmas and/or
gift wrapping paper.
C.
Should the Board of Health and/or the state determine
any of the above items to be nonrecyclable or determine new recyclable materials
during the term of the permit, the Board of Health and the permittee will
negotiate a method for terminating and/or adding collection of those items.
A.
When the permittee crews encounter improperly prepared
recyclable material or ineligible items, they must follow this procedure:
The collector shall pick up recyclable materials from the container. Improperly
sorted materials, contaminated or ineligible materials will be left in the
container. The collector shall leave a Board of Health approved sticker on
the item(s) or in the container. The sticker will notify the resident that
material has not been properly prepared or is ineligible. It will also inform
the resident how to rectify the problem or how to properly dispose of ineligible
items. Information on how to contact the permittee or the Board of Health
for further information will also be included.
B.
When the permittee's crew encounter ineligible solid
waste items, they must follow this procedure: The collector shall pick up
all eligible solid waste. Improper materials will be left at the curbside.
The collector shall leave a Board of Health approved fluorescent orange sticker
on the items or on the container/bag. The sticker will notify the resident
that the material is ineligible and provide information on how to contact
the permittee or the Board of Health for further information.
C.
The permittee shall supply a record of violations to
the Board of Health on a monthly basis or as requested.
At the request of a resident, the permittee shall agree to pick up bulky
wastes at a fee to the resident.
Collection of all recyclable items will have a frequency of once a week
(or other schedule as determined by the Board of Health) on the same day as
solid waste collection.
The permittee shall distribute a quarterly notice of service availability
to each eligible household. This notice will detail what is acceptable waste
and specify how, what and when to recycle. The permittee shall also provide
notices of collection schedule changes and any other pertinent information
to residents as required. The permittee is responsible, with Board of Health
approval, for the development of this material.
All recyclable materials and solid waste placed for collection shall
be owned by and be the responsibility of the permittee immediately upon placement
at curbside. Should any ineligible or contaminated materials be collected
into the permittee's vehicle, the permittee shall be responsible for any and
all costs associated with the disposal of said material.
The permittee shall guarantee in writing that at no time during the
term of the permit will recyclable materials be disposed of by landfilling
or incineration or dumped at the Transfer Station without the written permission
of the Board of Health or Transfer Station staff. The permittee shall be totally
responsible for the disposal of recyclables and solid waste.
The permittee shall pick up all blown, littered and broken material
resulting from collection, hauling, dumping and disposal operations. Each
vehicle shall be equipped for cleaning up materials.
The permittee is responsible for identifying residents who are consistently
failing to separate waste and place recyclable materials at the curb. The
permittee may require these residents to use plastic bags for acceptable wastes.
These residents will be contacted by the permittee and reported to the Board
of Health.
The permittee shall train all collection crews, office staff and Transfer
Station and storage employees before initiating collection and before a permittee
allows an employee to begin work. Training shall include permit compliance
and contamination issues as well as data gathering methods where required.
The permittee shall comply with all applicable federal, state and local
laws, ordinances, rules and regulations. The individuals empowered to enforce
the provisions of these regulations shall be the agent of the Board of Health,
Town of Groton Transfer Station staff and/or any police officer of the Town/state.
The permittee shall not at any time use or allow to be used its vehicle
and personnel to dispose of any unauthorized material not eligible for collection.
The permittee is fully and completely responsible for the actions of any and
all personnel employed to carry out the collection service.
A.
The permittee shall provide a certificate of proof that
workers' compensation insurance meeting statutory requirements has been provided
for all employees engaged in work under the permit.
B.
The permittee shall provide a certificate of insurance
as evidence of having comprehensive general liability naming the Town of Groton
as an additional insured. The comprehensive general liability policy shall
be in an amount not less than $1,000,000 combined single limit for bodily
injury and property damage.
C.
The permittee shall provide a certificate of insurance
as evidence of having automobile insurance naming the Town of Groton as an
additional insured. The automobile liability policy will be in the amount
not less than $1,000,000 combined single limit for bodily injury and property
damage.
The permittee shall indemnify and save harmless the Town of Groton and
all of its officers, agents and employees against all suits, claims or liabilities
of every name, nature and description arising out of or in consequence of
the acts of the permittee in performance of the work covered by the permit
and/or its failure to comply with the terms and conditions thereof and will,
at its own expense, defend any and all such suits and actions.
The performance of the permittee shall be under the general supervision
of the Board of Health. The Board of Health shall interpret the intent and
meaning of its provisions, and its interpretation shall be final and conclusive.
The permittee shall report to the Board of Health on a monthly basis
by the fifth workday of the following month the weight, name and location
of the processing facility or end-use market to which the recyclable material/solid
waste was delivered. Recyclables should be reported and separated to the maximum
degree possible. All weight slips/records must be certified and kept by the
permittee. This requirements will not apply to any recyclables/solid waste
dropped off at the Town of Groton Transfer Station.
If the Board of Health is of the opinion that the permittee has failed
to collect recyclables and solid waste as set forth above or otherwise failed
to fulfill the provisions of these regulations, the Board of Health shall
give a thirty-day notice to correct the deficiencies. If such deficiencies
are not corrected, the Board of Health may give a ten-day written notice to
the permittee stating that the permit has been cancelled, in which case, the
permittee shall desist in all refuse removal activities within the Town limits.
Each of these regulations shall be construed as separate to the end
that, if any regulations, clause or phrase thereof should be held invalid
for any reason, the remainder of the regulation and all other regulations
shall continue to be in force.
This regulation shall take effect 60 days after publication of a summary
of this regulation in a newspaper in the Town of Groton. A public meeting
regarding this regulation was conducted on September 20, 1999. This regulation
was voted by a majority of this Board on September 20, 1999.
