The short title of this chapter shall be the "City of New Kensington
Refuse and Recycling Ordinance."
The following words and terms, as used in this chapter, shall have the
meanings hereby ascribed to them, unless the context clearly indicates a different
meaning:
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
refuse or recyclable materials from residences or authorized by commercial,
municipal and institutional establishments that do not receive collection
services from the municipality to collect refuse or recyclable materials 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 200 or more individuals per day.
CORRUGATED PAPER
Structural paper material with an inner core shaped in rigid parallel
furrows and ridges.
GARBAGE
All table refuse, animal and vegetable matter, offal from meat, fish,
fowl, vegetables and fruits and parts thereof and other articles and materials
ordinarily used for food and which have become unfit for such use or which
are discarded for any reason.
GLASS CONTAINERS
Empty bottles and jars made of clear, green or brown glass; expressly
excluded are noncontainer glass, such as 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 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.
MULTIFAMILY HOUSING PROPERTIES
Any properties having four or more dwelling units per structure for
which the municipality does not provide municipal waste and recycling services.
MUNICIPAL ESTABLISHMENT
Public facilities operated by the municipality and other governmental
and quasi-governmental authorities.
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste and 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.
PERSON
Any natural person, association, partnership, firm or corporation.
The singular shall include the plural and the masculine shall include the
feminine and the neuter. "Persons" also shall mean 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,
plastic, leaf waste and any other items selected by the municipality or specified
in future revisions to Act 101. These recyclables shall be clean, which means
not exposed to foreign substances or conditions rendering them unusable for
recycling. The "recyclable materials" selected for collection 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, plastics, leaf waste 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, as specified in Act 101.
REFUSE
A material whose original purpose has been completed and which is
directed to a state-licensed disposal or processing facility. The term does
not include source-separated recyclable materials.
RESIDENCE
Any occupied single- or multifamily dwelling units for which the
municipality provides municipal waste collection services and recycling collection
services.
SCAVENGING
The collection or pickup at curbside of any municipally mandated
recyclable materials by unauthorized persons.
No person shall dispose of any refuse in the city except by conveyance
to a state-permitted landfill, transfer station or materials recovery facility.
Evidence of deposition shall be required as stipulated below.
The contract for the exclusive right to collect residential refuse from
other persons in the city and for the conveyance thereof shall be awarded
from time to time, for such period of time as shall be determined by Council,
to the lowest responsible bidder, following the procedure prescribed by § 1901
et seq. of the Third Class City Code for the award of contracts. The person to whom such contract is
awarded shall, before undertaking any of his duties thereunder, give bond
to the city in the sum and with such security as the Council shall require,
conditioned for the faithful compliance with the terms of the contract.
All contractors of refuse removal within the municipality shall register
the location and time schedule for removal with the city's Ordinance Officer.
All contractors shall be responsible for the orderly and sanitary removal
of refuse. All contractors shall pay a registration fee of $10 per location
prior to conveyance from within the city.
The charges to be made to residential occupants by the city or any agency
the city may designate as the collection agent shall be established and regulated
by the Council.
Persons must separate high-grade office paper, aluminum, corrugated
paper, leaf waste and such other materials as may be designated by the municipality
generated at commercial, municipal and institutional establishments and from
community activities of 200 persons or more and store the recyclable materials
until collection. A person may be exempted from this section by:
A. Providing for the recycling of high-grade office paper,
aluminum, corrugated paper, leaf waste and other materials deemed appropriate
by the municipality.
B. Submitting, at a minimum, an annual recycling report
to the governing body of the municipality. The report shall document the amount
of municipal waste generated per year as well as the type and weight of materials
that were recycled in the previous calendar year. Valid documentation shall
include information from an end-user, recycler or waste hauler which describes
the type and weight of each recyclable material that was collected and marketed.
Documentation may be in the form of one of the following:
(1) Copies of weight receipts or statements which consolidate
such information.
(2) A report from the provider of recycling collection services which identifies the amount of each material collected and marketed. The type and weight of recyclables generated by an individual establishment may be approximated based on a representative sample of its source-separated materials or a report from the providers of waste collection services that identifies the type and weight of each recyclable material collected and marketed in cases where recyclables are commingled with establishment's waste. The type and weight of recyclables generated by an individual establishment may be approximated based on a representative sample of its waste. For subsections
B(1) and (3), where recyclables from several establishments are collected in the same vehicle, an individual establishment's contribution to the load may be apportioned. Only the weight of materials marketed for recycling purposes can be credited to an establishment.
C. If recyclable materials are collected by a collector
other than the municipality or its authorized agent, occupants of said establishments
shall submit an annual report to the municipality reporting the type and weight
of materials recycled during the previous calendar year by February 15 of
the following calendar year. This requirement may be fulfilled by submission
of a letter or form from the collector which certifies that recyclable materials
are being collected from the establishment.
D. All employees and residents of commercial, municipal
and institutional establishments must be informed of the recycling program.
The education program should describe the program's feature and requirements
and should include, at a minimum, an annual program meeting and an orientation
to the program upon the arrival of a new employee or resident.
All plastic rigid recycling containers supplied by the city to the residences
shall be and remain the property of the city. The container shall remain with
the residence and it shall not move with the resident, owner or renter of
any municipal dwelling. Lost, stolen or damaged recycling containers will
be replaced by the resident at the current cost of the container.
Disposal of designated recyclable materials with other municipal wastes
by any person is prohibited and shall be a violation of this chapter. Disposal
by collectors or operators of recycling facilities of source-separated recyclable
material into landfills or to be burned in incinerators is prohibited.
Any person who is aggrieved by the provisions of this chapter shall
have the right to file an appeal, setting forth the grievance before the Code
Hearing Board, which shall hear the grievance and, after consideration thereof,
either grant or deny the relief requested.
[Amended 12-20-1994 by Ord. No. 2-94]
Any person who violates or fails to comply with any provision of this
chapter or any regulation promulgated pursuant thereto shall, upon conviction
thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600 and costs of prosecution
and, in default of payment thereof, shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment
not exceeding 90 days. Each violation of any provision of this chapter and
each day the same is continued shall be deemed a separate offense.