[Adopted 1-24-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-02[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This article also repealed former Art. IV, Solid Waste Management, adopted 8-21-1990 by Ord. No. 90-21 as amended.
The title of this article shall be the "Bristol Township Municipal Waste Management Ordinance," and the same may be cited in that manner.
A. 
The following words and phrases, as used in this article, shall have the meaning ascribed to them herein, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
ACT 90
The Pennsylvania Waste Transportation Safety Act of 2002 (P.L. 596, No. 90, June 29, 2002).[1]
ACT 97
The Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act of 1980 (P.L. 380, No. 97, July 7, 1980).[2]
ACT 101
The Pennsylvania Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988 (Act 1988-101, July 28, 1988).[3]
COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment engaged m a nonmanufacturing or nonprocessing business, including, but not limited to, stores, markets, offices, restaurants, shopping centers and theaters.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITY
Events that are sponsored by public or private agencies or individuals that include, but are not limited to, fairs, bazaars, socials, picnics, carnivals, and organized sporting events attended by 200 or more individuals per day.
COUNTY
The County of Bucks, Pennsylvania.
DETACHABLE CONTAINER or MECHANICAL BIN
Any container which may be mechanically lifted and emptied into the collection vehicle.
DISPOSAL
The depositing, injecting, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of solid waste into or on the land or water in a manner that the solid waste or a constituent of the solid waste enters the environment, is emitted into the air or is discharged to the waters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Disposal facilities include, but are not limited to, municipal waste landfills and construction demolition waste landfills as defined by Act 101, Act 97, and/or Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) rules and regulations (e.g., 25 Pa. Code Chapters 75 and 271).
GARBAGE
Animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and serving of foods. It does not include wastes from industrial processing or manufacturing of food products, bodies of dead animals, or human and animal excrement.
GOVERNING BODY
The elected officials of the Township of Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment engaged in manufacturing or production activities, including, but not limited to, factories, foundries, mills, processing plants, refineries, mines, and slaughterhouses.
INSTITUTIONAL ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment or facility engaged in services, including, but not limited to, hospitals, nursing homes, schools and universities.
LEAF WASTE
Leaves, garden residues, shrubbery and tree trimmings, and similar materials, but not including grass clippings.
LICENSED COLLECTOR or LICENSED WASTE HAULER
A person who has written authorization from the PADEP under Act 90 to collect, haul, transport and dispose of municipal waste.
MULTIFAMILY HOUSING PROPERTY
Property containing more than four dwelling units in one building, and all dwellings within the building shall have common ownership.
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 under Act 97 from a municipal, commercial or institutional water supply treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant, or air pollution control facility. The term does not include any source-separated recyclable materials.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution, cooperative enterprise, municipality, municipal authority, federal government or agency, state institution or agency, or any other legal entity recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. In any provisions of this article prescribing a fine, imprisonment, or penalty or any combination of the foregoing, the term "person" shall include the officers and directors of any corporation or other legal entity having officers and directors.
PROCESSING
Any technology used for the purpose of reducing the volume or bulk of municipal or residual waste or any technology used to convert part or all of such materials for off-site reuse. Processing facilities include, but are not limited to, transfer facilities, recycling facilities, composting facilities, and resource recovery facilities.
RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
Those materials specified by the Township for separate collection in accordance with recycling regulations. Such materials may include, but shall not be limited to, leaf waste, yard waste, glass containers, aluminum containers, steel containers, bimetallic containers, office paper, newsprint, corrugated paper, and plastics.
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 other than a fuel for the generation of energy.
REFUSE
All solid wastes, except body wastes, and shall include, but is not limited to, garbage, ashes, bulk waste and rubbish, except that refuse shall specifically exclude hazardous waste and source-separated recyclable materials.
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
All properties used for residential purposes, regardless of the number of dwelling units, except for multifamily housing properties.
RESIDUE
Solid materials remaining after burning, including but not limited to ashes, metals, glass, ceramics, and unburned organic substances.
RUBBISH
Solid waste exclusive of garbage (e.g., nonrecyclable glass, metal, paper or plastic and noncompostable plant material, wood or nonputrescible solid waste).
SCAVENGING
The unauthorized and uncontrolled removal of any material stored or placed at a point for subsequent collection or from a processing or disposal facility.
SOLID WASTE
Garbage, refuse and other discarded solid materials, including, but not limited to, solid waste materials resulting from industrial, commercial and agricultural operations and from community activities. Liquids, semisolids, and contained gaseous materials are hereby defined as solid waste. It shall not include solids or dissolved material in domestic sewage or other significant pollutants in water resources, such as silt, dissolved or suspended solids in industrial wastewater effluents, dissolved materials in irrigation return flows, or other common water pollutants. In addition, it shall not include hazardous waste.
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
The purposeful systematic control of the storage, collection, transportation, processing and disposal of solid waste.
SOURCE-SEPARATED RECYCLABLE MATERIAL
Material, including leaf waste, which is separated from municipal waste at the point of origin or generation for the purpose of recycling.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
TRANSFER STATION
A fixed facility used for receiving refuse from collection trucks and placing it in large-volume, long-haul vehicles.
TRANSPORTATION
The off-site removal of any municipal waste at any time after generation.
YARD WASTE
Leaf waste, as defined above, and grass clippings.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 27 Pa.C.S.A. § 6201 et seq.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq.; as amended.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 4000.101 et seq. of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Disposal facilities include, but are not limited to, municipal waste landfills and construction demolition waste landfills as defined by Act 101, Act 97, and/or Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) rules and regulations (e.g., 25 Pa. Code Chapters 75 and 271).
B. 
For the purpose of this article, the singular shall include the plural and the masculine shall include the feminine and neuter.
A. 
All persons shall store, collect, haul, transport, process and dispose of any municipal waste in accordance with the provisions of this article, any applicable municipal ordinance, the Revised County Plan, Act 90, Act 101, the minimum standards and requirements established in Chapter 285 of the PADEP Municipal Waste Management Regulations, any applicable Bucks County Department of Health regulations, and/or any other federal, state, or local regulations.
B. 
No person owning or occupying any property within the Township shall permit any municipal waste to accumulate for a period of longer than seven days.
C. 
It shall be unlawful to keep or allow in or about any dwelling or upon any land or other premises within the municipality solid waste of any kind which is obnoxious or offensive by reason of dust or odor, or which attracts insects and vermin, except in covered receptacles. The cover shall be tight and flyproof, and it shall be unlawful to retain accumulation of any said solid waste so as to constitute a menace to the health and safety, it being a presumption that such a menace exists when more than seven days have elapsed after such solid waste is originally retained, accumulated or permitted to accumulate, and nothing herein contained shall be construed to permit the retention of any solid waste which is or becomes obnoxious or offensive by reason of dust or odor or which attracts insects or vermin.
D. 
No volatile liquids, explosives, radioactive material or containers which would explode upon contact with heat or fire shall be placed for collection, except small (retail-sold) spray cans.
E. 
No hazardous waste shall be stored or placed for collection on residential properties except for small quantities of such waste normally found in the household and available on a retail basis to the homeowner.
[Amended 12-19-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-05]
A. 
Bristol Township, or an authorized person or persons under contract by the Township, shall collect, transport, process and dispose all municipal waste generated at residential properties within the Township. In the event that the Township, or an authorized person or persons under contract by the Township, does not collect, transport, process or dispose municipal waste, then all persons owning or occupying residential properties shall contract directly with a licensed collector or licensed waste hauler for such services.
B. 
All persons owning and occupying residential properties shall make municipal waste available for collection at such times and dates as may be established by regulation.
C. 
All persons shall provide a sufficient number of containers for the collection and storage of municipal waste.
D. 
Preparation for collection residential garbage shall be placed in the roll-out container provided by the hauler or Township designated for household garbage. Trash and garbage not placed in a hauler or Township provided container shall not be collected by the hauler and must be removed by the property owner. Solid waste containers provided by the hauler or Township shall be used only for the disposal of household garbage from households located within the Township. In the event that the wheeled solid waste container furnished by the Township or hauler is damaged, altered, lost or destroyed through the negligence of the person to whom the container was assigned, the person shall reimburse the Township or hauler for the cost of a replacement container. All containers must be kept clean by the customer. Municipal waste shall be placed inside the container with the lid closed. Containers provided to such dwelling for collection of household garbage shall be the property of Township and shall be used only for the collection of household garbage. The roll-out container is assigned to the individual home. The container must stay with the location even with the sale of the property. Use of household garage containers for any purpose other than the disposal of household garbage or use of the roll-out containers by a person other than the person allocated such container(s) shall be a violation of this article.
E. 
Placement of municipal waste and containers. Municipal waste and containers shall be placed at the curb or street line or at an area designated by the Township, separate from recyclable materials for collection, at such times and dates as may be hereinafter established by regulation. Municipal waste and containers shall not be placed in a location which obstructs a public sidewalk or which impedes clear vision for motorists.
F. 
Times for placement and removal of containers. Municipal waste and containers shall be stored on the owner’s property and shall not be placed at the curb or street line, or at an area designated by the Township, for collection before 6:00 p.m. on the evening preceding a scheduled collection day. Empty containers shall be removed from the curb by 10:00 p.m. on the day of collection. Containers shall not be kept at the curb or street line or at an area designated by the Township between scheduled collections, and they shall be stored on the owner’s property in such location to be unseen from public streets or roads or from the front yards of immediate neighboring property.
G. 
When detachable containers or mechanical bins are in use, they shall be easily accessible to the collection vehicle.
A. 
All persons owning or managing multifamily housing properties and commercial, industrial, institutional, or municipal establishments and all organizers of community activities shall establish, implement, and manage a program for the storage, collection, transportation, processing and disposal of municipal waste generated at their properties or community activities in compliance with § 170-13 above.
B. 
Frequency of collection. Municipal waste for all commercial, industrial, institutional, and municipal establishments, and multifamily housing properties, shall be collected as often as required by generated volumes and environmental conditions, but not less than once a week.
A. 
The fees for the collection and disposal of refuse shall be as established from time to time by resolution of the Council of the Township of Bristol. The fee shall be a charge upon each residential dwelling unit in the Township of Bristol. The owners of every dwelling unit shall be legally obligated to see to the payment of said charge. All sums so collected shall be paid over to the Township Treasurer for deposit in a separate fund to be allocated for the payment of any and all contracts with authorized residential collectors for services rendered under the terms of this article and under appropriate contracts with them. In the event that said fund does not contain sufficient sums of money to meet the obligations under contracts with authorized residential collectors, the cost of collection of the fees provided for herein or administrative costs relating to the collection of refuse, then such additional sums of money as are required to meet said cost shall be supplied from the general fund of the Township upon legal appropriation of funds for said purpose.
B. 
The fee shall be payable annually at the office of the Treasurer of the Township of Bristol or to such other person as is designated by the Council as the agent for the collection thereof. All accounts for the payment of the fee shall be the legal obligation of the owners of the residential properties serviced, and if the same is unpaid within 60 days from the date due, said account shall be considered delinquent and service of waste collection may be stopped at the direction of the Managing Director without further notice. Further, the Township of Bristol may proceed for the collection of delinquency, after appropriate legal notice thereof, by an action in assumpsit and/or lien as provided by law. The provisions of this section shall not operate unless and until the municipality provides by ordinance that some or all of the waste collection in the Township shall be performed by authorized contracted collectors.
No person shall burn or cause to be burned outdoors for purposes of disposal any municipal waste, yard waste, or recyclable materials.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to scavenge any materials delivered and deposited for disposal except as may be provided for in the municipality's solid waste rules and regulations promulgated under this article.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to salvage or reclaim any solid wastes except at a properly permitted facility in which salvage is an integral plan of operation.
C. 
It shall be unlawful to make garbage available for animal consumption unless such refuse has been heat-treated to kill any harmful agents therein.
D. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to use, maintain or operate an open dump.
E. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to incinerate any solid waste within the Township of Bristol.
F. 
No person, firm or corporation shall throw or cause to be thrown upon any street or other public place or upon the land of another any garbage, wastepaper, bottles, metal sweepings, ashes, tin cans, nails, discarded or personal property or trash and rubbish of any kind, nor interfere with, scatter or disturb the contents of any receptacle containing garbage, household waste or rubbish which has been placed upon any sidewalk or elsewhere for the collection of the contents thereof.
G. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to allow any abandoned vehicle to remain upon any public or private property more than 48 hours. Vehicles in salvage yards shall not be considered abandoned.
H. 
It shall be unlawful for any person unauthorized by the Township to collect or pick up or cause to be collected or picked up any recyclable materials.
The Department/Coordinator shall be responsible for the preparation of all necessary plans for solid waste management and shall coordinate these plans with other local, county, state and federal agencies. These plans shall control the collection, storage, transportation, processing and disposal of all solid waste materials. In accordance with all the pertinent statutes, rules and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Department/Coordinator shall:
A. 
Arrange for solid waste collection, storage, transportation and disposal services through authorized contracted collectors and approve and regulate the establishment, maintenance and operation of private solid waste collection, storage, transportation and disposal services.
B. 
Aid and assist the commonwealth in the application and enforcement of rules and regulations pertaining to solid waste management.
C. 
Enforce such local rules and regulations pursuant to § 170-20 of this article as are necessary to implement and to carry out the intent of this article.
D. 
Enforce this article by issuing warning notices and initiating proceedings against violators of this article and its appurtenant rules and regulations.
The Managing Director, the Managing Director's designee, and sworn Bristol Township police officers are hereby authorized and directed to enforce the Bristol Township Municipal Waste Management Ordinance.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 30 days. Each day that a violation of this article continues or each section of this article which shall be found to have been violated shall constitute a separate offense. For purposes of this section, the doing of any act or thing prohibited by any provision of this article or the failure to do any act or thing as to which any provision of this article creates any affirmative duty shall constitute a violation of this article punishable as herein stated. Bristol Township may petition the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas for an injunction, either mandatory or prohibitive, in order to enforce any of the provisions of this article.