Cumberland County

Municipality of Cumberland By-Law 01-03

Solid Waste By-Law

1. This By-Law is entitled the “Solid Waste By-Law”.

Definitions

2. In this By-Law:

(1) “backyard compostable material”, “compostable material” and “compostables” mean waste organic materials appropriate for home or backyard composting; including fruit and vegetable scraps, baked goods, pasta, paper towels, serviettes, tea bags, coffee grounds and filters, egg shells, dryer lint, leaves, weeds, grass clippings, wet newsprint, wet boxboard, wet paper and small brush; and excluding meat, fish, bones, dairy products, fat, grease, oil and large branches or roots;

(2) “collector” means any person or corporation collecting solid waste in the Municipality for gain or profit;

(3) “construction and demolition debris” means materials which are normally used in the construction of buildings, structures, roadways, walls and other landscaping material and includes, but is not limited to, soil, asphalt, brick, mortar, drywall, plaster, cellulose, fiberglass fibres, gypsum board, lumber, wood, asphalt shingles and metals and such other materials as may be permitted from time to time by regulations of the Province of Nova Scotia for disposal at a disposal site for construction and demolition debris;

(4) “CJSMA” means the Cumberland Joint Services Management Authority, which is an intermunicipal committee created by the Towns of Amherst, Oxford, Springhill and Parrsboro and the Municipality, that operates the Cumberland Central Landfill at Little Forks, Cumberland County;

(5) “Cumberland Central Landfill” means the solid waste processing and disposal complex operated by the CJSMA at Little Forks which includes a sanitary landfill, a recycling plant, a composting plant, a metal salvage area and a construction and demolition debris disposal site;

(6) “curb” means that portion of the street right-of-way of a public street between the traveled portion of the right-of-way and the property line which parallels the street center line;

(7) “hazardous waste” means waste that may be harmful to humans, animals, plant life or natural resources including, but not restricted to, industrial chemicals, toxic, flammable, corrosive, radioactive, reactive, pathological and PCB waste, oil, gasoline, paint solvent, wood preservatives, ink, battery acid, pesticides and insecticides;

(8) “Municipality” means the Municipality of the County of Cumberland;

(9) “public education documents” includes newsletters, pamphlets, flyers or other material circulated by mail or delivery by or for the Municipality or the CJSMA and newspaper or radio advertisements by or for the Municipality or the CJSMA;

(10) “recyclable material” or “recyclables” means redeemable beverage containers, steel, tin or aluminum food containers or cans, glass food containers, jars and bottles, low density polyethylene bags and packaging, high density bags, containers and packaging, polycoat containers for milk, milk products, soya milk, concentrates or other liquids or powders, tetrapacks, corrugated cardboard, newsprint, bond paper, glossy flyers and magazines, egg cartons, box board, computer paper and such other items as may, from time to time, be identified in public education documents distributed by the Municipality or the CJSMA as suitable for municipal recyclables collection;

(11) “redeemable beverage container” means a container of less than 5 litres which contains or has contained a beverage and was sealed by the manufacturer after the beverage was placed in it, other than a container for milk, milk products, soya milk or concentrates, upon which a deposit is required to be paid by provincial regulation;

(12) “residual garbage” means solid waste other than:

(a) recyclable material;

(b) backyard compostable material;

(d) material identified in this By-Law as material not to be placed for municipal collection or not to be deposited at a municipal solid waste management facility or material identified in this By-Law as to be placed for collection only upon special collection dates;

(e) waste or solid waste which is not placed for collection in accordance with the requirements of this By-Law, including limitations on the size, weight, volume, packaging or bundling identified herein or which is placed for collection contrary to limitations or specifications on garbage collection identified from time to time in public education documents distributed by the Municipality;

but notwithstanding subparagraphs (a) and (b) hereof, residual garbage may include recyclable and backyard compostable materials to the extent separation of recyclable and compostable material was not reasonably possible for the waste generator because of the fusing or bonding together of materials in the state in which the waste generator received them or because of the reasonable cross-contamination of materials in the ordinary course of use by the waste generator if such contamination was unavoidable by the exercise of due diligence by the waste generator;

(13) “solid waste” includes recyclables, compostables, residual garbage, construction and demolition debris, leaf and yard waste, contaminated soil and any other waste or discarded tangible personal property;

(14) “yard waste” or “leaf and yard waste” means vegetative matter resulting from gardening, horticulture, landscaping or land-clearing operations, including materials such as tree and shrub trimmings, plant remains, grass clippings, leaves, trees and stumps, but excludes construction and demolition debris or contaminated organic matter.

Municipal Solid Waste Management Facilities

3. The following sites are designated as municipal solid waste management facilities:

(1) for construction and demolition debris: the Cumberland Central Landfill and the construction and demolition debris disposal sites owned and operated by the Municipality at it’s five current or former Transfer Station sites at Pugwash, Wallace/Malagash, Greenville, Advocate and River Hebert/Joggins;

(2) for compostables: the Cumberland Central Landfill;

(3) for recyclable materials: the Cumberland Central Landfill; and the Transfer Stations located at or near Wallace, Port Howe, Wentworth, Greenville, Oxford, Southampton, Crossroads, Advocate and River Hebert/Joggins;

(4) for residual garbage: the Cumberland Central Landfill, and the Transfer Stations located at or near Wallace, Port Howe, Wentworth, Greenville, Oxford, Southampton, Crossroads, Advocate and River Hebert/Joggins;

(5) for contaminated soil: the Cumberland Central Landfill.

4. Except for the placement of solid waste for collection in accordance with this By-Law, no person shall deposit, cause to be deposited or permit to be deposited solid waste at any place in the Municipality other than at a municipal solid waste management facility designated for the applicable type of solid waste or at a site approved for that purpose by the Province of Nova Scotia, provided however, that:

(1) backyard composting carried out in such manner as not to constitute a nuisance is permissible;

(2) subject to statutes, regulations or laws of the Province of Nova Scotia or Canada to the contrary, the unconcentrated disposal of waste trees, brush or portions thereof or other organic farm or forestry waste by decay on forest or farm land is permitted; and

(3) subject to statutes, regulations or laws of the Province of Nova Scotia or Canada of other by-laws of the Municipality to the contrary, the nuisance-free disposal or aggregate, soil, bricks, mortar, concrete, asphalt pavement, porcelain or ceramic materials as fill is permitted.

5. No person shall place, cause to be placed or permit to be placed in a municipal solid waste management facility any material or quantity of material in contravention of:

(1) any federal or provincial statute or regulation, including any regulation requiring the diversion of particular types or quantities of waste or waste products from particular types of solid waste management facilities;

(2) this By-Law or any resolution of Council concerning the use of a municipal solid waste management facility, including but not restricted to any resolution requiring the diversion of particular types or quantities of waste or waste products from a municipal solid waste management facility or a particular type of municipal solid waste management facility;

(3) the directions of the operator or staff of a municipal solid waste management facility with respect to the weighing, measuring, time, volume, method, location or other conditions of placement of solid waste, or particular types, loads or items of solid waste.

6. No person shall place, cause to be placed or permit to be paced at, in or adjacent to a municipal solid waste management facility any solid waste when the facility is not open or when the operator or municipal staff of the municipal solid waste management facility refuses to accept a load or loads or item or items of solid waste.

7. Except by contract with the Municipality or with the express approval in advance of the operator of the municipal solid waste management facility, given after the operator if fully informed as to the nature and origin of the solid waste, no person shall place, cause to be place or permit to be placed in a municipal solid waste management facility

(1) any solid waste which is not permitted to be placed for municipal collection; or

(2) any solid waste generated outside the Municipality.

8. No person shall place, cause to be placed or permit to be placed in a municipal solid waste management facility any solid waste that is not separated as required by section 15 of this By-Law or which is falsely or misleadingly presented or packaged as solid waste of a particular kind, type, stream or place of origin or which is concealed within or inter-mingled with solid waste of another kind, type, stream or place of origin.

9. No person shall place, cause to be placed or permit to be placed in a municipal solid waste management facility any solid waste in an opaque bag or any other container which would impede inspection of the materials being placed. This section shall come into force on January 1, 2002.

10. All corrugated cardboard placed at or in a municipal solid waste management facility for recycling must be clean, dry, and flattened; and must be neatly stacked in the designated area of the facility by the person bringing the material to the facility. All newsprint and other paper products placed at a municipal solid waste management facility must be clean and dry, and may be tied securely in bundles weighing not more than 15 kg or may be contained in transparent blue or clear plastic bags. All other recyclable materials must be clean and dry and must be contained in transparent blue or clear plastic bags. Bags containing recyclables must not exceed 15 kg in weight.

11. The operator or staff at a municipal solid waste management facility may refuse solid waste:

(1) which contains waste for which that facility is not a designated site;

(2) for which a tipping fee has not been set or negotiated with the generator or collector or for which a tipping fee has not been paid or for which tipping fee payment arrangements satisfactory to the Municipality have not been made;

(3) which is being delivered by a collector who or which does not hold a current valid Solid Waste Collector’s License issued by the Municipality pursuant to this Solid Waste Collector’s By-Law;

(4) which the facility is unable to weigh, measure or process for any reason, including, but not restricted to, excessive inventory of solid waste or shortage of space, mechanical or electrical break down or labour dispute;

(5) at any Transfer Station which is brought in a load larger than a normal ½ ton truck load;

(6) at any Transfer Station, which originates from a business or institution situated in an area of the Municipality which has solid waste collection serviced provided by the Municipality;

(7) which is brought to a Transfer Station by a collector from an area of the Municipality which has solid waste collection services provided by the Municipality;

(8) which is brought to any Transfer Station in a load which is not covered and secure; or

(9) which would be deposited or placed in contravention of this By-Law.

Removal, Separation and Storage of Solid Waste

12. No occupant or owner of property in the Municipality shall permit the accumulation of solid waste in or around the property to the extent that it is or is likely to become a nuisance or hazard to the public health.

13. Food scraps and spoiled or waste food or foodstuff, except as disposed of by backyard composting, shall be removed from every property by the occupant no less than once every three weeks and disposed of according to law.

14. Owners and occupants are responsible for providing for the lawful collection and disposal of all solid waste that is not subject to municipal collection.

15. Owners and occupants of property in the Municipality shall separate solid waste at the time of generation, storage, placement for collection and disposal into uncontaminated separate solid waste streams as follows:

(1) recyclables;

(2) backyard compostable materials;

(3) residual garbage;

(4) construction and demolition debris;

(5) solid waste of any type which is not accepted at a municipal solid waste management facility, each such type in its own stream; and

(6) solid waste of any type which is only accepted on the occasion of special collections, or by contract or by express approval in advance of the operator of a municipal solid waste management facility, each such type in its own stream.

16. The owner and occupant of every property in the Municipality shall provide sufficient and adequate receptacles or containers for solid waste which may accumulate from time to time on the property, and, without limited the generality of the foregoing, recyclables and residual garbage shall be stored inside buildings or in receptacles or containers that are water-proof, impervious to domestic and wild animals and rodents, and which are designed to avoid the entrapment of children.

17. Waste refrigerators and freezers shall either be stored inside an enclosed, locked or child-proof building or shall have their doors removed from the appliance.

Municipal Collection

18. Council may, by resolution, provide for general municipal collection of solid waste by its own employees or by a contractor in some or all areas of the Municipality and, for greater certainty and without limiting Council’s discretion to use different collection classifications, Council may limit collection to particular types of solid waste, to properties containing not more than a specified number of residential households, to properties which are not seasonal or which are occupied as a permanent residence, and/or to commercial solid waste generators of a particular type or size or generating not more than a specified volume of solid waste, and may provide different collection services for any different class of waste generator.

19. Council may by resolution provide for special municipal solid waste collections on an occasional basis or may provide for municipal collection from a drop-off site, of particular types of solid waste, such as discarded Christmas trees, bulky items not eligible for regular municipal collection, leaf and year waste, household hazardous waste or other specified solid waste and may limit such special collection to particular areas of the Municipality to properties containing not more than a specified number of residential households and/or to commercial solid waste generators of a particular type or size or generating not more than a specified volume of solid waste.

20. Except to the extent authorized by contract with the Municipality or by public education documents distributed by the Municipality from time to time, including, but not restricted to, public education documents or notices published in connection with special collection days, persons, businesses, commercial establishments and institutions placing solid waste for collection shall comply with the following:

(1) all solid waste shall be placed for collection within three metres of the curb, placed in such a manner as to interfere as little as possible with pedestrian traffic and snow removal;

(2) solid waste shall not be placed for collection before 5:00 a.m. on the collection date for that property for the appropriate type or stream of solid waste as advertised in public education documents distributed or for the Municipality from time to time;

(3) uncollected solid waste and any waste scattered by animals, pest or weather shall be removed by the solid waste generator, owner or occupant from the place where such solid waste was placed for collection not later than midnight on the day of collection;

(4) residual garbage shall be placed for collection in securely tied, transparent colourless plastic disposable water-proof bags of a dimension not smaller than 60 cm. x 80 cm., nor greater than 100 cm. x 150 cm., and shall not exceed a weight of 15 kg. per bag and not more than 4 such bags shall be placed for collection on any one collection day;

(5) recyclables shall be placed for collection in securely tied, colourless or blue transparent plastic disposable water-proof bags of a dimension no smaller than 60 cm. x 80 cm., nor greater than 100 cm. x 150 cm., and shall not exceed a weight of 15 kg. per bag and no business, commercial establishment or institution shall place more than 8 such bags for collection on any one collection date;

(6) corrugated cardboard may be flattened out and securely tied with twine or rope in bundles not exceeding 15 kg. per bundle, and not more than 2 such bundles shall be placed for collection on any one collection date;

(7) bulky items placed for special collection shall not exceed 100 kg. in weight for any one item or 300 kg. for all items for any one dwelling unit on any one special collection date and no individual item shall measure greater than 3.0 metres in any dimension;

(8) refrigerators and freezers placed for special collection shall have the door removed from the appliance; and

(9) backyard compostable materials shall not be placed for collection.

(10) subject to maintaining uncontaminated separate solid waste streams, solid waste other than compostables may be placed for collection in waste collection boxes located within 3 metres of the curb of the public road or street provided that:

(a) the box has a securely hinged lid or lids;

(b) the box has a support to hold the lid open while the contents are being emptied;

(d) the solid waste is placed within the box in accordance with all other requirements of this section, including placement in specified bags.

21. No person shall place solid waste for collection on a property other than a property owned or occupied by such person or in respect of which the person has obtained the consent of the owner or occupier for that purpose.

22. Except to the extent authorized by contract with the Municipality or by public education documents distributed by the Municipality from time to time, no person shall place for collection:

(1) backyard compostable materials;

(2) hazardous waste;

(3) hospital and pharmaceutical waste;

(4) asbestos;

(5) septic waste;

(6) hot ashes:

(7) dead animals;

(8) industrial waste, including non-residential farm, forestry or fishing waste;

(9) tires;

(10) waste generated outside the Municipality; or

(11) other materials or solid waste as may be identified as unacceptable for collection in public education documents distributed by the Municipality from time to time.

23. Except as authorized by the Municipality, no person shall remove recyclables or other solid waste placed or apparently placed for municipal collection by waste generators, owners or occupants; and all recyclables are the property of the Municipality from the moment of placement for municipal collection. Nothing in this section relieves an owner or occupant from the duties set out in subsection (3) of section 14.

Enforcement and Penalty

24. Proof that solid waste that was deposited or placed somewhere in contravention of this By-Law originated from a particular person shall be evidence that the person so deposited or placed it, or caused or permitted it to be so deposited or placed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

25. Any person who contravenes any provision of this By-Law is punishable on summary conviction by a fine of not less than $100.00 and not more than $2,000.00 and to imprisonment of not more than 30 days in default of payment thereof.