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Ordinance amending and supplementing the City of Pittsburgh Code, Title Six (“Conduct”), Article I (“Regulated Rights and Actions”), by amending Chapter 601 (“Public Order”), Section 601.11 (“Littering and Dumping”) to more clearly define litter and illegal dumping violations and to update penalties to include community restitution.
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WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh, through its Department of Public Works, maintains City assets and administers a solid waste and recycling system that promotes a litter-free environment; and,
WHEREAS, the capacity of the City to remove litter and illegal dumping is supplemented by community- and volunteer-led clean-ups and the work of nonprofit organizations like Allegheny CleanWays, Friends of the Riverfront, Operation Better Block, and more; and
WHEREAS, still, the City has received 1,107 reports of litter to its 311 Response Line from January 1, 2021 until August 18, 2021, as well as 509 reports of illegal dumpsites during that same time period; and,
WHEREAS, events like the annual City-wide Garbage Olympics clean-up competition collect real-time data to show the state of trash in Pittsburgh which in 2020 included 670 tires, 254 covered devices (TV’s and computers), 12 shopping carts, 6 couches, 5 refrigerators and more than 1,129 bags of trash as collected by 774 volunteers across 38 neighborhoods; and,
WHEREAS, further still, the City has begun to map known and recurring dumpsites-more than 859 as of August, 2021-- and has also empowered the collection and identification of 17, 461 pieces of litter since introduction of its Litterati app license in 2020; and,
WHEREAS, clean-ups alone are not enough to keep Pittsburgh clean; and,
WHEREAS, the City hired in an Anti Litter Specialist in 2019 to complement the work of the City’s Environmental Enforcement Coordinator; and,
WHEREAS, the Anti Litter Specialist led the City along with the Clean Pittsburgh Commission to set forth a Goals on Littering & Dumping (GOLD) plan to more strategically handle the sheer volume of trash on the ground and better serve Pittsburgh residents; and
WHEREAS, the GOLD plan combines City eradication efforts with citizen empowerment, public education, and added capacity for enforcement; and,
WHEREAS, enforcement hinges on the ability of the City to communicate expectations and penalties as well as the durability of the law; and,
WHEREAS, a close examination of City Code “Chapter 601.11 Littering and Dumping”, not updated in nineteen years, led to study of other Pennsylvania Cities’ laws and penalties; and,
WHEREAS, current language prohibiting “waste paper, sweepings, and ash” no longer accurately describes Pittsburgh litter, and “trash, garbage or other debris” hardly captures the scale of illegal dumpsites; and,
WHEREAS, utilizing research and partner interviews, plain language standards, as well as quantitative data from four years of the Garbage Olympics, the City now seeks to amend and supplement “Chapter 601.11: Littering and Dumping.”
The Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. City of Pittsburgh Code, Title Six (“Conduct”), Article I (“Regulated Rights and Actions”), Chapter 601 (“Public Order”), Section 601.11 (“Littering and Dumping”) is hereby amended by adding supplemental language:
§601.11 - Littering and Dumping
(a.) DEFINITIONS.
(1) LITTER. All garbage and rubbish, loosely strewn, unpackaged, and uncontained which includes but is not limited to paper, bottles, cans, glass, plastic, rubber, disposable packages, cigarette butts and other tobacco products, gum and containers.
(2) ILLEGAL DUMPING. The disposal of debris at a site other than an accredited destination cited in the Allegheny County Solid Waste Management Plan of 2019, or any subsequent revisions. Dumped debris may include but is not limited to upholstered furniture, mattresses, carpets, yard waste, wood debris, organic material, vehicle parts and tires, shopping carts, and
a. APPLIANCES, as defined in 619.01 (a)
b. BULKY ITEMS, as defined in 619.01 (b)
c. COVERED DEVICES, as defined in 619.01 (g)
d. DEMOLITION and CONSTRUCTION WASTE, as defined in 619.01 (h)
e. HAZARDOUS WASTES, as defined in 619.01 (j)
f. HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTES, as defined in 619.01 (k)
g. MUNICIPAL WASTE, as defined in 619.01 (q).
(b.) LITTERING PROHIBITED.
(1) No person shall knowingly throw, place, drop or deposit litter onto any public place, right-of-way, vacant lot, private premise, sewer, or into the waters in the city.
(2) Any person violating this provision shall be fined Fifty ($50) dollars and/or ordered to perform community restitution in the neighborhood where the violation(s) occurred.
(c.) TRASH CONTAINER REQUIREMENT AT BANKING OPERATIONS AND OTHER BUSINESSES.
(1) All banking operations and other businesses that own or operate automated teller machines (ATM's) and/or device(s) that dispense paper into the public right-of-way shall supply a trash receptacle no greater than two (2) feet away from said ATM(s).
(2) Any banking operation or other business violating this provision shall be fined Fifty ($50) dollars and/or ordered to perform community restitution in the neighborhood where the violation(s) occurred.
(d.) ILLEGAL DUMPING PROHIBITED.
(1) No person shall willfully abandon, deposit, or dump debris onto any public place, right-of-way, vacant lot, private premise, sewer, or into the waters in the city.
(2) Any person violating these provisions shall be fined no less than Five hundred ($500) dollars and/or ordered to perform community restitution in the neighborhood where the violation(s) occurred. Every day the violation persists shall constitute a separate offense.