The Hilltown Board of Supervisors have approved an ordinance that makes it explicitly clear what type of yard waste residents can dump at the township yard – and what type of waste is not allowed.
Approved in a public vote on Oct. 22, the ordinance states that Hilltown residents can drop off tree limbs and branches at the yard on Fairhill Road, provided the limbs and branches are four inches or less in diameter and no more than four feet in length. Additionally, residents can deposit Christmas trees and other small trees and shrubs, provided the trunks are four inches or less in diameter.
Meanwhile, the ordinance prohibits hydraulic dump trucks or trailers from using the yard. It also outlaws the following from being dumped at the site: grass clippings, bagged or otherwise; leaves, bagged or otherwise; tree stumps; trail material, mulch, ground cover, wood chips, stone, sod, soils of any kind, and other similar materials; lumber, treated or otherwise; animals, dead or alive; and trash of any kind.
The ordinance spells out that only Hilltown residents can dump permitted items at the yard. Non-residents and businesses, including landscapers that might be doing work for Hilltown residents, are barred from using the facility.
Violators will be subject to fines of between $300 and $1,000. In default of payment, a violator could face up to 30 days in jail.
Hilltown police and the township zoning officer are authorized to enforce the ordinance.
Hilltown officials have said that the dumpsters at the township yard were always supposed to be for things like branches, tree limbs, Christmas trees, small shrubs and the like. However, people began taking advantage, dumping much more than was allowed, including living and deceased animals. Professional landscapers were also depositing waste from operations at the Fairhill Road site.
Hilltown crafted the recently approved ordinance to counteract the activity.
