Section 7 - Fee for City Collection
1.
All Premises eligible for City collection pursuant to these regulations shall be presumed to receive City collection service and, except as provided in Subsection 2 below, the owners of such properties shall be liable for an annual fee of $300 for such collection, unless the requirements of Subsection 6 below are met. The service year shall be the calendar year.
2. The following are exempt from the fee:
- Collection from single-family dwellings;
- Collection from condominiums and cooperatives, as defined in Philadelphia Code Section 10-717.1(1); and
- Collection from multi-unit properties used solely for residential purposes where no unit is rented or leased for financial consideration.
3. City collection from Premises at which the fee is charged shall be subject to the setout limits and other restrictions otherwise set forth in these regulations, and shall include collection of Recyclable Materials under such restrictions.
4. For the first year of service, the City shall, promptly after the effective date of these regulations, send an invoice for the service fee in connection with all known properties subject to the fee, payment of which shall be due 60 days after the date of the invoice. For subsequent service years, the City shall send invoices for the service fee at least 60 days before the start of the upcoming service year and payment of the invoice shall be due on January 1. An invoice, due within 60 days, shall also be sent promptly upon learning of a property not yet billed.
5. A property owner that has not received City service, but that is eligible for service, may, during the course of a service year, notify the City of the need for City service. If less than six months are remaining in the service year, the service fee for the remainder of the service year shall be $75. Otherwise, the fee shall be $300.
6. A property owner that demonstrates to the Department, pursuant to the requirements of these regulations, that it has in place private waste hauling service, or another lawful waste disposal alternative that the Department determines is reasonably likely to fulfill the waste disposal needs of the establishment, shall be exempt from the annual fee. Such a demonstration may be made by providing the Department, through its website: (a) identification of the property, including the address; (b) the name of the private hauler that is providing private collection service; (c) the account or other identifying number used in connection with the account with the private hauler; and (d) identification of the provider of the information.
7. During the first year of service, property owners shall have 60 days from the date of invoices for payment of the annual fee to demonstrate private waste hauling service. During all subsequent years of service, property owners shall have until the start of the service year, January 1, to demonstrate private waste hauling service. Failure to demonstrate private service shall constitute acceptance of City service and make the property owner liable for the full annual fee.
8. The provision of false information to the City in an effort to demonstrate private service when no such private service is in place (a) constitutes a violation of The Philadelphia Code that subjects the property owner to penalties as set forth in the Code; and (b) makes the property owner liable for the annual fee.
9. If an invoice for payment remains unpaid after it is due, the property owner (a) shall be subject to 30-days notice that the City will terminate collection service; and (b) shall be liable for interest and penalties in the following amounts, or such other amounts as may be specified in Section 19-509(2) of The Philadelphia Code:
- no interest for the first month after the due date, and interest at the rate of one percent (1%) of the amount of the unpaid fee each month or fraction thereof thereafter during which the fee remains unpaid; and
- no penalty for the first month after the due date, and penalty calculated on the amount of the unpaid fee at the following rates for each month thereafter during which the fee remains unpaid:
- in the first month or fraction thereof, one percent (1%);
- in the second month or fraction thereof, an additional one percent (1%) for a total of two percent (2%);
- in the third month or fraction thereof, an additional one percent (1%) for a total of three percent (3%);
- in the fourth month or fraction thereof, an additional two percent (2%) for a total of five percent (5%);
- in the fifth month or fraction thereof, an additional two percent (2%) for a total of seven percent (7%);
- in the sixth month or fraction thereof, an additional two percent (2%) for a total of nine percent (9%);
- in the seventh month or fraction thereof, an additional three percent (3%) for a total of twelve percent (12%);
- in the eighth month or fraction thereof, an additional three percent (3%) for a total of fifteen percent (15%);
- in the ninth month or fraction thereof, an additional three percent (3%) for a total of eighteen percent (18%);
- in the tenth month or fraction thereof, an additional four percent (4%) for a total of twenty-two percent (22%);
- in the eleventh month or fraction thereof, an additional four percent (4%) for a total of twenty-six percent (26%);
- in the twelfth month or fraction thereof, an additional four percent (4%) for a total of thirty percent (30%);
- thereafter, for each additional month or fraction thereof, one and one-quarter percent (1 1/4%) shall be added to the amount charged under subsection (xii).
- When suit is brought for the recovery of the fee, the person liable therefor shall, in addition, be liable for the costs of collection together with the interest and penalties herein imposed.
10. A claim against the property owner for unpaid liability may be filed as a lien against the subject Premises.
11. If the City has terminated service and private collection service has not been demonstrated pursuant to the requirements of Subsection 6 above, it shall be presumed that the owner and/or user of the Premises is engaged in an unlawful manner of waste disposal and is causing a public nuisance, which shall subject the owner of the Premises to an administrative order to cease operations, as may be permitted by law.
12. If Collectible Rubbish or Recycling Materials are set out for City collection at a Premises where City service has been terminated pursuant to these regulations or at a Premises where a demonstration has been made, pursuant to Subsection 6 above, that private collection is provided at the Premises, the property owner shall be subject to all applicable provisions and penalties of The Philadelphia Code and regulations adopted thereunder pertaining to the improper set out of Refuse.
13. Certain Premises contain both one or more businesses and residential tenants or occupants. In accordance with Section 6.3.F, no City collection shall be provided at a Premises if any occupant of the Premises uses private Refuse collection.