West Chester council debates clearer trash rules, proposes consistent collection times and container standards

West Chester Borough Council on Feb. 18 debated revisions to Chapter 62, the borough ordinance that governs garbage, rubbish and refuse, with staff and council members pushing for consistent collection times and clarified container standards.

The proposed ordinance amendment would authorize the solicitor to advertise a public hearing for March 19, 2025, on multiple changes including a single year-round morning set-out time, a uniform deadline for returning containers, corrected container-volume references for private collection, and a new requirement for larger properties to use a minimum three-cubic-yard dumpster when weekly waste exceeds a set number of 96-gallon toters.

Council members said inconsistency across paragraphs of the draft made enforcement impractical. “There’s a couple places where it says in summer months that trash should be set out no later than 6AM… and then set back … by 6PM in some places,” said the staff member who presented the ordinance draft, noting the confusion. Public works staff recommended changing set-out times throughout the ordinance to 6 a.m. and standardizing the return deadline to midnight on collection day to give late-returning residents more time.

Members described two common problems the edits are meant to fix: crews sometimes start very early in hot weather to “beat the heat,” and the draft mistakenly mixed public-collection 35‑gallon references into the private-collection section. “We don’t have 35‑gallon toters for private trash. They’re 96 gallons,” the presenting staff member said, and recommended replacing “35” with “96” where appropriate. The draft would treat four 96‑gallon toters per week as the threshold above which a minimum three‑cubic‑yard dumpster is required for private collection.

Council and staff clarified technical points in response to public comments. A resident asked whether elderly neighbors who put small cans out the night before would be compliant; a staff member confirmed the draft would allow placement no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before. Another commenter — experienced in construction logistics — flagged a provision that would require dumpsters to be covered at all times; council and staff agreed to carve out construction roll‑off dumpsters from that provision because full covers are not practical for large roll‑offs.

Council directed staff to make the agreed edits — change morning set‑out references to 6 a.m. year‑round, change the return deadline to midnight, correct private-collection references to four 96‑gallon toters (equivalent to roughly two cubic yards), and add language that construction roll‑offs are not subject to the “covered at all times” requirement — and to place the ordinance on the consent agenda for the next meeting assuming the changes are made.

The draft will be advertised for a public hearing on March 19, 2025, before final action. No final vote on the ordinance was taken on Feb. 18; council moved the item forward for revision and placement on the consent agenda.

Ending: The council’s edits aim to simplify enforcement and reduce resident confusion by removing seasonal exceptions and correcting container-size references; the borough will publish the revised draft before the March public hearing.