Trash & Recycling in Hempstead, NY (2026)
10 verified trash & recycling rules for Hempstead, New York, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Hempstead limits residential trash to two 30-gallon containers per collection day in a can no larger than 45 gallons and 75 pounds, and flatly bans using barrels, drums, kegs, cardboard boxes, or cloth bags for garbage or rubbish.
Hempstead Trash Container and Quantity Rules
Some RestrictionsHempstead Code § 128-7A(2), C(1)
All refuse shall be in a container commercially manufactured for this purpose, not exceeding 45 gallons in size, having a tight-fitting cover and a maximum filled weight of 75 pounds; except that garden refuse and rubbish will be accepted in wooden boxes, baskets or pails with handles. ... Use of barrels, drums, kegs, cardboard boxes or cloth bags for containing garbage or rubbish is prohibited.
Bin Placement Rules
Hempstead residents must set refuse containers at the curb, never before 7:00 p.m. the night before collection, and pull empty cans back within three hours; underground and indoor storage of cans is banned.
Hempstead Curbside Trash Bin Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsHempstead Code § 128-7C(2), (3), (4), (6)
No refuse shall be placed for collection before 7:00 p.m. on the day prior to collection. Empty receptacles shall be removed from the curb area within three hours after collection. Refuse receptacles shall be stored on property only on a location adjacent to a principal or accessory use building, but in no event shall such receptacle be stored forward of the front building line of the principal...
Bulk Item Disposal
Hempstead requires tree branches, large bushes and logs to be bundled to specific size and weight limits before D.P.W. will collect them on a regular route; oversized loads instead require a paid special collection. Large furniture and appliances are picked up only by appointment.
Hempstead Bulk Item And Branch Bundling Rules
Some RestrictionsHempstead Code § 128-9C
Trees, tree branches and trimmings, large bushes, logs, etc., shall be securely tied in bundles not in excess of 75 pounds nor more than four feet in length and 24 inches in any other dimension; trees, tree branches and trimmings, large bushes, logs, etc., not reduced to size nor bundled as provided in this section, will be collected by special collection at charges authorized by D.P.W. and the...
Recycling Requirements
Hempstead requires every household and every commercial, industrial or institutional establishment to source-separate newspapers, glass, metal cans, certain plastics, yard waste, metal recyclables and construction debris from regular trash, with cardboard and office paper added for businesses.
Hempstead Mandatory Source-Separation Recycling
Some RestrictionsHempstead Code § 128-70A
There shall be mandatory source separation of newspapers, glass bottles and jars and metal food and beverage cans, plastic food and household product containers made from high-density polyethylenes or polyethylene terephthalate plastics, yard wastes, metal recyclables and construction and demolition debris.
Holiday Pickup Schedule
The Town of Hempstead Department of Public Works suspends rubbish pickup for any full week containing a Monday-through-Friday legal holiday, because garbage volume doubles that week. Garbage collection continues on schedule; only rubbish, and leaf collection during leaf season, is paused until the following week's designated days.
Hempstead Skips Rubbish On Holiday Weeks
Light RestrictionsHempstead Code § 128-7A(3)(b)
Rubbish. On the second and third collection days of each week only, the equivalent of two thirty-gallon containers and no more than six tied bundles of twigs or branches two feet by two feet by four feet in length or six fifty-five-gallon plastic bags. Exception: on the first scheduled collection day after a legal holiday, no rubbish shall be collected, due to the double volume of garbage to be...
Illegal Dumping
Hempstead makes it an unclassified misdemeanor to throw, bury or leave garbage, dead animals, tires, abandoned vehicles or any other refuse on a vacant lot, street or road in the Town, punishable by up to a $10,000 fine, up to one year in jail, or both.
Hempstead Bans Dumping On Vacant Lots, Streets
Heavy RestrictionsHempstead Code § 128-43
No person, firm, association or corporation shall throw, cast, lay, bury or leave or direct, suffer or permit any servant, agent or employee to throw, cast, lay, bury or leave, any ashes, offal, dead animals, vegetables, garbage, dross, cinders, shells, straw, shavings, paper, dirt, filth, broken glasswares, crockery, bottles, domestic furniture, packing crates, metal, rubber, tires, abandoned ...
Yard Waste Collection
Hempstead requires yard waste, grass clippings, leaves, brush and small logs, to be separated from regular trash and set out on a dedicated yard-waste collection day. Residents may leave grass clippings on the lawn, but landscapers must haul away what they cut.
Hempstead Yard Waste Curbside Collection Rules
Some RestrictionsHempstead Code § 128-70B(2)(f)
Yard waste must be separated from residential waste and placed at the curb for collection on the yard waste only collection day established by the Department of Sanitation. Residents are permitted to leave grass clippings on the lawn. Commercial landscape gardeners must remove the products of their work from the premises if not left on the lawn for recycling.
Dumpster Rules
Anyone placing a roll-off container or dumpster on a Hempstead street needs an annual permit from the Sanitation Commissioner under Town Code § 176-2. Containers must sit on a street at least 30 feet wide, parallel to the curb, and cannot stay more than 14 days without paying to renew.
Hempstead Roll-Off Container Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsHempstead Code §§ 176-2, 176-3
It shall be unlawful and an offense against this chapter for any person to place or caused to be placed a roll-off container upon any public street within the Town without first obtaining a permit therefor in accordance with the requirements prescribed by this chapter. ... The street upon which any roll-off container is to be placed must meet a minimum width requirement of 30 feet, curb to curb...
Collection Schedule
The Department of Public Works collects residential trash only between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with rubbish and leaves picked up only on the second and third scheduled collection days of each week.
Hempstead Trash Collection Days and Hours
Some RestrictionsHempstead Code § 128-7A(1), (3)(b)
Collection from residential areas is restricted to the hours 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, on scheduled days. ... Rubbish. On the second and third collection days of each week only, the equivalent of two thirty-gallon containers and no more than six tied bundles of twigs or branches two feet by two feet by four feet in length or six fifty-five-gallon plastic bags.
Recycling Rules
Beyond household sorting duties, Hempstead's recycling law bans collecting or processing recyclables without a Town permit and bans mixing recyclables back into regular trash, backed by civil penalties up to $10,000 and permit suspension or revocation.
Hempstead Recycling Permits And Penalties
Significant RestrictionsHempstead Code § 128-81
It shall be unlawful for: A. Any person, other than those authorized in a Town solid waste collection district, incorporated village or independent sanitary district, to collect any recyclable materials without first obtaining a recycling collection permit pursuant to § 128-74. ... D. Any person to violate or to cause or assist in the violation of any provision of this Article or any implementi...
Looking for Nassau County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Hempstead city rules.
Trash & Recycling in Nassau County →