Trash & Recycling in Ulster County, NY (2026)
6 rules for unincorporated Ulster County, New York.
Verified from official government sources
Bin Placement Rules
Ulster County makes it a violation to remove, take without authorization, or dispose of a County-issued recycling container anywhere but back to the issuing municipality, or to use one for anything besides temporary storage of regulated recyclables. Once materials are set out in those containers or brought to a County dropoff center, they legally become County property, enforced by the Resource Recovery Agency.
Ulster County Recycling Container Rules
Some RestrictionsUlster County Code §§ 304-20, 304-22
§ 304-20. Ownership, direction and control of regulated recyclable materials. A. Except as set forth in § 304-16, once regulated recyclable materials are set out for collection, placed in Agency containers, or deposited in the municipal recycling dropoff centers or municipal recycling system, all such materials become the property of the County, and the Agency shall direct and control the proce...
Recycling Requirements
Ulster County requires every resident and business to separate glass, metal, plastic, paper and cardboard from the trash before disposal, enforced by the Resource Recovery Agency.
Ulster County Curbside Recycling Rules
Some RestrictionsUlster County Code § 304-12
A program is hereby established within Ulster County for the mandatory source separation of regulated recyclable materials from the solid waste stream. Regulated recyclable materials established under this article shall, as defined in § 304-9, include the following: glass, metal cans, plastics, newspaper, corrugated cardboard, paperboard, and mixed paper. All persons shall separate regulated re...
Mandatory Organics Recycling
Ulster County's Food Waste Prevention and Recovery Act forces large food scraps generators to donate edible surplus and divert the rest to composting or an organics recycler, phased in by weekly tonnage.
Ulster County Mandatory Food Scraps Recycling
Significant RestrictionsUlster County Code §§ 304-50, 304-51
Large food scraps generators shall be subject to the requirements of § 304-51 as of the following dates: A. Beginning January 1, 2021, a large food scraps generator whose acts or processes produce more than two tons per week of food scraps; B. Beginning January 1, 2022, a large food scraps generator whose acts or processes produce more than one ton per week of food scraps; C. Beginning...
Illegal Dumping
Ulster County makes it a misdemeanor to dump refuse from outside the County into any refuse disposal area within it. Section 304-3 bans depositing out-of-County garbage, industrial waste, construction debris or dredge material in a County disposal site, and § 304-5 punishes a violation with up to $2,000 in fines, six months in jail, or both, plus possible injunctive action by the County Attorney.
Out-of-County Refuse Dumping Ban in Ulster County
Heavy RestrictionsUlster County Code §§ 304-3, 304-5
§ 304-3. Refuse from outside County. No refuse originating as such outside the County of Ulster, or which has been collected or otherwise obtained outside the County of Ulster and transported or otherwise delivered within said County, shall be deposited, or caused or allowed to be deposited, in any refuse disposal area within the County of Ulster. ... § 304-5. Penalties for offenses. A. Each vi...
Yard Waste Collection
Ulster County requires residents to separate grass clippings, leaves, brush and clean wood from the trash for composting, though on-site home composting stays legal.
Ulster County Yard Waste Rules
Some RestrictionsUlster County Code § 304-19
All persons shall separate yard waste from solid waste for the purposes of collection and composting. ... This section shall not prohibit private composting or on-site disposal of yard waste by any person in compliance with any existing law.
Collection Schedule
In Ulster County, residential and commercial trash collection is not run by the County itself: it is provided by licensed private haulers regulated by the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency. No hauler may collect or dispose of solid waste in the County without an Agency license, and every load of municipal solid waste must go to an Agency-designated disposal facility.
Mandatory Hauler Licensing in Ulster County
Some RestrictionsUlster County Code §§ 304-39, 304-41
§ 304-39. Hauler licensing requirements. A. No hauler shall collect, transport or dispose of solid waste and/or recyclable materials generated within the County without obtaining a hauler license issued by the Agency. Licenses issued pursuant to this article shall be in the nature of a privilege subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this article and shall not be deemed to create a pr...
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