Albany, NY Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

The City of Albany Department of General Services sets the routes and collection days, but the placement window is fixed citywide: refuse must be at curbside prior to 12:01 a.m. on the scheduled collection day, and cannot go out before 4:30 p.m. the previous day. Garbage itself must be bagged in heavy-duty plastic or in a lidded metal or plastic container of no more than 50 gallons under § 313-4A. Containers left out in a dilapidated, unsanitary, or oversized condition can be removed by the Department of General Services after written notice under § 313-7B, and anyone who scavenges through material already at the curb is committing a violation under § 313-6 because it becomes City property once set out.