Rockland County, NY Trash & Recycling: Bulk Item Disposal (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Rockland County Code Ch. 350
- Bulk item size cap
- Lumber under 4 ft, 25 lbs
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Health, Commissioner
- Max civil penalty
- $1,000 per violation
- Excluded items
- Anything on designated-recyclables list
Summary
Rockland County treats bulky items like furniture, mattresses and small appliances as part of the regular solid waste stream, not a separate large-item pickup. Under County Code § 350-2, "bulk items" are large household goods too big for a trash can; § 350-6 requires households to place all solid waste, bulk items included, into a suitable curbside container for hauler collection.
Items that may be too large to fit into standard household trash cans or are typically not collected as part of weekly trash collections, such as small household appliances and housewares; painted, laminated and treated wood, including lumber under four feet in length and under 25 pounds, and plywood; furniture (wooden and upholstered); mattresses; textiles; bulky plastics; packing materials; insulation; office equipment; and small machinery, generated within the County and which has been discarded or rejected as being spent, useless, worthless, or in excess to the owners at the time of such discard or rejection, having served their intended use. Bulk items shall not include any items or materials that appear on the list of designated recyclables.
Full Breakdown
The County Code's Chapter 350 (Solid Waste) folds large discarded household goods into the same collection stream as ordinary trash rather than running a countywide bulk pickup calendar. Section 350-2 defines "BULK ITEMS" as items too large for a standard trash can or not normally picked up weekly: small appliances, housewares, painted or treated lumber under four feet and 25 pounds, plywood, furniture, mattresses, textiles, bulky plastics, packing material, insulation, office equipment and small machinery generated in the County. The definition specifically carves out anything on the Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority's list of designated recyclables, so items like scrap metal appliances must instead follow the "SCRAP METALS" set-out rules in § 350-6E rather than the bulk-item stream.
Because the Code's "SOLID WASTE" definition in § 350-2 expressly folds bulk items into solid waste, the operative placement rule is § 350-6A: each person must separate solid waste from other waste types and place it into a dumpster container, compactor or other suitable container at curbside or another designated area for a hauler to pick up. Because Rockland's five towns and their villages handle day-to-day collection service, the actual pickup day, bulk-item limits per visit and container size come from the resident's town or village hauler contract, not from the county chapter. The Rockland County Department of Health enforces Chapter 350 under § 350-4A and administers hauler permitting through the Sanitary Code, Article III.
Violations & Fines
Placing bulk items mixed with recyclables or scrap metal in the same container, or leaving them out in a way that lets contents escape, is a violation of Chapter 350. The Commissioner of Health can impose a civil penalty up to $1,000 per violation under § 350-15C(3)(a), with each day of noncompliance counted separately under § 350-15B(4).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rockland County run a bulk-item pickup program?
What counts as a bulk item under county law?
Can I put a bulk item in with my recycling?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rockland County
New York rules heatmap·Compare Rockland County to another location·View the New York trash & recycling overview
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