Chicopee, MA Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Frequency
- At least once a week per housing structure
- Week defined
- Sunday a.m. through Saturday p.m.
- Zone days
- Zone 1 Monday through Zone 5 Friday
- Excluded properties
- Multifamily over four units, commercial (grandfathered as of July 1, 2016)
- Pickup exemption vote
- 2/3 of the City Council, one week published notice
- Fine
- $25 per day, each day a separate offense
Summary
In the City of Chicopee, Massachusetts, garbage, ashes and rubbish are collected at least once a week from every housing structure, on an assigned zone day running from Zone 1 on Monday to Zone 5 on Friday. Chicopee Code § 169-12(A) sets the schedule, and § 169-4 lists the properties outside City service.
A. Municipal collection schedule. (1) The collection of garbage, ashes and rubbish is to be made at least once a week from each structure, building, dwelling or trailer where housing accommodations exist except as noted in § 169-4, Limitations of sanitation service. For the purpose of this subsection, a week shall be interpreted as starting in the a.m. on Sunday and ending on the following Saturday in the p.m. (2) Every structure, building, dwelling or trailer where housing accommodations exist as noted in Subsection A(1) shall be made part of a zone and shall be assigned a regular day of the week (Zone 1 — Monday, Zone 2 — Tuesday, Zone 3 — Wednesday, Zone 4 — Thursday or Zone 5 — Friday) for pickup.
Full Breakdown
Section 169-12 governs municipal collection in the City of Chicopee. Under subsection A(1), collection is made at least once a week from each structure, building, dwelling or trailer where housing accommodations exist, and a week starts in the a.m. on Sunday and ends on the following Saturday in the p.m. Under A(2), each such property is made part of a zone with a regular day: Zone 1 on Monday, Zone 2 on Tuesday, Zone 3 on Wednesday, Zone 4 on Thursday and Zone 5 on Friday. Holiday weeks shift the day, but every week without a holiday is collected on the regular day.
Service does not reach everyone. Section 169-4 says sanitation services do not extend to manufacturing industries, nonaccessible properties, multifamily residences greater than four family units, commercial, industrial and business properties, or the removal of material accumulated from building, remodeling, demolition or other construction. Multifamily and commercial or business properties that were receiving City curbside service as of July 1, 2016 are grandfathered and keep service under City rules unless the property owner opts out.
Where the City does not serve a property, the owner still has to arrange disposal. Under § 169-5(G), the owner of any dwelling with three or more units and the owner of any rooming house are responsible for final collection or disposal through the regular municipal collection system, another collection system approved by the Board of Health, or one of the other listed methods. Section 169-3 adds that the collection rules do not prevent an owner or occupant from removing his own garbage, ashes and rubbish.
The Superintendent of Public Works supervises City sanitation operations (§ 169-2). Pickup can be suspended in two ways: the Superintendent can petition the City Council for a specific exemption, which takes a positive vote of 2/3 of the Council and a published notice at least one week before the canceled pickup, or the Mayor or a designee can exempt pickup in a weather or other unforeseen emergency, announced through local media outlets (§ 169-12(A)(4) and (5)).
Violations & Fines
Chapter 169 violations are fined $25 per day, and every day a violation continues counts as a separate offense (§ 169-15). The Superintendent of Public Works, Chicopee Police Department, Building Department and Health Department enforce. When the City refuses collection for noncompliance, it owes no further collection until the next regular period, and the Superintendent reports any fire hazard from the refusal to the proper authorities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What day is trash collected in Chicopee?
Does the City collect from apartment buildings and businesses?
Can the City cancel a scheduled pickup?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chicopee
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