Colonie, NY Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Colonie Code § 112-2, part of the Solid Waste chapter adopted April 9, 1992 and amended February 16, 2006, prohibits using land as a dump, dumping ground, refuse disposal area, or landfill site except where the Town itself has established the site or where a private site is licensed and authorized under federal, state, and local law. The prohibition covers depositing, burying, or disposing 'in any manner whatsoever' of offal, garbage, trash, refuse, rubbish, debris, and like waste. The article exempts only sites the Town Board or private individuals establish and operate in compliance with applicable law, and requires any solid waste management facility built in Colonie to follow the Town of Colonie Planning Unit Solid Waste Management Plan.

Enforcement under § 112-4 is the joint responsibility of the Town of Colonie Police Department, the Building Department, and the Department of Public Works, plus any other person the Town Board authorizes. Penalties escalate under § 112-3: a first offense carries a mandatory minimum fine of up to $500 and discretionary suspension or revocation of any related license or permit; a second offense brings a mandatory 30-day suspension plus a discretionary fine up to $1,000; a third offense triggers a mandatory one-year revocation of all licenses, permits, or privileges plus a discretionary fine up to $2,500.

Each day an illegal dump continues operating is a separate violation with its own penalty, and the Town Attorney can sue in court to compel compliance or recover the Town's costs independent of the fine schedule.