Ulster County, NY Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Adopted to protect the County's limited landfill capacity, Article I of the Solid Waste chapter, codified at §§ 304-1 through 304-5, finds that 'existing refuse disposal sites within the County are becoming seriously depleted' and that this depletion 'results in a significant hazard to the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the County' (§ 304-1). ' 'Refuse' is defined broadly at § 304-2 to include regulated waste, construction and demolition debris, garbage, industrial waste and dredge material, meaning haulers cannot bring outside construction debris, demolition material, or sediment dredged from the Hudson River or elsewhere into a County disposal site any more than they can bring ordinary household garbage.

Section 304-4 grandfathers disposal sites already lawfully operating on the law's effective date, but even a grandfathered site violates the article if it takes in more than 60 tons per calendar week of out-of-County refuse or exceeds the area covered by its existing New York State Department of Environmental Conservation operating permit. Enforcement runs through § 304-5: any violation of the article is a misdemeanor, carrying a fine of up to $2,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both, and the County Attorney is separately authorized to sue in any court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin the violation, meaning the County can go to court to stop illegal dumping without waiting on a criminal case.