Tompkins County, NY Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Article II of Chapter 140, the Tag System for Collection, ties Tompkins County's pay-as-you-throw program to a physical tag rather than a flat fee. Under § 140-14A, all container-program solid waste set out at curbside must, to the extent practical, go into a garbage can or plastic bag. Section 140-14B requires every container of solid waste that a hauler collects in the county to carry a tag stating the current per-pound disposal fee; the tag can also list separate hauling, administrative and collection charges if those are itemized apart from the disposal fee.

It is a violation under § 140-14C to place solid waste at curbside without that tag, and § 140-14D bars any hauler from picking up a container that lacks one. Every licensed hauler must sell tags in weight denominations the Commissioner of Public Works sets, and must keep at least one location, or mail order, where the public can buy a single trash tag (§ 140-14E). Tags expire when the county's tipping fee changes, or sooner if the tag itself says so, and a hauler must refund an expired tag's cost if the customer asks within 90 days of expiration (§ 140-14F).

Haulers must also itemize administration, collection and hauling charges separately from the tag fee on every bill (§ 140-14G). The Commissioner of Public Works, working with the County Attorney, enforces the article (§ 140-15), and a hauler that will not comply risks having its solid waste license suspended, revoked or conditioned (§ 140-16B).