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

Section 130-3 of the Code of the Town of Union sets the working rules for what the collector will pick up. Garbage, rubbish and refuse must be placed in a container approved by the Department of Public Works, Division of Refuse and Recycling. Section 130-1 defines a container as a covered, metal or heavy-duty plastic pail or drum having not fewer than two handles and not exceeding 33 gallons, or heavy-duty plastic bags of 1.3 mil. thickness. In no event can the combined weight of a container and its contents exceed 50 pounds, and owners must keep containers in suitable condition to permit safe handling by the collector. No garbage, rubbish, refuse or recyclables will be collected from undeveloped parcels or uninhabited or vacant structures.

Several neighboring sections tighten the rules. Section 130-5.1 bars placing garbage, rubbish or yard waste in receptacles in a filthy, leaky or defective condition. Section 130-5.3 requires all garbage to be thoroughly drained of moisture and wrapped in paper before it goes into a garbage receptacle. Under § 130-4 nobody can fill a container or refuse bundle so that it ruptures, overflows, spills or scatters its contents, and anything spilled by someone other than the collector must be collected up by the person who set it out. Storage is limited too: § 130-2 requires a securely closed container or dumpster, caps storage on any property at seven consecutive days, and prohibits storage that produces a noxious or foul odor.

Section 130-9 prohibits picking, sorting or salvaging in any container, and § 130-8 bars dumping waste collected outside the Town of Union within it. The Commissioner of Public Works can issue additional rules with Town Board approval under § 130-10.1.

When waste is left behind, § 130-6 lets the Commissioner of Public Works, the Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Services or the Code Enforcement Officer order removal and invoice the owner. An invoice unpaid after 30 days is delinquent and carries an additional fee of 12%, and unpaid invoices are added to the Town property taxes after October 31.