Orange County, NY Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)
Key Facts
- License required from
- January 1, 1990 (Section IX)
- Unlicensed hauling banned from
- June 1, 1990 (Section VI.6)
- Licensing agency
- Orange County Commissioner of Public Works
- Conviction consequence
- Automatic license revocation, no hearing
- Household exception
- Self-hauling own waste isn't 'hauler' activity
Summary
Anyone hauling, collecting, storing or transporting solid waste generated in Orange County must hold a Commissioner-issued Solid Waste Hauler license under Local Law No. 2 of 1989, required since January 1, 1990. Haulers must also give customers source separation services, and unlicensed hauling of county waste has been banned outright since June 1, 1990.
Section VI. Prohibitions. It shall be unlawful for any person to: ... 2. Leave for collection any solid waste unless it has separated from it at the point intended for collection, its recyclable components. 3. Collect, haul, store or transport solid waste generated in Orange County unless it has separated from it its recyclable components. ... 6. After June 1, 1990, haul, store, collect or transport any solid waste generated in Orange unless he shall be a Solid Waste Hauler licensed as such by the Commissioner. Section IX. Licensing of Solid Waste Haulers. All Solid Waste Haulers operating or doing business in Orange county shall, after January 1, 1990, be licensed to operate as such by the Commissioner. As a condition for obtaining such a license, every Solid Waste Hauler shall provide its clients or customers with Source Separation Services.
Full Breakdown
Local Law No. 2 of 1989 treats hauling as part of the recycling program, not a separate business free of the source-separation duty. Section VI bars anyone from leaving solid waste for collection, or collecting, hauling, storing or transporting county-generated waste, unless its recyclable components have already been separated out, and after June 1, 1990 it additionally bars hauling, storing, collecting or transporting county waste by anyone who isn't a Commissioner-licensed Solid Waste Hauler. Section IX requires every hauler operating in the county to hold that license starting January 1, 1990.
The Commissioner sets the license fee based on the cost of administering and reviewing applications, and by regulation decides when a license can be revoked, on what conditions, and what due-process procedure a hauler gets before that happens. As a license condition, a hauler must supply its customers with source separation services, meaning bins, trucks or collection service split by recyclable category, so the pickup itself becomes the separation point for households that don't sort their own waste. Section XI carves out an exception: a household owner or occupant hauling their own waste to a county facility isn't treated as a Solid Waste Hauler and doesn't need the license, though the waste is still subject to the county's separation rule and any disposal fee the facility charges.
Violations & Fines
Hauling, storing, collecting or transporting county-generated solid waste without a Commissioner license after June 1, 1990 is itself a prohibited act under Section VI, exposing the hauler to the same misdemeanor charge or $1,000-per-violation civil penalty set out in Section XII. A hauler's or its employee's conviction for violating the law also triggers automatic license revocation under Section IX, with no separate administrative hearing required first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do trash haulers need a county license in Orange County?
What happens if a licensed hauler is convicted of violating the law?
Can I haul my own household trash to the landfill without a license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Orange County
New York rules heatmap·Compare Orange County to another location·View the New York trash & recycling overview
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