Broome County, NY Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Law name
- Mandatory Source Separation Law, Ch. 317 Art. IV
- Governing section
- § 317-26, source separation required
- Materials list
- paper, glass, metal, plastic, yard waste, tires, batteries
- Hauler duty
- must provide curbside or dropoff recycling collection
- Max penalty
- $500 fine and/or 15 days jail (§317-17)
- Adopted under
- Chapter 930, Laws of 1983 (New York State)
Summary
Broome County's Mandatory Source Separation Law requires every household, business and institution in the county to separate recyclables such as paper, glass, metal, plastic, yard waste, tires and batteries from the trash. Every waste hauler, public or private, must in turn provide curbside or dropoff recycling collection for the units it services.
A. Source separation shall be required of each and every generator within Broome County producing solid waste destined for a disposal facility within Broome County... B. Materials that must be source separated include paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, metals, plastics, leaves, yard wastes, tires, batteries (wet and dry cell) and household hazardous waste... D. Each and every waste hauler, public and private, providing waste collection services in the County of Broome shall be required to provide curbside or dropoff collection of source-separated recyclables for all units serviced by the hauler. E. All municipal and private haulers are prohibited from commingling source-separated recyclables with solid waste.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 317, Article IV of the Broome County Charter and Code, the Mandatory Source Separation Law, applies to every generator of solid waste in the county, residential or commercial, whose waste ends up at a Broome County disposal facility, and even reaches waste generated outside the county if it's processed here. B lists what must be kept out of the regular trash: paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, metals, plastics, leaves, yard wastes, tires, wet and dry cell batteries, and household hazardous waste, with a more detailed accepted-materials list kept on file with the County Legislature.
E bars any hauler from commingling those recyclables back with regular solid waste once collected. The law traces to Chapter 930 of the Laws of 1983, which authorized county-wide solid waste management, and the Broome County Legislature adopted it to cut the volume reaching the landfill and extend its useful life. Multifamily buildings, condominiums, hotels and similar complexes fall under a separate dropoff-program requirement in section 317-28 rather than this curbside mandate. The Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Solid Waste Management administers the program and can license private haulers as a condition of operating in the county.
Violations & Fines
A violation of the source separation requirement is enforced the same way as the rest of Chapter 317: under section 317-17, it's an offense punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to 15 days in jail, or both, plus possible suspension or revocation of a hauler's collecting, receiving, transporting or disposal privileges in the county. Commingling recyclables with solid waste is a separate violation for the hauler responsible.
Frequently Asked Questions
What am I required to recycle in Broome County?
Does my trash hauler have to pick up recycling?
What happens if I don't separate my recyclables?
Do apartment buildings follow the same recycling rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Broome County
New York rules heatmap·Compare Broome County to another location·View the New York trash & recycling overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.